The legislation that was aimed at protecting the opponents of same-sex marriage was denied by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. He said these types of laws will strengthen the discrimination against the LGBT community and affect the state's economy.
According to the Washington Times, the Democratic governor said that the legitimate protection is just the same under the First Amendment. The additional protection are against the constitution and provides discrimination against gays and lesbians. McAuliffe added that the community shouldn't have fear and persecution, noting that it is not tolerable for people being demonized.
In the southern states, laws that are against the LGBT community drew national condemnation from the corporate world and also from civil rights group. As reported by Raw Story, similar laws on other states such as Indiana and Arkansas started to draw criticisms forcing a lot of lawmakers to back down. North Carolina also sees the same protest over a new law that bars transgender people from choosing bathrooms consistent with their current gender.
The passing of the law in Virginia was less controversial though due to the governor's promise of blocking the bill. Another legislation that the governor has vetoed is the legislation that sought to block state funding for abortion provider, Planned Parenthood.
The act of the governor was somehow condemned by social conservatives, saying that the legislation should have been a modest protection of religious beliefs. The president of the Family Foundation of Virginia, Victoria Cobb, said it is unfortunate that the governor is willing to give discrimination against people of faith who simply disagrees with the secular left's sexual dogma as per ABC News.
The vetoed legislation would have somehow prohibited the state from penalizing religious groups that refuse to provide services which are related to gay marriage. Republican supporters of the bill said it will protect the religious belief of the people that are sincere on expressing their faith. Supporters of the bill, however, will have a chance to turn the decision around if they can gather enough votes to go against the previous decision.
