RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – State lawmakers, public officials even former President Bill Clinton are expected to attend Saturday’s inauguration of Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe.
Now a group called Public Advocate of the United Statesannounced it too would be there – in protest. The group announced it planned to hand out thousands of “commemorative badges” to mark the event. The badges carry a message urging McAuliffe “Preserve Traditional Marriage.”
“We are here at the Inauguration of Governor Terry McAuliffe to express demands from a majority of Virginians and Americans that traditional marriage and religious liberty be preserved not attacked. We urge the Governor, and all the delegates and state senators to defend Virginia’s families,” Public Advocate president Eugene Delgaudio said in a statement.
Earlier this month Equality Virginia announced it would march in the 2014 Inaugural Parade. Equality Virginia was invited to participate in the parade by the Terry McAuliffe Inaugural Committee.
“We are honored to be part of the celebration and happy to welcome Terry McAuliffe as Virginia’s next governor,” said James Parrish, executive director of Equality Virginia. “To march in the inaugural parade next to other organizations representing the diversity of the commonwealth is a landmark moment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Virginians and reflects that achieving LGBT rights is on the horizon.”
Throughout his gubernatorial campaign, McAuliffe publicly expressed support for marriage equality and said that his first executive order will be to protect LGBT state employees from discrimination in the workplace.
