A county Republican committee has
abandoned a GOP lawmaker after he officiated the wedding of a gay
couple.
The Cumberland County Republican
Committee on Monday passed a motion of no confidence in Virginia
Representative Denver Riggleman. The vote came after the committee
attempted but failed to censure the Republican lawmaker, according to
the Roanoke-Times.
The committee said that it also acted against Riggleman for his weak
position on “border security and immigration measures.”
In a statement given to NBC News,
committee chair Diana Shores said that Riggleman's decision to
officiate the wedding “contradicted his promises to represent the
district.”
“Mr. Riggleman, who claims to want
government out of marriage, acted as an elected official to perform a
marriage,” Shores said. “Then, he made it clear in the
communications that followed to the leadership of the district that
he didn’t care what we thought about the actions. Each district
committee can decide if they have further confidence in Congressman
Riggleman representing their values. As for me, he doesn’t
represent mine.”
In July, Riggleman officiated the
wedding of Anthony LeCounte and Alex Pisciarino, who volunteered on
his campaign. The wedding took place at a vineyard.
He defended his actions in comments to
The Washington Post.
“My real belief is that government
shouldn’t be involved in marriage at all, but if it is, everybody
has to be treated equally before the law,” he
said. “And that is part of our Republican creed. And it also
comes down to love is love. I’m happy to join two people together
who obviously love each other.”
Riggleman, however, has a spotty record
on LGBT rights. He voted against passage of the Equality Act, a
federal LGBT protections bill, and a resolution opposing President
Donald Trump's ban on transgender people serving openly in the
military.