Virginia Is For Bigots

This story makes me happy to be in Pennsylvania where the skinheads only try and kill you for being gay. Oh, excuse me, I suppose that makes us worse doesn't it? Virginia, famous for its slogan "Virginia is for Lovers" will have to begin modifying that phrase to add "unless you're gay." The Commonwealth has passed legislation making any contract between same sex couples illegal. The result is an exodus of gays and lesbians from Virginia.

Because marriage and all the rights bestowed by the legal designation are denied to same sex couples they, for years, have sought some limited legal protections through attornies. They have drafted contracts regarding joint ownership of assets, to provide for children, to guarantee hospital visitation rights and end of life decisions, etc. This has provided a niche practice for many lawyers while the cost has been a barrier for many couples who must do without the protections afforded by these documents.

The Virginia law prohibits any such agreements. This goes well beyond simply denying marriage rights. It denies all such rights in any form. If people doubt the existence of a system of sexual apartheid this should remove all doubts. We're living in a society with two classes of citizens: straights and gays. Straights have full rights and gays have limited rights. That's apartheid.

The result of this evil legislation in Virginia is that many gay and lesbian couples are moving. Virginians will be the worse for it. Many are college professors and administrators, shopkeepers, professionals, artists, every facet of a community. I hope all those prissy bigoted Republican women lose their hairdressers. That may be the only thing that awakens them from their delusions.