Festival-Goers Aim To Fight Virginia's Marriage Measure

Paula Prettyman showed her pride yesterday by walking with her friends in front of a float for Freddie's Beach Bar, a gay bar in Arlington that bills itself as "straight-friendly."

Kris McLaughlin showed her pride riding in a convertible around Dupont and Logan circles for a parade in which she was honored for five years of activism in Northern Virginia's gay community.

David Weintraub showed his pride waving a placard for a gay rights group he helped found in Loudoun County.

Prettyman, McLaughlin and Weintraub were among thousands of people who marched through Northwest Washington in one of the final events of the week-long Capital Pride festivities. The celebration sponsored by the Whitman-Walker Clinic has been marked by more than a dozen events, some high-minded, such as a town hall-style meeting and prayer services, and some whimsical, including cabaret performances and pageants.

Capital Pride ends today with a street festival that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors downtown to hear entertainers, among them Thelma Houston and the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington. The performances run from noon to 7 p.m.

But for many participants, a political cloud hangs over the 31st annual Capital Pride in light of a renewed attempt to ban gay marriage.

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday defeated a constitutional amendment, backed by President Bush, that would prohibit same-sex marriage. And, in Virginia, some Republican legislators are seeking support for a ballot measure in November that would amend the state constitution to recognize marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Amid the party atmosphere and colorful celebrations, participants were focusing on their efforts to mobilize opposition to the ballot measure. At today's street festival, a coalition of more than 10 Virginia organizations will gather in a tent at Constitution and Pennsylvania avenues NW to register voters and encourage people to sign pledges to vote no on the November measure.

"We're taking every opportunity to talk to voters face-to-face about this issue," said Dyana Mason, executive director of Equality Virginia, one of several organizations campaigning against the amendment. "We want to catch as many Virginia voters as we can in our booth and tell them to vote no."

Supporters of the efforts in the federal government and Virginia to ban gay marriage are working to preserve marriage as a union between one man and one woman. They assert that the traditional definition of marriage could be undermined by judges who force states that do not allow same-sex marriage to recognize such unions from other states.

The Virginia constitutional amendment would prohibit "a legal status for the relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effects of marriage." Moreover, it would ban any other "union, partnership or other legal status" that would provide "the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities or effects of marriage."

Activists assert that the Virginia measure is redundant. Virginia is among 43 states that ban gay marriage. A 2005 law included in the state's Affirmation of Marriage Act a prohibition on recognition of same-sex civil unions or partnership arrangements.

The activists argue that the measure would have broad implications for gays and for unmarried heterosexual couples seeking legal recognition.

A poll the coalition commissioned last summer showed the measure would pass with 54 percent support. At the same time, though, 59 percent supported civil unions and 90 percent supported such rights as allowing gays to make medical decisions for their partners.

"I think if people knew what the amendment says and what it will do, they won't support it," said Weintraub, president and founder of Equality Loudoun. If it passes, "it will be one more way of telling us we're not welcome in the state."

Prettyman said she fears that if the amendment passes, she and her partner, who own a home in Vienna, will lose property and medical protections that they have established.

"If there were an accident, I'd be concerned about a nurse challenging my medical directive giving Kelly the right to make a medical decision on my behalf," said Prettyman, president of Equality Fairfax. "Our fear is that a family member could overrule a hospital directive or property decision."

The activists say concern over the amendment has boosted their membership.

"A lot more allies are coming forward to support us -- more than ever before," said McLaughlin, president of the Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance. "People generally want things in life to be fair, and they see this as being unfair."