Hanover Democrats were pleased to hear from Narissa Rahaman, Equality Virginia Executive Director, at our monthly meeting on June 9. Her presentation to our committee was well-received and timely in conjunction with Pride Month. Rahaman said it is important to work to consolidate gains made in the LGBTQ community, especially since some 400 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in legislatures around the country and 11 in Virginia.
“You don’t have to know a trans person or understand the experience of LGBTQ people to know this is wrong,” Rahaman said, adding that anti-LGBTQ 0rganizations are drafting those kinds of bills and shopping them as copycats from state to state.
Equality Virginia is “hyper-focused” on the 2025 election, Rahaman said, knowing the consequences for the election of statewide candidates and members of the General Assembly. “We want to make sure that we are protecting all he progress that we’ve made.”
“We also want to make sure we’re are removing that ban in our constitution that says marriage is between one man and one woman,” Rahaman said. With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there is legitimate concern that a Supreme Court reversal of same-sex marriage is next, so putting a constitutional amendment before Virginia voters in 2026 would be an important backstop.
Thank you to our guest speaker for an update on these important issues.
