Virginia may not be the most anti-gay state in the union, but the Republican-controlled legislature is determined to make a strong effort in competing for that title. The facts that it is one of only two states that holds elections this year and has a compressed 45-day legislative session ending in April have fueled an orgy of anti-gay legislation.

Hundreds of GLBT members packed a Jan. 31 meeting of Equality Fairfax to learn what they could do to blunt that attack. Fairfax County, in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, is one of the wealthiest counties in the country and at just over 1 million people, is the largest jurisdiction in Virginia.

“We need to create an energy, an awareness, and a political strength that holds people accountable,” said Jay Fisette, the openly gay chair of the neighboring Arlington County Board of Supervisors. “If we can hold the line and keep things from happening” this year, then the longer term looks better.

The crown jewels in the legislative tiara of homophobia are a handful of amendments to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage. The only question is which version will make it out of committee. A simple majority is required in each house of the Legislature, but it must be passed by two separately elected legislatures. Gay rights advocates expect it to be on the ballot in November 2006.

Paula Prettyman, president of Equality Fairfax, said they are realistic in not thinking that they can block the amendment in the Legislature. Elected officials have dodged the issue by saying they are just letting the people decide.

The Marriage Affirmation Act, passed last year, can be interpreted to nullify civil unions, domestic partnerships and durable powers of attorney agreements to make decisions on healthcare.

There was spirited debate as to whether proposed clarifying amendments to that measure would help gays or whether they were meant to take care of the concerns of heterosexuals inadvertently included in the broad reach of the act.

Virginia already is the only state that prohibits private employers from adding anyone other than a legal spouse or dependent child to a group health plan.

The state that brought you the bumper sticker “Virginia is for Lovers” wants you to paste it over a “traditional marriage” license plate. The House of Delegates passed that bill on February 2, 62-35. It would depict interlocking gold wedding bands over a red heart.

It is unclear whether the Senate will follow suit, but should it pass, Equality Virginia will distribute rainbow flag decals to affix to such license plates.

Down in the Capitol in Richmond, Delegate Adam Ebbin, the only openly gay member of that body, took on a bill seeking to ban gay-straight alliances from meeting in schools across the state.

The sponsor has alleged that homosexuality causes depression, suicide and alcoholism. At a hearing on the measure, Ebbin responded, “Being gay doesn’t cause these problems. Isolation, abuse and oppression do. For many teens, gay-straight alliances are a lifeline; they are not a dating service.”

A measure to ban adoption by gays also is in the legislative hopper.

Another measure before the Legislature would allow congregations, who vote to leave their denominations, to keep their property and take it with them. Most religious denominations place such ownership with the national body.

This would have the most immediate impact on conservatives within the Episcopal Church who have threatened to split off over issues of ordination of gays and the blessing of same-sex unions. The property issue has been a major factor in restraining such a schism.

The fate of this measure is unclear because some see it as government intruding into the realm of religion, while others do not.

“I already have 16 years of my life invested in the state of Virginia and I will not be driven out,” said Kim Mills during a private discussion following the meeting. The former long-time employee of the Human Rights Campaign has become active in the legislative fights within the state.

“Virginia is on the brink of making itself infamous” for its anti-gay laws, she said. “We are already the state of Loving v. Virginia [where the Supreme Court ended the state’s ban on interracial marriage], and the Sharon Bottoms case [where Bottoms lost custody of her child to her parents because she was gay]. There is a history of intolerance toward the GLBT community. The fact that the sodomy laws are still on the books is outrageous. This state has to come into the 21st century.”