# What the FUCK is the Virginia Legislature thinking (gay marriage) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 11, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-the-virginia-legislature-thinking-gay-marriage/244683 "2004-05-11T19:51:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-the-virginia-legislature-thinking-gay-marriage/244683/101 "2004-05-18T16:33:23Z")
Don’t be too discourage, jellyblue. We aren’t all Jerry Falwell-hugging homophobes. Northern VA (which has crept down as far as the Fredericksburg area now - about 40 miles from DC) is a liberal, cosmopolitan place with a large, diverse community (and the prices and traffic to go with it). The governor (who is a Democrat) is from NOVA, and a openly gay man represents one of the districts in NOVA in the House of Delegates. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-the-virginia-legislature-thinking-gay-marriage/244683/102 "2004-05-18T17:07:16Z")
> [@jellyblue](#): > > Good Goddess, no! I guess none have wended their slimey little way down here to SoCA. That’s fucking awful! :eek: Thanks for the link, though. No, no, no. Now that you’ve read it, you’re supposed to immediately fall down on your face and repent to Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-the-virginia-legislature-thinking-gay-marriage/244683/103 "2004-05-18T19:18:09Z")
> [@spectrum](#): > > Really? So if my boyfriend and I live our lives as a couple and would be married if it were allowed, and he falls ill in ten years, I automatically get to make his medical decisions? His family won’t be allowed to bar me from the hospital room? Because if we were married, that would be the case. But since we can’t marry, I might be barred from his room. His parents, who despise him and me, could wrest control of his medical care. He hates them. He loves me. We are together. In a tolerant world, we would be married. So how is that right? > > How is what we’re fighting for not fundamental? Because it’s not necessary. Sign a power of attorney that enables your partner to make medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated and vice versa. Also the two of you should sign a directive to physicians (living will) about whether and when to pull the plug, and include a statement in it that specifically names your partner and grants access to you at any time. I’d get them notarized as well, and make sure your will is up to date. Disclaimer - I am not an attorney. However, I’ve known people in the past who have done that very thing and when the inevitable conflict with the family happened, the hospital backed them and not the family because of those documents. And FWIW, I am not homosexual. I live in a committed partnership with a woman; we are not married. But we have these forms executed and in place in case the worst happens. They work for everybody, married or not, straight or not. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-the-virginia-legislature-thinking-gay-marriage/244683/104 "2004-05-18T20:10:19Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Because it’s not necessary. Sign a power of attorney that enables your partner to make medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated and vice versa. > \ > And FWIW, I am not homosexual. I live in a committed partnership with a woman; we are not married. But we have these forms executed and in place in case the worst happens. They work for everybody, married or not, straight or not. Skip the OP much, **Clothahump**? That’s exactly what they won’t be able to do in VA. From [here](http://www.virginiaisforhaters.org/): > [@Virginiaisforhaters.org](#): > > At the center of HB 751 is this language: > _A civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage is prohibited. Any such civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement entered into by persons of the same sex in another state or jurisdiction shall be void in all respects in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby shall be void and unenforceable._ > **This law not only prohibits civil marriage between same-sex partners, but actively seeks invalidate any and all legal contracts between these individuals.** Durable powers of attorney, health care directives, even wills and property contracts are at jeopardy now that this law has been passed. All of the private contracts entered into by gay couples looking to attain any measure of stability and protection under the rule of law are at risk. The language in this bill represents a new and dangerous low in legislative attacks on the sanctity and stability of homosexuals not only as couples, but as full citizens. It is hateful, dangerous, and demeaning legislation–and it is a shameful action from the state that was the earliest cradle of American democracy. emphasis in original ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-the-virginia-legislature-thinking-gay-marriage/244683/105 "2004-05-18T21:25:46Z")
Slight hijack about the [pink triangle](http://www.glbtq.com/arts/homomonument.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-the-virginia-legislature-thinking-gay-marriage/244683/106 "2004-05-18T22:10:05Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Skip the OP much, **Clothahump**? That’s exactly what they won’t be able to do in VA. From [here](http://www.virginiaisforhaters.org/): > > This law not only prohibits civil marriage between same-sex partners, but actively seeks invalidate any and all legal contracts between these individuals. Durable powers of attorney, health care directives, even wills and property contracts are at jeopardy now that this law has been passed. All of the private contracts entered into by gay couples looking to attain any measure of stability and protection under the rule of law are at risk. The language in this bill represents a new and dangerous low in legislative attacks on the sanctity and stability of homosexuals not only as couples, but as full citizens. It is hateful, dangerous, and demeaning legislation–and it is a shameful action from the state that was the earliest cradle of American democracy. The summary from “[Virginiaisforhaters.org](http://Virginiaisforhaters.org)” is wrong. The law does not prohibit durable powers of attorney, health care directives, wills, or property contracts. The law simply prohibits any “…civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement entered into by persons of the same sex in another state or jurisdiction…” from being enforced in Virginia. It does not prohibit any contract whatsoever between two persons of the same sex. That is a result absurd on its face. The law prohibits Vermont-style civil unions, under any name. It does not prohibit durable powers of attorney, health care directives, wills, property contracts, or anything else. As I said on page one of this thread, I do not support this law. But I also do not support misstatements of fact when attacking this law, especially since it is so vulnerable to attack on its actual merits (or lack thereof). Hysterical hand-wringing about the effects of the law add nothing to reasoned debate. - Rick [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-is-the-virginia-legislature-thinking-gay-marriage/244683.md?page=5)