WWW.ALEXTIMES.COM
Vol. 10, No. 41
OCTOBER 9, 2014 | 1
Alexandria’s only independent hometown newspaper
OCTOBER 9, 2014
Same-sex couples laud high court’s decision SCOTUS declines to take up gay marriage cases BY ERICH WAGNER
Dawn Turton was having a quiet Monday morning. She had the day off, and happened to check Twitter as the news percolated: the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear several cases seeking to uphold gay marriage bans, including Virginia’s. “I saw a couple things come across the screen, so I rode my motorcycle over to see Beth [Trent],” Turton said. “She works up at the church we go to.” Turton and Trent held a commitment ceremony in 2011, but were waiting for Virginia to adopt same-sex
marriage to “make it legal,” as Turton put it. On Monday afternoon, they became the first same-sex couple to receive a marriage license in Alexandria Circuit Court. With Commonwealth Baptist Church pastor Marty Anderson in tow, the couple made their vows just outside the city courthouse. “I hope this doesn’t sound cheesy, but I love my state,” Turton said. “I was going to wait until Virginia was ready. That was important to me, to be married in the state where I was born in, where I live in and where I love to live.” For a few current and former city leaders, Monday’s decision — or lack thereof — was a long time coming. For-
mer City Councilor Lonnie Rich first pushed for marriage equality in 1996, and has expressed amazement at how quickly public opinion shifted on the issue since the commonwealth banned same-sex marriage in 2006 by referendum. “I grew up in the 1960s, so I’ve seen that moral arc bend toward justice in any number of ways, from racial issues, to sex issues and now the LGBT issues,” Rich said. “What’s interesting is this will be such a nonstory two or three years from now… In a very short period of time it’ll be such a non-issue even with most conservatives. “It’s an issue for oldSEE MARRIAGE | 12
COURTESY PHOTO
Dawn Turton (left) and Beth Trent held a commitment ceremony in 2011, when same-sex marriage still was banned in the commonwealth. Though other states allowed for gay marriages, the couple decided to wait until their home state recognized them
School board moves forward on T.C. lights Members: Vote marks beginning of debate on controversial proposal BY ERICH WAGNER
The Alexandria School Board voted last week to move forward with a controversial proposal to light T.C. Williams’ football stadium.
Neighbors decried the decision as reneging on a decades-old promise and called the district’s study justifying the project flawed. But board members said the October 2 vote is only the first step in a long debate over the likelihood of evening games at Parker-Gray Memorial Stadium.
Installing lights alone at the football stadium would cost between $700,000 and $800,000, but in conjunction with other upgrades to the facility, the total price tag could reach $3.5 million, officials have said. The board voted 8 to 1 in favor of applying to SEE SCHOOL | 13
PHOTO/ERICH WAGNER
T.C. Williams’ sports stadium has gone without lights since the school was established decades ago as part of an agreement with neighbors. School board members want to revisit the issue even as critics accuse officials of planning to go back on their word.