A Virginia bill that seeks to prohibit
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
cleared a major hurdle on Wednesday.
The Virginia Senate General Laws and
Technology Committee approved the bill, titled the Virginia Values
Act.
Senator Adam Ebbin, a gay Democrat and
the bill's sponsor in the Senate, said in a tweet that the bill
cleared “with 12 votes, in bipartisan fashion.”
LGBT groups cheered passage of the
bill.
“This day was a long time coming,”
the LGBTQ Victory Fund said in a tweet. “Thank you, Senator Ebbin,
for everything you've done to protect LGBTQ Virginians.”
“[W]e are one step closer to ensuring
Virginians are protected from discrimination,” Human Rights
Campaign (HRC) President Alphonso David tweeted.
The proposed legislation is among at
least five LGBT rights bills introduced after Democrats regained
control of the House and Senate for the first time since 1996.
(Related: Bill
that would repeal same-sex marriage ban clears Virginia House.)