Just across the border from a state where steady advances toward marriage equality continue (Maryland), Virginia's governor is poised to sign a bill which will ban all forms of legal recognition of gay couples, including civil union, domestic partnership, and marriage.
Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat who was sworn into office this month, has indicated he will sign the bill, which was approved by the state Senate by a vote of 28-11 on Jan. 25. The governor, who was elected with the backing of most of the state's bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender groups, is nonetheless opposed to marriage equality and civil unions. Kaine does not, however, support the additional language in the recently passed bill, which also bans other forms of recognition that "approximate marriage." The bill, when signed, will allow this issue to be placed on the ballot for vote as an amendment to the state constitution.
Against this backdrop, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, VA, publicly presented its support of marriage equality when approximately sixty gay and heterosexual couples, some of whom have been together for twenty-five years or more, reaffirmed their vows of commitment on January 23. "Whether you are married in the eyes of the law or only in the eyes of your family, this ceremony is for you," the Rev. Richard Nugent told those gathered for the service. In light of Unitarian Universalism's principles that call people to work toward equality, the Arlington congregation thought it important to raise their voice. "To put it bluntly," said Nugent, "this amendment is mean-spirited, arises out of political expediency and fuels ungrounded fear and bigotry."
The Arlington event follows stories of heartbreaking disappointment for same sex couples and an atmosphere of hatred and discrimination that has cropped up in some parts of Virgnia.
In February 2005, members of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Reston, Virginia said they were surprised that a sign posted in front of the church supporting marriage equality was vandalized after it had stood untouched for several months. While no phone calls or other communications from people in Reston who might have been opposed to the sign's sentiment had been received, the vandalism caught the community by surprise: the congregation's minister, the Rev. Sydney Wilde, noted that Reston has been a community founded on principles that encourage diversity of all kinds.
And in December, 2005, the Washington Post carried a story focusing on the plight of a Virginia same sex couple 
in a long term relationship who reluctantly decided to leave their home and move to Maryland in response to the passage of anti-gay legislation. Barbara Kenny and Tibby Middleton, who are members of the Fredericksburg Unitarian Universalist fellowship, have been together for forty years. Recently Barbara Kenny said that the new Virginia law "has driven us to leave the state of Virginia. Our emotions are all over the place. We know we'll never be able to replace the community in Maryland that we have here, and that is a great sadness."
