I'm very happy about this. Sometimes it is embarrassing to live in VA. Being behind Utah on marriage equality is one of those embarrassing things. But there is hope.
Virginia is a HELL of a lot more sophisticated than most states and far more sophisticated than Utah. We ain't talkin' Kentucky or Alabama with this southern state.
And as far as gay marriage is concerned, that is just timing. It has nothing to do with the backwater status of the residents.
And of course the ranking of states in general is in no way indicative of individual residents or the state in question.
Don't forget "in the beginning is was all Virginia" and "mother of presidents" and all that if it makes you feel better.
Thanks for that. I am proud of our history. I grew up just 6 miles up the road from Mt. Vernon, so I felt a bit of a kinship with Geo Washington. He probably owned the land our house was on at some point in time.
We live only about 15 miles outside of DC, so we tend to have more cosmopolitan ideas in this part of the state. The schools are good. There are jobs. It's not a bad place to live.
But then when our legislature gets going...it's a big face palm a lot of the time. Every once in awhile we threaten to secede, but I would feel bad leaving the Richmond area and the VA Beach area behind. They're pretty cool too. LOL
There are a lot of wonderful people in Virginia, but there is a lot of backward politics to my way of thinking. I'm sure they think I'm a loony so it all evens out. ;)
Mormons are pretty rare in Virginia. Now, Fundamentalist Christians, on the other hand, will definitely have something to say. (For example, Pat Robertson has his headquarters in Virginia.)
Mormons are SILENT in Virginia but Central Virginia is a hotbed of Mormon activity. They are very vocal about their Mormon identity but do not get involved politically or try to influence the community.
Pat Robertson is located in VA Beach.
Yes, Evangelicals will be enthusiastically opposed.
Pretty much any state that past a law, directly discriminating against Marriage Equality. You put it in writing that you want to treat gays differently, and you have just made it an equal protection issue.
I think LDS church leaders need to check their own scriptures and then butt out:
D&C 134:4 We believe that religion is instituted of God; and that men are amenable to him, and to him only, for the exercise of it, UNLESS THEIR RELIGIOUS OPINIONS PROMPT THEM TO INFRINGE UPON THE RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES OF OTHERS;...
Someone said Mormons are pretty rare in Virginia, not true.
For some reason I don't know, Virginia has the highest number of Mormons per capita than any state on the east coast and any state beyond the midwest and texas.
It's because so many Mormons are employed by the federal government or by firms that lobby Congress (not to mention consulting and private equity firms like The Carlyle Group).
Also because Southern Virginia University is in Buena Vista. They promote it as the BYU of the east. I think LD$ formed a new stake just for the University.
This decision really surprised and delighted me. I'm surprised because several people I have known who were from Virginia (all non-Mormons) tended to be rather enlightened but still quite conservative (even young people). So, when it's happening in Virginia, it's unstoppable IMO.
How very Mormon sounding is the comment on backward Virginians. I reside nowhere close to Northern Virginia but have a post -graduate degree and have traveled all over the world experiencing many cultures appreciating them all. Universities such as the College of William and Mary, Washington and Lee, Virginia Military Institute, University of Virginia date back to colonial and revolutionary times . Thomas Jefferson said his greatest creation was the UNiversity of Virginia in Charlottesville.Many of my family and friends are the same who stayed here earning degrees. I was born in Virginia and wish I could say more ,but would give my identity away. I will just say I am located in the mountains.
Once at a Stake Conference, Mr. Marriott himself came to address us common folk as a special request. The Stake President, a personal friend, introduced him and regurgitated ,of course ,all Marriott's accomplishments . He then pronounced how Mr. Marriott was indeed reluctant to come thinking we were backward and a group of hillbilly/redneck types. Continuing on, he regaled how Mr. Marriott was so surprised to learn differently. Taken aback and aghast by the ignorance and stereotypes of so called superior people, I shook my head wondering how he did not have enough class to know his audience which he had insulted from the holy podium of righteousness. However, Mormon's can be an arrogant group of 'uneducated to the world' people ,in my opinion. I had been one for 44 years . Alas,I am a lowly convert in the grand strata of the church caste system.
Mormonism is very alive in all area's of Virginia. Have you not heard of Little Utah and Little Provo in Fredericksburg? They have even begun a Mormon school k-12 for the elite...very expensive to attend, a little further north.
As to SSM, our new Governor and Lt. Governor are quite progressive. Our recently last governor ,strongly conservative promulgating moral values warrior is now scandalously indicted for taking bribes, so to speak. He and his Lt. Governor considered themselves morally superior fighting against the immorality of SSA.
I'm a proud Virginian too, though I am in Texas right now. I never met any Mormons until I went to college. And there, I only met two-- one whose husband is the CFO at SVU and one who is now out of the closet.
My mom went to Southern Seminary, which is now Southern Virginia University. It's sad to see how her hometown has been Mormonized. I still have many relatives who live in the Shenandoah Valley.
I hope Virginia joins the 21st century and allows SSM.