City Urges Richmond to End Same-Sex Discrimination
Falls
Church News-Press, January 8, 2004
929 West Broad Street #200, Falls Church, VA 22046
Fax: 703-532-3396
Email: fcnp@fcnp.com
http://www.fcnp.com/344/story2.htm
By Nicholas F. Benton
The Falls Church City Council will urge the Virginia
legislature to decriminalize all non-commercial sexual relationships between
consenting adults and to add the phrase, “sexual orientation,” to the
state’s hate crimes statute as part of a 10-page “legislative package”
it is slated to forward to Richmond next week.
In a section on “civil rights and personal freedom,”
the draft package reviewed by the Council at its work session this Monday
says, “The City of Falls Church supports legislation that protects ands
expands civil rights and personal freedoms, and opposes any legislation that
is aimed at curtailing or diminishing those rights.”
Richmond is expected to deal with proposed legislation
attempting to circumvent last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court mandate
overturning anti-sodomy laws, as well as attempts to react against
Massachusetts’ gay marriage decision by establishing that unions certified
in Massachusetts will not have standing in Virginia.
The Falls Church Council also advocates prohibiting
employers from using genetic information for employment-related purposes and
calls for protecting the rights of immigrant populations.
Falls Church citizens are also invited to make their own
requests of their legislative representatives in Richmond at a town meeting
set for Saturday, Jan. 17, at 1 p.m. in the Council chambers of City Hall, 300
Park Avenue. Both State Senator Mary Margaret Whipple and State Delegate Jim
Scott will be present to hear from the public.
Then, on Thursday, Feb. 12, members of the Falls Church
City Council are scheduled to visit Richmond for a “legislative day”
sponsored by the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of
Counties to forward the City’s issues.
Sen. Whipple, Del. Scott and State Delegate Bob Hull will
continue to report back to the Falls Church public through their rotating
weekly columns in the News-Press. . . . [The rest is about other topics.]
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