New state Democratic chair once opposed marriage equality

[TexasTowelie]

BURLINGTON — The conversion from Republican to Democrat by newly elected Vermont Democratic Party Chair Faisal Gill is a well-known political narrative.

What hasn’t received as much attention is the substance of Republican positions Gill previously espoused. In 2006, as a Virginia Republican mulling a bid for the House of Delegates, Gill participated in a debate where he argued against marriage equality.

Gill appeared on behalf of Virginians for Marriage and the Family Foundation to argue in favor of an amendment on the ballot that would have prevented Virginia from recognizing same-sex marriages or civil unions from other states, including Vermont.

“I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman,” Gill said at the time, according to a report in the Connection Newspapers.

Read more: https://vtdigger.org/2017/03/27/new-state-democratic-chair-once-opposed-marriage-equality/

[LisaM]

1. It looks as if he changed his position in 2007, and campaigned against Prop 8 in California.

Kudos to him for his evolution. He apparently experienced discrimination himself from Republicans, and it made him reflective and caused him to re-think his position.

Good for him.

[democrank]

2. I applaud Gill's personal growth.

The discrimination he faced played an important role.