Tom Perriello on Civil Rights

Embraces same-sex marriage

It marks a big shift from past statewide races, when Democrats tried to claim the political center. On the campaign trail this go-round, Northam and Perriello are both embracing same-sex marriage, backing pro-choice groups, supporting rights for illegal immigrants and bashing the National Rifle Association.

"Virginia has moved from being a southern state to being a mid-Atlantic state," said former GOP Rep. Tom Davis, Republican. "The politics have gotten much less southern in their nature. Democrats that were nervous about guns, certainly nervous about gay rights, the environment, and abortion--that is no longer the case."

Honor the 100th anniversary of the NAACP.

• Whereas the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP, originally known as the National Negro Committee, was founded in New York City on February 12, 1909, the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth, by a multiracial group of activists who met in a national conference to discuss the civil and political rights of African-Americans;
• Whereas the NAACP is the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the United States;
• Whereas the mission of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination;
• Whereas the NAACP is committed to achieving its goals through nonviolence;
• Whereas the NAACP advances its mission through reliance upon the press, the petition, the ballot, and the courts, and has been persistent in the use of legal and moral persuasion, even in the face of overt and violent racial hostility;
• Whereas the NAACP has used political pressure, marches, demonstrations, and effective lobbying to serve as the voice, as well as the shield, for minority Americans;

Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Congress
1. Recognizes the 100th anniversary of the historic founding of the NAACP.
2. Honors and praises the NAACP on the occasion of its anniversary for its work to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all persons.