A Reason to Move

Kent sent me an article that speaks to a lot of my feelings about how many of the states are moving to outlaw marriage rights for gay couples. They article basically spells out why it is such a big issue for us. In this case, this couple used to live in Virginia, a state that has introduced and passed some of the most hateful legislation against gay couples in the nation.

The article is entitled “A Reason to Move” and was written by Lynn Adler.

Imagine that you are looking for a job. Imagine that you are good at what you do, and you have a choice of opportunities. Imagine being offered jobs that were comparable in almost every way, but located in different states.

In one state, you and your spouse would be able to use a family health insurance plan, visit each other in the hospital, and have a relationship and family that was legally recognized. In the other state, your spouse would have to buy separate health insurance, and there would be no guarantee that doctors, hospitals, lawyers, banks, schools, or anyone at all would recognize your relationship or family. [...]

I left a state that did not recognize my relationship in favor of one that did. I was hired as an assistant professor of biology by the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2001. Although I knew that Virginia was a conservative state, I found the department to be very friendly and supportive. Colleagues were welcoming toward my partner, and we enjoyed living in the area. [...]

During those three years, however, my partner and I paid thousands of dollars for private health insurance when my partner was working part time, because she could not get those benefits through me. We did all we legally could to provide ourselves with the rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples, including the right to visit each other in the hospital and make medical decisions for each other. [...]

Because it seemed clear that laws of Virginia were not going to change in any way beneficial to us in the near future, I went on the job market in 2004. I was offered an exciting position at a university in Massachusetts, which had just become the first state where same-sex couples could get married. [...]

Virginia Tech attempted to retain me in my position with a counter offer, and my partner and I had several discussions about what it would take to convince us to stay. In the end, we concluded that no amount of salary, extra funds, or other benefits would counteract the risk that our relationship might not be recognized in a time of crisis.... When I announced my departure, I received an e-mail from an administrator who told me that others had left for similar reasons, but had done so quietly. I spoke out about why I was leaving, and I’m writing this article because I believe it’s important for educators and politicians to understand that discriminatory laws have a price.

The very sad an unfortunate thing in all of this is that Virginia has lost more talent and soul than it realizes. I’m a firm believer that if you don’t give someone your business because of discriminatory practices, that you let them know that they lost your business because of it.

Something happened today as an example of this. Kent needed new running shoes. I suggested that he get two pair; one for the gym and one more suitable for running outside, which he enjoys.

He suggested the Foot Locker. I said, “No way! They discriminate against gay people.” He had forgotten that. I wrote about it at the time, and even sent their corporate office a response to how I felt about their act of discrimination. The Foot Locker later settled their bias suit.

That’s all well and good, but I still have no desire to do business with a company who believes or acts in this manner. So, I will be writing to the Foot Locker corporate office again with a copy of the receipt of the business they lost based on their past discriminatory practices.

I think it’s important to hold people accountable to their beliefs. Many times, as the State of Virginia will eventually find out, those beliefs come with a price tag. What is the price tag for endorsing discrimination? It’s up to those who are discriminated against to bring this to light, just as the couple in the article above has done. And, just as I have done with the Foot Locker.

The military is the same thing, with their Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy. They have lost unbelievable talent because of this stupid discriminatory policy. They are now seeing just how much harm it is doing not only them, but our nation as a whole. I think the general public are starting to realize this and agree that it makes no sense.

Still, you will always have people such as William M. Acker Jr., a senior judge with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in Birmingham, who will argue until the day they die that discrimination against whoever is the unpopular group of the day is just fine in this country. Those days are slowing dieing out.

The conservative movement damning us for being open and honest about ourselves is slowly dieing out. It is isolated in states such as Virginia and Georgia, and that may not change anytime soon. But change is coming, and there’s no stopping it. If there’s one thing history has shown us time and time again, it is that light will always triumph over darkness. Always.