Posted on 05/22/2004 5:33:34 PM PDT by RobertP
Is Virginia Really for Lovers? Updated: Saturday, May. 22, 2004 - 3:02 PM
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Gay activists in Virginia are toying with a new motto for the state: "Virginia is for lovers. *Some restrictions apply."
Gays and lesbians are angry and even threatening to leave the state over a new law that will prohibit civil unions and could interfere with contracts between same-sex couples. Some legal experts call it the most restrictive anti-gay law in the nation.
"I won't buy a home in Virginia. I'm done," said Bo Shuff, a 30-year-old gay rights activist who has rented in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Arlington for the last two years.
Added Edna Johnston, a lesbian who has scuttled plans to move her historic preservation consulting business from Washington to northern Virginia: "It's not a signal, it's a message: 'You're not welcome."'
The new law is an amendment to the state's 1997 Affirmation of Marriage Act, which prohibits gay marriages in Virginia. The amendment extends that ban to civil unions, partnership contracts and other "arrangements between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage."
Virginia's attorney general and other supporters say the law provides a needed safeguard for the institution of marriage and does not deprive anyone of individual rights.
But some legal experts say the law is so vague and ill-defined that it could interfere with legal contracts such as powers of attorney, wills, medical directives, child custody and property arrangements and joint bank accounts.
"For the Virginia legislature to go as far as they did, knowing that this is probably unconstitutional, to me it is a political statement," said Henry F. Fradella, a law professor at the College of New Jersey who specializes in gay rights law. "I have not seen anything quite so radical."
The bill's sponsor, Del. Robert Marshall, R-Prince William, said the law is aimed at preventing same-sex couples from acquiring the benefits of marriage through other means. One state, Massachusetts, has legalized gay marriage. Civil unions are legal in Vermont and California and Hawaii have domestic partnership laws that provide legal rights to gay relationships. New Jersey has a partnership law taking effect July 1.
"Civil union is a proxy for marriage and domestic partnership is a proxy for civil unions," Marshall said.
Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, the likely Republican nominee for governor next year, echoed this in an advisory opinion, saying he believed the law was constitutionally defendable.
Conservative groups such as the Family Foundation also have praised the law, which passed the Republican-controlled legislature by a veto-proof margin after Democratic Gov. Mark R. Warner tried to amend it to make it less restrictive.
Warner said the bill interferes with people's right to enter contracts and violates the 14th Amendment's guarantee to due process and equal protection. He said constitutional scholars across the state urged him to veto it.
"I think the courts will show that it's unconstitutional," Warner said. "This bill went way beyond gay marriage and civil unions."
The state's leading gay rights organization, Equality Virginia, is discussing options for challenging the law with the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal, a national gay and lesbian advocacy group. A statewide protest is planned June 30, the day before the law takes effect.
But some gays say the piling on of anti-gay legislation is starting to wear them down.
Virginia is the only state where companies not large enough to underwrite their own insurance policies are prohibited from offering domestic partner benefits. The state bans joint adoptions by same-sex couples and refuses to list the names of same-sex couples from other states on the birth certificates of children adopted here.
Lawmakers also shot down attempts this year to rewrite the state's anti-sodomy in law to conform with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down a law that made homosexual sex a crime.
Barry Parsons, a 39-year-old lawyer, left Virginia for Washington, D.C., in 1999 so he and his same-sex partner of 12 years could adopt a baby. He said Virginia could suffer economically if more professional gays like him move out.
"I went to law school in Virginia ... and the state of Virginia invested a substantial amount of money in my education," Parsons said. "After four years I left and that's when my income started to pick up. Now all my taxes are going to D.C."
Brad Haransky, a 43-year-old director of membership for a Washington lobbying firm, said he and his longtime partner moved to Virginia three years ago to escape the city. Now they're thinking about moving back.
"I had planned to have a long future in Virginia because I like it here," he said. "But the question is, 'What will the future hold as long as we have a Republican legislature who puts through such a badly written bill?"'
Haransky said he was looking at $400,000 homes in his Arlington neighborhood before he became aware of the law.
"If every gay person said, 'We're out of here,' we'd crash the market big time," he said. "In some neighborhoods (in Arlington), every third or fourth house is gay-owned."
Victoria Cobb, lobbyist for the Family Foundation, called this a "ridiculous threat."
"This reminds me of the Hollywood elite's reaction to Bush being elected," she said in reference to threats by some actors to leave the U.S. following the 2000 presidential election. "Virginia has always elevated marriage over all other relationships. Traditional marriage is undeniably beneficial to the economy."
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
"Gays and lesbians are angry and even threatening to leave the state over a new law that will prohibit civil unions and could interfere with contracts between same-sex couples."
As my mother always says, "Don't let the door hit you on your butt on your way out."
Heck...I'll hold the door open for them!
Don't know the origin of the slogan, but I can't say I found it grabbing.
Yes please do leave the Red Zone. If gays want to get married, then they should all move and stay in Kerryland. This way, everyone will be happy.
FYI
And, they think that will hurt some feelings?
Interesting tactic: "Pass more legislation against me and I'm leaving!" If the people passing the laws didn't want you around in the first place, sems like this threat would just be encouraging them to pass more.
Try Taxsachusetts. They will welcome you and your taxes with open arms.
ping!
Please leave.
Homosexual Agenda Ping - Hey, more good news!
"Gays and lesbians are angry and even threatening to leave the state over a new law that will prohibit civil unions and could interfere with contracts between same-sex couples. Some legal experts call it the most restrictive anti-gay law in the nation."
Ooooh, threatening to leave the state! Woe, woe! No dounbt the conservatives are fretting about that!
let me know if anyone wants on/off this pinglist.
No.
"It's not a signal, it's a message: 'You're not welcome."'
Damn skippy!
This is a prediction, not a threat: There will be gay lynchings in Virginia before there are gay 'marriages'.
After his death, Osama bin Laden tried to enter heaven, but he was greeted at the gate by George Washington, who pummeled him across the face and yelled at him, "How dare you try to destroy the nation I helped conceive!"
Patrick Henry approached and punched Osama in the nose and shouted,"You wanted to end our liberties but you failed."
James Madison entered, kicked Osama in the groin and said,"This is why I allowed our government to provide for the common defense!"
Thomas Jefferson came in and proceeded to beat Osama many times with a long cane and said, "It was evil men like you that provided me the inspiration to pen the Declaration of Independence!".
These beatings and thrashings continued as John Rudolph, James Monroe and 66 other early Americans came in and unleashed their anger on the Muslim terrorist leader.
As Osama lay bleeding and writhing in unbearable pain an Angel appeared. Bin Laden wept in pain and said to the Angel, "This is not what you promised me."
The Angel replied, "I told you there would be 72 Virginians waiting for you in heaven. What did you think I said?"
"I won't buy a home in Virginia. I'm done," said Bo Shuff, a 30-year-old gay rights activist who has rented in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Arlington for the last two years.
As a resident of VA, let me be the first to tell Mr. Shuff: "buh bye".
In fact, Virginia should also consider transferring the Beltway counties to Maryland for the Eastern Shore counties of the latter state. Such a tradeoff would break 350 year old boundaries, but place liberal areas with a fundamentally liberal state and conservative areas with a fundamentally conservative state.
Thanks for the ping.
Whiny little brats.
I can see the anti-smoker whiners now comparing me to these people because of the timing of my move from Delaware to Virginia - right after the smoking ban and a doubling of the cigarette tax.
Of course that had nothing to do with the move which was in the planning for 3 years prior to those things happening in Delaware - but why confuse them with facts.
These whiners are just using this as an excuse, I would bet they had plans on leaving anyway.
As another poster said - Don't let the door hit you on the way out!!!
D.C should be a state consisting of the city, along with Montgomery, Prince George, Arlington, and Fairfax counties. Yes, D.C will be a liberal cesspool with 7-9 electoral votes. But, MD will be a GOP leaning state and VA will be a hyper GOP state.
WRONG!!! YOU invested a substantial amount of money FOR your education in VA, and we thank you for your contribution...
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