Va. amendment may run afoul of U.S. Constitution

Va. amendment may run afoul of U.S. Constitution
Proposed ban conflicts with Romer vs. Evans, some legal analysts say.

Some legal experts are questioning the constitutionality of Virginia’s proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, claiming the amendment is worded to broadly that it may conflict with the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision a decade ago striking down Colorado’s Amendment 2.

“It’s not plausible to say that a state can deny gay people the possibility of having the same rights and benefits as straight people,” said Raskin, who is straight. “Romer vs. Evans describes that kind of discrimination as a direct assault on equal protection. The key to the Colorado case is that the government can legislate prejudice. There is no justification for the Virginia Marriage Amendment outside of moral judgment and hostility directed at gay people.”

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