Comment RICHMOND — Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday he was right to tell a national television audience that Virginia’s law protects same-sex marriage rights, even though such unions would be banned in the state if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the same for issue. Youngkin, a Republican who has leaned into some culture wars but mostly sidesteps LGBTQ issues, defended his comments as the state he’s led for six months fell in the annual ranking of the best states for business — in part due to lower rating for “life”. , health and inclusion”. The state’s labor rating also took a hit in CNBC’s ranking, which covers a period partially governed by Youngkin’s Democratic predecessor, Ralph Northam. During an interview Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Youngkin gave the impression that same-sex marriage rights would be safe in Virginia regardless of whether the Supreme Court reconsiders and reverses its 2015 decision. to legalize such associations at the national level. The governor’s appearance was part of a recent media push that Youngkin, a former private equity mogul who poured $20 million of his own money into last year’s campaign, launched last month amid suggestions he is considering a 2024 presidential bid. . Youngkin is meeting with major donors amid suggestions he is considering a White House bid The political newcomer walked a tightrope to the Executive Mansion, selling himself as a social conservative to the GOP base and an easy-going, common-sense business leader to suburban moderates. His sometimes pretentious, sometimes awkward balancing act — sharper than ever amid the 2024 tease — was on display during Sunday’s interview as Youngkin answered questions about abortion and former President Donald Trump as well as marriage of the same sex. In a conference call Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers called the drop in the state’s CNBC ranking proof that Youngkin’s conservative social agenda has made the state less attractive to businesses. Virginia won the top spot two years in a row under Northam before falling to third place this year, behind North Carolina and Washington State. “High-tech companies want a welcoming and friendly Virginia,” said Sen. Jennifer B. Boysko (D-Fairfax). “That’s why they left other states. … Governor Youngkin is focusing on socially divisive issues because he thinks it will give him a leg up on a presidential run with a bunch of people trying to fix themselves. And it hurts Virginia.” Youngkin, who ran claiming the state was in a financial “trail,” has attracted some big companies, including Boeing, Raytheon and Lego. Lego, however, expressed some concern over the governor’s conservative stances on race and the environment as it announced plans to build a $1 billion plant in Chesterfield County. Lego braced for questions about Youngkin and critical race theory in Va. Youngkin noted that Virginia’s scores improved “materially” in two areas it has focused on: infrastructure and business friendliness. “The key here is to get this economy moving and we had to dig ourselves out of a hole,” he said. Youngkin’s comments on same-sex marriage were made during an in-studio interview with CBS’s Robert Costa. Noting the Supreme Court’s shift to the right, Costa asked Youngin whether he would move to codify same-sex marriage rights in Virginia if the court ever overturns its 2015 decision Obergefell v. Hodges. “We really do protect same-sex marriage in Virginia,” Youngkin responded. “That is the law in Virginia, and therefore, as the governor of Virginia, we are protecting same-sex marriage.” But state law does not protect such unions. In fact, the Virginia Constitution prohibits same-sex marriage under an amendment passed in 2006 that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. While the ban was later lifted Obergefell, the language remains in the constitution and would work again if the Supreme Court were to overturn. House Republicans killed an effort this year to remove that language. “This amendment makes it clear that no other relationship can, under the law, receive the status of legal marriage,” said AE Dick Howard, a law professor at the University of Virginia who helped write the most recent version of the state constitution. “If Obergefell were to be overturned, then, in Virginia, the marriage amendment would prevail over any conflicting provisions of state law. Same-sex marriages would not be recognized in Virginia.” Asked Wednesday at an appearance in Richmond if he had cited the Virginia law to Costa, Youngkin insisted his comments accurately reflected the current state of same-sex rights given the protections afforded nationwide. Obergefell. “I didn’t speak to the current law in Virginia,” he said. “Same-sex [marriage] is protected in Virginia and will continue to be so. And I understand that the media loves to live in the world of hypotheticals. … We had a Supreme Court decision upholding same-sex marriage in Virginia, and here is the law. … I can’t live in the world of hypotheticals.” Youngkin gave no indication to Costa that he was refusing to entertain a hypothetical, post-Obergefell United States. His response, therefore, gave the impression that Virginia’s law would protect same-sex marriage rights if national protections disappear — a possibility that some legal observers believe is more likely given the court’s conservative makeup and willingness to overturn much more established precedent in Roe v. Wadethe nearly 50-year-old decision that had established abortion rights nationwide. Youngkin’s spokeswoman Macaulay Porter called for a possible Supreme Court review Obergefell an “extreme hypothetical situation”. In his concurring opinion in the overturned case RoeJustice Clarence Thomas said the court should review the constitutional bases of some court precedents, such as Obergefell. None of the other judges agreed with his opinion. Sen. Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria), who was the state’s first openly gay lawmaker when he took office in 2012, doesn’t see the loss of same-sex marriage rights as an unlikely hypothetical. “Virginia’s amendment to the Constitution against marriage equality will serve as a de facto enabling law should the Supreme Court rule that marriage equality will be up to the states as they recently did with abortion,” he said. Youngkin has some allies among conservative LGBTQ groups, including the Log Cabin Republicans, to whom he made some very careful pitches during Pride Month. Some of them share Ebbin’s wariness about losing marriage rights if the state doesn’t amend its constitution. Governor Youngkin, who ran into culture wars, approaches Pride cautiously “I see the potential for [the Supreme Court] to turn it back to the states certainly the same way they did for Roe v. Wadesaid Casey Flores, president of the Log Cabin Republicans of Richmond and a Youngkin appointee to the state’s LGBTQ Plus advisory board. At a private dinner with Log Cabin Republicans at the mansion in June, Youngkin made no policy statements or promises, but appeared to listen as guests said they would continue to push to repeal the same-sex marriage ban, Flores said. To change the constitution, a resolution would have to be passed twice by the General Assembly before going to a public vote in a general election. Governors do not have the opportunity to sign or veto resolutions, but they can play an important role by supporting or against them. “I hope he would support the effort,” Flores said. “Honestly, I’ve seen him push for it [before]. … It doesn’t seem like there’s ever been a solid answer.”
