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CHRIS JOHNSON
Friday, February 15, 2008
Gay
rights
advocates
in
Virginia
tasted
success
when
the
House
of
Delegates
approved
a
medical
registry
bill
Tuesday,
but
encountered
defeat
after
a
number
of
other
bills
went
up
in
flames.
The
House
passed
the
medical
registry
legislation,
House
Bill
805,
by
a
vote
of
95-4.
The
bill,
sponsored
by
Del.
David
Englin
(D-Alexandria),
would
set
up
a
state
registry
for
living
wills
and
advanced
medical
directives.
The
documents
would
express
an
individual’s
wishes
in
advance
regarding
medical
treatment
in
case
the
individual
was
incapacitated.
Those
in
same-sex
relationships
could
designate
their
partner
as
the
person
who
would
make
medical
decisions
on
their
behalf.
Englin
said
he
is
pleased
that
the
House
approved
the
legislation
“with
such
strong
bipartisan
support.”
Four
Republicans
voted
against
the
legislation:
Kathy
Byron
(R-Campbell
County),
Clarke
Hogan
(R-South
Boston),
Bill
Janis
(R-Glen
Allen)
and
Sam
Nixon
(R-Chesterfield).
A
spokesperson
from
Byron’s
office,
speaking
on
the
condition
of
anonymity,
said
Byron
voted
against
the
bill
because
“she
doesn’t
think
that
the
Department
of
Health
should
be
regulating
this
or
adding
another
responsibility
to
its
already
pretty
big
plate.”
The
spokesperson
said
Byron’s
biggest
concern
was
that
users
would
have
to
remember
a
pass
code
to
access
the
registry.
The
committees
that
read
the
legislation
made
changes
before
the
bill
came
to
the
House
floor.
The
Health,
Welfare
and
Institutions
Committee
approved
a
substitute
mandating
that
Virginia
send
annual
notices
to
people
who
filed
directives
to
remind
them
that
such
documents
are
in
place.
Also,
the
substitute
changes
the
fees
for
filing
a
directive.
The
original
bill
called
for
a
$10
fee
for
filing
a
document,
but
the
substitute
bill
leaves
the
decision
of
the
fee
amount
to
a
regulatory
board.
On
Feb.
8,
the
Appropriations
Committee
approved
another
substitute
that
would
allow
the
Health
Department
to
solicit
federal
or
private
funds
to
maintain
the
registry.
After
approving
the
bill,
the
House
sent
it
to
the
Senate,
where
it
awaits
evaluation.
The
Senate
already
approved
on
Jan.
29
an
almost
identical
piece
of
legislation,
Senate
Bill
290,
sponsored
by
Sen.
George
Barker
(D-Fairfax).
Other
legislation
failed
to
meet
the
approval
of
legislators.
A
Counties,
Cities
and
Towns
subcommittee
voted
on
Feb.
6
to
pass
by
indefinitely
on
a
bill
that
would
have
allowed
Fairfax
County
to
add
sexual
orientation
to
Human
Rights
Ordinance
concerning
hiring
practices,
which
is
applicable
to
both
public
and
private
employers.
The
subcommittee
decision
to
pass
by
indefinitely
on
the
bill,
H.B.
675,
means
that
the
body
will
not
look
at
it
again
for
the
remainder
of
the
legislative
session.
Del.
Charles
Poindexter
(R-Franklin
County)
offered
the
motion,
which
was
approved
with
four
Republicans
voting
“yes”
and
two
Democrats
voting
“no.”
Del.
Ken
Plum
(D-Fairfax),
the
sponsor
of
the
bill,
said
he
had
introduced
the
legislation
about
a
half-dozen
times
before.
“I
keep
hoping
we’re
going
to
make
progress
because
certainly
I
think
the
progress
has
been
in
the
general
public,”
Plum
said.
The
Virginia
Family
Foundation
and
the
Virginia
Catholic
Conference
testified
against
the
bill
before
the
subcommittee.
Jeff
Caruso,
executive
director
of
the
Catholic
Conference,
said
his
organization
“opposes
unjust
discrimination
of
any
individual,”
but
also
said
“there’s
a
just
and
necessary
distinction
to
be
made
between
a
marital
relationship
on
the
one
hand
and
other
forms
of
voluntary
relationships
on
the
other.”
The
Catholic
Conference
is
the
representative
of
the
two
Catholic
dioceses
in
Virginia
on
public
policy
matters.
Caruso
said
the
bill
would
have
interfered
with
how
the
dioceses
run
their
schools.
Caruso
said
if
a
Virginia
Catholic
school
discovered
that
a
teacher
“was
living
with
a
same-sex
partner,
then
that
would
be
something
that
really
wouldn’t
be
in
synch
with
the
values
of
the
employing
institution.”
“The
schools
should
be
free
to
make
decisions
that
are
in
accord
with
their
own
values
and
their
own
mission,”
he
said.
Another
bill
sponsored
by
gay
legislator
Del.
Adam
Ebbin
(D-Alexandria)
failed
in
subcommittee
Feb.
7.
The
bill,
H.B.
865,
would
have
allowed
private
employers
to
extend
life
insurance
policies
to
same-sex
partners.
A
Commerce
and
Labor
subcommittee
made
a
motion
to
report
the
bill
favorably.
Four
Democrats
and
one
Republican
voted
in
favor
of
the
bill,
but
six
Republicans
voted
against
the
bill.
Ebbin
said
he
was
disappointed
the
bill
failed
despite
support
from
the
insurance
industry.
“It
was
clear
that
the
bill
was
permissive
—
it
wouldn’t
require
anyone
to
do
anything,”
he
said.
The
legislation
was
inspired
by
an
Arlington
resident’s
inability
to
take
out
a
life
insurance
policy
on
his
same-sex
partner.
Kelly
Young,
an
H5
Technologies
lawyer,
attempted
to
take
advantage
of
his
company’s
insurance
benefits
to
take
out
a
policy
on
his
partner
of
almost
10
years,
Bill
Reinsmith.
H5’s
insurance
company
told
Young
that
Virginia
law
prevented
the
company
from
allowing
Young
to
take
out
a
policy
on
his
partner.
Young
said
he
was
“disappointed”
that
the
subcommittee
did
not
approve
the
bill
and
attributed
its
failure
to
the
Republican
control
of
the
House.
Other
bills
sponsored
by
Del.
Jim
Scott
(D-Falls
Church)
failed
because
the
House
did
not
take
any
action
on
them
by
the
Feb.
12
deadline.
One
bill
was
H.B.
36,
which
would
have
prohibited
discrimination
on
the
basis
of
sexual
orientation
for
housing.
The
other
bill
is
H.B.
1415,
which
would
have
allowed
local
governments
to
offer
health
insurance
benefits
to
same-sex
couples.
The
Senate
on
Jan.
23
had
already
approved
a
version
of
the
latter
bill,
which
was
sponsored
by
Sen.
Mary
Margaret
Whipple
(D-Arlington)
and
numbered
S.B.
51.
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