"Paradise Lost" (Washington Post re: Lesbians' Exit from Virginia)

Barbara Kenny's eyes narrow as she cranks the faucet in a freshly painted bathroom of what will soon be her new home in Frederick. [....]

"This just makes me madder and madder," Barbara says, staring out the window at the bare February landscape. "I mean, this is a perfectly fine house, it's just not where we want to be."

Where they want to be is Virginia, in the little townhouse in downtown Fredericksburg they've owned for 17 years, in the community they've come to treasure. It took them three decades of isolation and living in the closet to find Fredericksburg, and come out as lesbians. [....]

[They] were watching television in their living room rocking chairs in the summer of 2004 when they heard the news they'd been dreading for months. A new law in Virginia had taken effect, called the Affirmation of Marriage Act. It declared that couples like them were not entitled to any of the benefits or protections that straight, married couples got. [....]

For Barbara and Tibby, the legal language it used was scary: 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 and such an arrangement entered into in another state or jurisdiction is void in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby are void and unenforceable.

Tibby initially refused to believe that the legislation was aimed at Barbara and her. They were law-abiding, low-key Virginians, people who ran their neighborhood homeowners association, called bingo nights at the firehouse and served on their church's board of trustees. "That's not meant to include us. It means people who come from other states," Tibby said with her typically earnest tone to Barbara, who responded with a typically skeptical look.

"Writing a law which may have the result of nullifying someone’s preference on matters such as the validity of medical directives is quite another, and to do seems to me at best careless and at worst mean-spirited.

Power Of Attorney is Power Of Attorney, whether it is wielded by one's spouse, friend or lover.

What we have just read is an elaborate exercise in gay propaganda."

You are correct in your entire post, including the power of attorney aspect. The Washington Post at it's finest, once again. Notice that the article portrays two older lesbians who have allegedly been in a monogamous relationship for a number of years. This was NOT done by accident, but was a calculated move to show the subject manner in the best possible light. The subjects were chosen for their "appeal" factor. Do the people who write and publish this drivel think the readers are stupid?

Film documents law's effect on same-sex couple

A Unitarian Universalist couple leaves Virginia to preserve their rights.

By Amelia Koford
Fall 2005 8.15.05

Fredericksburg, Va. - Suzanne Moe planned to screen her first documentary just once--to help her church, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg, Virginia, better understand the plight of a same-sex couple in the congregation. But within a few months of the December 2004 screening more than 1,000 copies of the film had been distributed to congregations, libraries, and individuals across the country.

The documentary, Barbara and Tibby: A Love Story--in the Face of Hate, tells the story of Barbara Kenny and Tibby Middleton, who have been together for 39 years. The couple decided to leave Virginia after the July 2004 passage of legislation restricting their rights as a same-sex couple. “I was so moved when I knew they were leaving, I knew I had to do something,” Moe said.

After Kenny was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm in 2001, the couple made sure they had the power to deal with each other’s medical and legal affairs. But the 2004 law prohibiting any “arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage” is so broadly worded that it could supersede contracts such as powers of attorney, property rights, and medical directives. Kenny and Middleton decided to leave Virginia rather than risk their contracts being challenged.

The premiere of Moe’s documentary drew the largest crowd the church had ever held. “The atmosphere was so supportive and emotional,” Moe said. It validated the couple’s decision to share their story.

The film DVD and a study guide will be available in all districts.

http://tinyurl.com/7slod

http://www.uuworld.org

Liberal religion and life

Documentary Explores Impact of Virginia Law
Couple forced to leave state because of anti-gay legislation

FREDERICKSBURG, Va.—In 2004, over the protests of the governor of Virginia, the state legislature went further than any other in the country in passing legislation to prohibit same-sex unions by any name. "Barbara and Tibby: A Love Story in the Face of Hate" looks at the impact of the law through the lives of one Virginia couple, forced to leave the state when the discriminatory and arguably unconstitutional legislation went into effect.

Barbara Kenny and Tibby Middleton, both in their 60s, had lived quietly, silently bearing the burden of discrimination throughout their lives. They are not activists; they are simply two people who have loved each other for nearly 40 years, and wanted to live out the rest of their lives together, confident that legal steps they’d taken would enable them to always care for each other. Virginia’s Affirmation of Marriage Act robbed them of that peace of mind.

HB 751, which became Virginia Code Section 20–45.3, prohibits people of the same sex from entering into legal arrangements “purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage.” Many lawyers believe the law could impact wills, medical directives, powers of attorney, and other legal documents, not just between same-sex couples, but between any persons of the same sex.

Suzanne Moe, Photo by Scott Neville, Free Lance-Star Virginia artist Suzanne Moe put a human face on the people targeted by this controversial legislation, interviewing her friends after they made their decision to leave their home. Combined with family photos, and music from Uppity Blues Woman Gaye Adegbalola, Moe’s partner and close friend of the couple, "A Love Story in the Face of Hate" provides an insightful, entertaining and educational glimpse into the often misunderstood “gay lifestyle.”

This story, however, transcends gay rights—it is a story about human rights.

Though she planned only to screen the documentary for friends, to help them understand why Barbara and Tibby had to leave, Moe’s documentary—and the powerful story it tells—has taken on a life of its own. The documentary already has been shown throughout the state, including a screening by Equality Virginia, the state’s leading gay-rights organization, at the Virginia General Assembly’s lobbying day during the 2005 session. Though the law has passed, and Barbara and Tibby have left Virginia, the controversy is far from over. During the 2005 session, the General Assembly passed an amendment that would write this anti-gay discrimination in to the Virginia Constitution. It will go before the legislature again during the 2006 session, and if it’s passed there, could be put before voters as early as November 2006.

“Inform, educate and activate,” Moe said. “That is our mission.”

* * *
Attorney Leila Kilgore provides legal interpretation.
Also included are three songs by Gaye Adegbalola (of Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women), with accompaniment by Roddy Barnes.

* * *
Copies of “Love Story” DVD are available for sale, and public screenings, complete with an educational program, are being arranged.

http://www.sumoe.com/lovestory/

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