Robert Gerald Marshall (born May 3, 1944) is an American businessman, author and former politician, who was a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 13th District. His district included portions of Prince William and Loudoun counties. He is known for his failed "bathroom bill" proposal, which would have forced people to use restrooms that correspond with the sex on their original birth certificates. In the November 7, 2017, general election, Marshall was defeated by nine percentage points by Democrat Danica Roem, the first openly transgender candidate elected to a state legislature in the United States.
In 2008, Marshall ran for the United States Senate seat being vacated by John Warner, but he finished second to Jim Gilmore by 66 votes out of over 10,000 cast at the Republican convention. In January 2012, Marshall announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jim Webb. He lost in the Republican June primary to George Allen, winning only 7 percent of the vote.
Early life, education, and business career
Marshall received his education from Montgomery College, Belmont Abbey College, and California State University, Northridge. Before election to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1991, Marshall was a staffer for the American Life League, an organization which opposes all forms of abortion and birth control. After his election, he continued to work for the organization, including a stint as executive director in the mid-1990s and now as a research consultant. He belongs to the All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas, Virginia.
His sister is actress Paula Marshall.
Virginia House of Delegates
Elections
In 1991, Marshall ran for the House of Delegates 13th District seat, which was held by Democrat Joan Munford but left open after the 1990 redistricting process which caused Munford to run in the 12th District. Marshall faced Democrat Dale Reynolds and won handily, 58%-42%. After winning the seat, Marshall was challenged and won in every election except 2003, when he ran unopposed, and 2017, which he lost to Danica Roem. He won with 66% of the vote in 1993, 80% in 1995, 85% in 1997, 61% in 1999, 63% in 2001, 55% in 2005, 58% in 2007, 61% in 2009, 60% in 2011, 51% in 2013, and 56% in 2015.
"No confidence" in House Republican leadership
In September 2007, Marshall introduced a resolution "of no confidence in the policies of the current House of Delegates Republican Leadership as pursued from 2002 to the present". Among Marshall's complaints were that the Republican leaders were "Allowing government spending to increase at new record levels of spending" and that they were making policy decisions "in a small closed group and in a secretive manner without benefit of wide Caucus input or knowledge". For the latter, he said that the leadership, in late 2006, "prepared a transportation bill which Caucus members were expected to accept without discussion or critical input". According to some state legislators, the only vote in favor of Marshall's resolution was that of Marshall himself.
Topics of action
Birth control
In 1989, when Marshall was working as the research director of the American Life League, he told The Boston Globe that he opposes all forms of abortion and birth control that take effect after conception. "We're against the IUD and pills, too. They don't prevent ovulation and conception, they prevent implantation, which is abortion."
According to the Globe, Marshall also "railed" against Norplant, a contraceptive not-yet-marketed at the time that is implanted under the skin and works for up to five years. "It's a real tribute to women's intelligence," Marshall told the reporter. "They feel so irresponsible they can't do something once a day?" Norplant was eventually removed from the U.S. market for "business reasons". Because of health concerns, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended that women consider other forms of birth control.
When asked about abortion in the case of incest, Marshall replied that sometimes incest is voluntary. In response to abortions in the case of rape, Marshall said, "Your origins should not be held against you [referring to the victim's unborn child]. The woman becomes a sin-bearer of the crime, because the right of a child predominates over the embarrassment of the woman."
The measure, barring public colleges from making the morning-after pill available, went on to pass 54–46 in the House but ultimately failed in the Senate.