This change is necessary so that gay and lesbian state employees, who cannot legally marry their partners, receive compensation for their work that equals the compensation offered to straight employees. Especially when a couple is raising a child, families benefit if one partner can be self-employed or work part-time, while the other is the primary breadwinner who works full time and provides health insurance. Right now, a straight employee of the state of Virginia could be that primary breadwinner, but a gay employee could not.