Virginian-Pilot
http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=113410&ran=186273&tref=po Allen uses amendment to try to gain traction
By CHRISTINA NUCKOLS AND DALE EISMAN,
© October 28, 2006
RICHMOND - When New Jersey judges this week granted same-sex couples equal rights with heterosexuals in that state, they handed U.S. Sen. George Allen a potent issue to galvanize conservative Virginia voters.
The Republican, locked in an unexpectedly tough race for re-election, immediately latched onto a new theme for his campaign: Virginia's proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions.
The issue previously received little attention from candidates, but Allen's campaign was churning out statements condemning the New Jersey decision within hours of its release. He spent Thursday and Friday traveling between rallies in rural western Virginia to tout his support for Virginia's ballot initiative.
"These judges ... are trying to take away the right of you, the owners of the government, to define marriage, that foundational value of family," Allen told about 75 people huddled under umbrellas outside a courthouse in Harrisonburg, a Republican enclave in the Shenandoah Valley.
Allen has used the rallies to attack his Democratic challenger, Jim Webb, for opposing the amendment. Webb has said the measure's wording is so broad it could infringe on the rights of unmarried heterosexuals to sign legal contracts and medical directives.