Former Lt. Gov. and failed Virginia gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears (R) announced last week that she’ll be traveling across her state to campaign against marriage equality and reproductive rights.
On her “Life and Marriage Tour,” Earle-Sears will work to convince Virginians to vote “no” on two constitutional amendments to protect those rights that will be on the state’s ballot in the upcoming midterm elections.
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Earle-Sears devoted a large part of her 2025 gubernatorial campaign to anti-LGBTQ+ messaging. She claimed her opponent, Abigail Spanberger (D), was “for they/them, not for us” and wanted “to allow men in girls’ sports, bathrooms and locker rooms,” which is not true. She also claimed in a televised debate that discriminating against gay people in the workplace isn’t discrimination.
In 2024, Earle-Sears included a handwritten note denouncing same-sex couples marrying when moving a bill about marriage forward.
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The Virginia Scope obtained a copy of H.B. 174 that Earle-Sears signed that March. H.B. 174 codified marriage equality in the state last year, removing the state’s ban on same-sex marriage from the books in case the Supreme Court overturns its Obergefell decision, which legalized marriage equality nationwide in 2015.
The Virginia Senate passed the bill, and Earle-Sears, who presides over the state Senate, was required by the state constitution to sign it, which she did while adding a note: “As the Lt. Governor, I recognize and respect my constitutional obligation to adhere to the procedures laid out in the Constitution of Virginia.”
“However, I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly.”
Earle-Sears lost to now-Gov. Spanberger by 13 points.
Her “Life and Marriage Tour” will reportedly focus on her “serious concerns” over the proposed constitutional amendments, according to ABC 8 News.
While marriage equality is legal everywhere due to the Obergefell v. Hodges decision, right-wing activists and Republican politicians have been campaigning to overturn the ruling using the same reasoning the court used to overturn Roe v. Wade – something Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the court consider in the aftermath of the reproductive rights decision.
The Virginia Amendment would codify these marriage rights in the states in case the Court does decide to revisit Obergefell. And while Virginia already grants women the right to an abortion, this year’s ballot measure would codify that right in the constitution.
In her email to supporters announcing her statewide tour, Earle-Sears reportedly declared that her efforts “are focused not only on informing voters, but also encouraging them to carefully consider these proposals and vote NO on both amendments.”
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