Deeds: “I’m very disturbed that she is allowing these views to stand. There’s been no evidence that she’s changed in her thinking.”

VIRGINIA – Following new reporting that Winsome Earle-Sears supports letting people get fired just for being gay, Chair of the Virginia Senate Commerce and Labor Committee Senator Creigh Deeds slammed Sears for her dangerous and illegal position. 
 
When asked about how Sears has refused to comment on the survey and if her positions have evolved, Deeds pointed to the bill protecting same-sex marriage in the Commonwealth that Sears wrote she was “morally opposed” to last year and said, “I’m very disturbed that she is allowing these views to stand. There’s been no evidence that she’s changed in her thinking.”
 
Jason Elliott, a member of Out and About Cville said, “This is not just about protection in the workplace for the queer community, but this goes farther down the line for LGBTQ, plus folks who are looking to adopt, to get married.”

What Virginians Are Seeing: 
 

 
WSET: Survey Shows Sears Opposes Workplace Protections for Gay Virginians

• Reporter: As the race for governor heats up, so does the controversy.  Tonight, it relates to homosexuality and a survey over two decades old. 
• Deeds: We’re a Commonwealth of opportunity, everybody should all have a chance to succeed, regardless of who they are, what they look like, where they live, you know, who they love. 
• Reporter: Senator Creigh Deeds responding to a survey that recently resurfaced from 21 years ago. Then congressional candidate Winsome Earle-Sears participated. Asked questions about homosexuality, she showed her opposition to adding sexual orientation to a list of special protections for hiring in the private sector. Do you find any concerns with the fact that this was, you know, from 20 years ago?
• Deeds: That's the first thing I thought about when I looked at the survey in the legislature. She's recently written on bills that the governor signed “I morally oppose this.” There's no evidence that she's evolved in her thinking over the last 21 years. 

CBS 19: Winsome Earle-Sears Slammed for Opposing Protections for Gay Virginians

• Reporter: this stems back to when Sears was running for Congress in 2004 in a candidate survey, she said she opposed workplace protections for the queer community. I spoke with State Senator Creigh Deeds, who is also the chair of the Virginia State Commerce and Labor Committee and a former candidate for governor. Take a listen to what he has to say: 
• Sen. Deeds: Every Virginian has certain basic rights, and they have those rights under federal law and state law.
• Reporter: In a candidate survey, Earle-Sears responded yes to “Will you refuse to hire homosexual activists?” as well as other questions discriminating against the queer community. Here's Out and About Cville’s Jason Elliott: 
• Jason Elliott: This is not just about protection in the workplace for the queer community, but this goes farther down the line for LGBTQ, plus folks who are looking to adopt, to get married.
• Reporter: Now, I did reach out to Winsome Earle-Sears and candidate for Lieutenant Governor, John Reid, by phone and email, but haven't heard back.

Cville Right Now: Hashmi, Deeds call out Earle-Sears lack of support for LGBTQ workers

• Democrats Friday seized on a media report a day earlier linking Republican nominee for Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to anti-LGBTQ policies, including employment protections.
• The Virginia Mercury reported that, on a 2004 candidate questionnaire during her unsuccessful run for Congress, Earle-Sears indicated she opposed workplace protections for members of the gay community.
• Sen. Creigh Deeds, the chairperson of the Senate’s commerce and labor committee, called Earle-Sears’s position alarming.
• “As a member of the Senate, as a chairman of that committee, it’s my job to make sure people’s rights are protected,” Sen. Deeds told Cville Right Now on Friday. “And not some of the people’s rights. All of the people’s rights are protected when it comes to employment opportunities. You can’t ensure that people have success, but we all ought to have the same sort of opportunity to succeed. That she would, in this day and time, still support discrimination in employment is a little scary."
• Earle-Sears’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment, leaving it unclear if she still feels the same way about LGBTQ rights that she did in 2004. But Deeds noted that Earle-Sears’ positions against gay marriage and on other issues indicate there’s been no change.
• Deeds said. “I’m very disturbed that she is allowing these views to stand. There’s been no evidence that she’s changed in her thinking.”
• Earle-Sears is on the GOP ticket with John Reid, the nominee for lieutenant governor. Reid is the party’s first openly gay statewide candidate.
• Reid did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
• “I’m confident that every member of the Democratic ticket is going to be supportive of the rights of all people,” Deeds said. “I’m confident that you will see progress on all fronts to see that people’s rights are respected, protected and advanced if the Democrats are elected.” 

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