Two Good Answers by Terry McAuliffe, on Gay Marriage and Clean Energy

by: lowkell

Fri Feb 22, 2013 at 15:26:02 PM EST

1. Isaac Sarver of Dublin, VA asked, "What is your position on gay marriage and benefits for same-sex couples in the Commonwealth?"

Terry McAuliffe responded:

As I've said throughout this campaign, my focus as Governor is going to be creating jobs and growing the economy instead of divisive proposals of some in Richmond. I believe everyone should be treated fairly. I personally favor civil marriage for committed couples of the same-sex. I understand that this is an issue that Virginians of goodwill come down on both sides of and it is an issue where, like many Virginians, my views have changed from earlier in my life. Regardless of where you stand on this issue, one thing Dorothy and I consistently hear is that people are tired of issues like this being used to divide people especially when we face such important economic challenges here in Virginia.

Couple other important things: 1. To address some legitimate concerns, I don't think any church should be forced to sanction anything they disagree with and 2. Realistically, this is not something that the current legislative leadership is likely to consider.

2. The other Q&A I wanted to pass along was from Meg Czaikoski of Woodbridge, who asked, "How do you respond to industries who try to argue that we have to choose between jobs and clean energy?"

Thank you Meg. As your question implies, this is a false choice. Jobs are going to be in sectors like clean energy. We know that demand for clean energy and energy efficiency are going to continue to climb so Virginia should be a leader in those efforts. I've said many, many times that I think we should join other states in making our Renewable Portfolio Standard mandatory. Wind power offshore is one way to move forward. A group of Virginia researchers estimated that even if we limited ourselves to some specific parcels, we could generate around 10% of Virginia's electricity needs and be cost-competitive - and generate something like 10,000 jobs. If you've heard me speak, you know that I often talk about jobs of the future and what I mean is that Virginia needs to be thinking about not just what jobs we can create now but what jobs we will need to be creating in 20 or 30 years. We know that if Virginia is a leader in clean energy now, we will be ahead of the curve and provide long-term growth for our economy down the road. Thank you for asking. -Terry