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Marriage Amendment Straw Poll
A straw poll to be taken at the annual Gerry Connolly St Patrick's Day Gala (fundraiser) on Friday, March 17, 7-9PM will include a Yes/No vote on the Marriage Amendment proposal that will appear on the Fall Election Ballot in November. The annual event hosted by Gerry Connolly (Fairfax County Board of Supervisor Chairman) attracts a large number of local political activists (both Democrats and Republicans) and marks a great visibility opportunity for our community to educate key allies about our efforts to defeat the amendment.
The straw poll will also include the races for US Senator and House of Representatives with most of the candidates attending in person. Equality Fairfax will have a table at the event and we will need some volunteers to help out with handouts. It is a fundraiser for Gerry so a minimum charge of $35 will be collected at the door or in advance. There will be lots of good Irish food and drink provided along with live entertainment and of course a speech or two. Please consider attending the event with your friends and family to vote in the poll and to mingle with many of Fairfax County's decision makers!! Details can be found at http://www.gerryconnolly.com/ or contact Terry Mansberger, EF Political Dir. at 703-573-0046.
Amendment DEFEATED at Straw Poll
Over 400 local political activists attended the recent Gerry Connolly St. Patrick's Day Gala in Fairfax County on March 17, 2006. As part of the program, a Straw Poll vote was taken by the participants to gauge early support of the Virginia Democratic candidates for US Senate and US House (Dist.11) as well as positions on the VA Constitutional Amendment to ban gay marriage and civil unions.
The Amendment was soundly defeated with NO votes from 90% of the attendees, just 10% voted in favor of passage. Equality Fairfax hosted a table at the event and signed up 20 new members for our email list and the campaign against the Amendment. A crowd of nearly 30 GLBT folks and allies attended the gala, coming from all over Northern Virginia to make a strong impression on elected officials and attendees.
Winners in the other ballot choices were James Webb over Harris Miller for US Senate, 58% to 42% and Ken Longmyer over Andrew Hurst for US House, 53% to 47%.