[ACDP-Announce] Fw: Vote "NO" on November 7th

[Fred Hudson]

The full text as publishing by the SBE as well as an explanation of the three amendments can be obtained by going to www,albemarledems.org and clicking on the tab for the amendments.  For the full text and explanation, click on the title, and it will route you to the full text and explanation.  

Also, for your convenience. . . .

Fred 





Friends:
This morning my wife, Anne Holton, former Governor Linwood Holton, former First Lady "Jinks" Holton, and I stood in front of a historic building, the Executive Mansion, to talk about the unintended negative consequences of Ballot Question #1 -- the so-called "Marriage Amendment" and the importance of Virginia voters making the right kind of history by voting NO on Election Day.

Anne and I have been married nearly 22 years. Anne's folks will soon celebrate their 54th anniversary. My own parents will celebrate 50 years of marriage in 2007. Our family cherishes marriage.

Like most Virginians, we believe that marriage should remain only between a man and a woman. That has always been the law in Virginia and I will fight any effort to change the definition of marriage.

But, the issue before the voters on November 7th is whether to write into Virginia's Constitution language that poses significant and unknown consequences for all unmarried individuals. In my judgment, the right answer is NO. The amendment simply goes too far.

Today, I became the 200th Virginia lawyer to join The Commonwealth Coalition's Legal Review Committee. That's a bipartisan, statewide group of attorneys and legal scholars who have looked at this proposed amendment and concluded that it has far-reaching and largely unpredictable consequences. 

The fact of the matter is, Ballot Question #1 could eliminate the protections now offered by Virginia's domestic violence laws to unmarried partners.

Ballot Question #1 could render irrelevant an individual's wishes when it comes to personal matters like medical directives, hospital visitation, guardianship, and property rights. 

Ballot Question #1 adds uncertainty for private business owners who may wish to offer health care and other benefits to their employees and their families and dependents in order to attract and keep the best employees.

Virginia's founders believed that our Constitution should articulate the limitations of government, not limit the people who are governed.

Unfortunately, Ballot Question #1 flies in the face of that principle. 

That is why Anne, Linwood, Jinks, and I will be voting "no" on Ballot Question #1 on November 7th, and we urge our fellow Virginians to do the same.

The election is two weeks from today! Some of you may be thinking that it is too late to affect the outcome. You couldn't be more wrong. 

The Commonwealth Coalition needs your help now more than ever if we are to defeat Ballot Question #1 on November 7th. 

Here's how you can help:

Volunteer to help The Coalition get out the vote on election day. Send an email to volunteer at voteNOva.org if you can help work the polls on election day or make calls to voters before then.


Talk to all your friends about why they should vote no.


Make a contribution NOW to help keep The Coalition's ads on TV through election day. The Coalition's ads are running statewide on CNN and on broadcast stations in Richmond and Hampton Roads. Contribute now to make sure voters will see them right up until election day. 
With your help, we can make the right kind of history in Virginia.

Thanks.
 

Tim Kaine

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