GOP Virginia Governor candidate says banning same-sex marriage isn’t discrimination

The Republican candidate for Virginia Governor defended her opposition to same-sex marriage during a debate against her Democrat rival. During the televised face-off on Thursday (9 October), Democrat Abigail Spanberger said that Winsome Earle-Sears was “morally opposed to same sex marriage”, to which the Republican candidate repeatedly cried: “That’s not discrimination.” She also went on to say that a lack of employment protections for LGBTQ people is “not discrimination.” The debate at Norfolk State University became heated at times, and Earle-Sears repeatedly spoke over Spanbgerger, forcing moderators to intervene. The main focus was on Virginia's Democratic nominee for attorney general, Jay Jones. Last week, texts from 2022 surfaced in which Jones suggested that one of the top legislative Republicans in the state should be shot in the head.