Homosexuals: 'Virginia is for haters'
Activists urge boycott after state affirms marriage ban
Posted: June 12, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern
2004 WorldNetDaily.com
Virginia lawmakers' affirmation that marriage is only for one man and one woman
has prompted homosexual activists to call for a boycott of the state's
companies and tourism.
The site was started by Jay Porter and his partner David Smith who live in
Seattle,
Porter says one company to boycott is clothier J.Crew, which markets across the
country but has a customer service and distribution center in Lynchburg, Va.
Another group, Make Love Legal, is targeting the state's 400th anniversary
celebration in 2007 of the founding of Jamestown.
"This whole idea is: Don't spend your money in a place where people hurt you,"
Diane Horvath, a Richmond attorney spearheading the Jamestown initiative, told
the Virginian-Pilot newspaper of Hampton Roads.
Earlier this year, state lawmakers amended the Affirmation of Marriage Act to
also ban civil unions.
In addition, the law prohibits any arrangements "purporting to bestow the
privileges of marriage."
"This is a national issue," said Porter, according to the AP. "Someone came up
with this really punitive legislation and got it through the state legislature
and in my mind, that could happen just about anywhere in the U.S."
Republican Delegate Robert Marshall, who sponsored the bill, said, according to
the AP, he believes Virginia's economy is not threatened.
"If they don't like the expression of the will of the people of Virginia, they
don't have to come here," he said. "This was done by freely elected
representatives."
Contributors to Marshall's campaign also are targeted by Porter's website,
including Altria Group Inc., parent company of tobacco giant Philip Morris.
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