RICHMOND, Va. – A delegate introduced a bill to remove the statute which denies Virginia same sex couples the right to marry.
Marcus Simon (D- 53rd) introduced three bills on Monday, Nov. 16.
“Today I introduced three bills to make Virginia more inclusive, more ethically sound, and more employee friendly,” Simon said in a press release. “All three of these bills would implement policies that most of my constituents are surprised to learn aren’t already the law in Virginia.”
Virginia state code still maintains that same-sex marriage and unions are prohibited. Simon’s HB05 hopes to remove that language.
The Supreme Court has told the General Assembly that we may no longer deny all Virginians the right to marry the one they love,” said Simon. “It’s now time to remove that offensive statute from the code books here in the Commonwealth.”
The HB06 introduced a bill to prohibit personal use of campaign funds.
HB07 wants full time employees to get a reasonable number of sick days.
“Hard working Virginians shouldn’t have to choose between getting paid and going to work with a fever, the flu or worse,” Simon said. “It is essential to the health of Virginia’s workplaces that we provide a reasonable number of paid sick days for full time employees so that they don’t have to choose between paying for groceries or masking their symptoms and “toughing it out” through a work day.”
“The Commonwealth needs to embody policies that welcome everyone regardless of sexual orientation, that codifies basic worker protections that most Virginians think are already required by law, and to assure Virginians a government they can trust,” Simon said. “This is how we move Virginia forward.”
