Virginia Is For Lovers (Some Restrictions Apply)

Virginia's anti-gay law called strictest in nation

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
RICHMOND, Va.—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….

Edna Johnston, a lesbian who has scuttled plans to move her historic preservation consulting business from Washington to Virginia, said: "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. 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."

Some legal experts say the law is so vague it could interfere with powers of attorney, wills, medical directives, child custody, property arrangements and joint bank accounts.