A
gay
Web
site
developer
and
his
partner
have
launched
VirginiaIsForHaters.org,
a
site
dedicated
to
urging
a
boycott
of
Virginia-based
companies
and
their
products
and
services,
in
response
to
a
recently
passed
anti-gay
law
in
the
state.
The
site’s
name
pokes
fun
at
the
longtime
Virginia
travel
slogan,
“Virginia
is
for
lovers.”
Jay
Porter
and
his
partner
David
Smith,
both
residents
of
Seattle,
were
motivated
to
create
the
Web
site
after
the
Virginia
General
Assembly
passed
a
measure
in
April
that
not
only
prohibits
the
state
from
recognizing
civil
unions
but
also
bans
“any
partnership
contract
or
other
arrangements
that
purport
to
provide
the
benefits
of
marriage.”
The
Human
Rights
Campaign
called
the
measure,
“one
of
the
most
discriminatory
and
restrictive
bills
in
the
country.”
“I
was
furious,
and
we
had
posted
a
number
of
items
on
Nonfamous
[another
blog
site
the
couple
operates]
about
this
new
law,
and
it
just
seemed
like
something
that
was
bigger
than
just
a
couple
of
posts,”
Porter
said.
“It
just
seemed
like
in
the
larger
debate
on
same-sex
marriage,
that
this
was
really
an
outrageous
response,
but
for
whatever
reason
it
just
hadn’t
seemed
to
have
gotten
the
attention
that
I
thought
it
deserved.
“I
thought
it
was
a
line
being
crossed
that
this
state
was
taking
away
these
rights
that
were
absolutely
fundamental
…
how
do
you
address
when
a
state
takes
away
your
right
to
enter
into
a
private
contract?”
The
couple
lives
in
Seattle
and
has
no
ties
to
Virginia.
Porter
said
he
was
just
“infuriated”
by
the
law
the
Virginia
General
Assembly
passed
and
felt
that
the
site
would
be
the
most
efficient
way
to
reach
a
larger
audience.
Porter
boasts
that
the
site,
which
took
four
hours
to
set
up,
has
had
5,000
visits
so
far.
“I
just
think
at
a
certain
point
we
have
to
be
honest
with
ourselves
about
what
these
people
have
in
mind
for
us,”
Porter
said.
“This
law
for
me
was
a
wake-up
call
for
that.”
One
of
the
first
items
on
Porter’s
agenda
was
a
call
to
boycott
J.
Crew
Group,
Inc.
—
the
popular
clothing
retailer
—
whose
customer
service
and
distribution
centers
are
both
located
in
Lynchburg,
Va.,
home
to
gay
rights
opponent
Jerry
Falwell.
“I
certainly
know
that
J.
Crew
has
a
number
of
gays
and
lesbians
as
really
good
customers,
but
it
also
really
incorporates
Virginia
into
its
brand
identity,”
Porter
said.
“It’s
just
as
fair
as
the
state
of
Virginia
deciding
to
pick
on
gays
and
lesbians
who
were
in
no
way
harming
anyone
else
by
creating
these
private
contracts.
If
Virginia
is
going
to
be
that
punitive
with
gay
families,
then
that
was
the
bar
that
we
were
operating
under.
These
boycotts
have
been
very
effective.”
Heather
Lynch,
director
of
public
relations
for
J.
Crew,
did
not
respond
to
repeated
Blade
inquiries
seeking
comment.
According
to
Porter’s
Web
site,
“We
think
that
if
the
good
people
of
J.
Crew
(or
their
accountants)
see
a
boycott
as
a
business
issue,
it
is
conceivable
that
they
could
drop
their
politically
inconvenient
affiliation
with
the
State
that
Loves
to
Hate.”
J.
Crew
is,
so
far,
the
only
company
listed
on
the
site
as
a
boycott
target.
Joseph
Price,
the
chair
of
Equality
Virginia,
said
he
salutes
the
new
Web
site
as
a
“proactive”
response
that
will
raise
awareness
of
Virginia’s
new
law.
He
said
his
group
will
soon
implement
an
education
campaign
that
will
target
heterosexuals
in
Virginia.
“We’re
going
to
be
focusing
on
educating
heterosexual
Virginians
about
what
the
legislature
has
done,
because
we
don’t
think
that
your
average
Virginian
would
support
denying
anyone
—
gay
or
straight
—
the
right
to
enter
into
these
contracts,”
Price
said.
Price
confirmed
that
Equality
Virginia
plans
to
file
a
lawsuit
challenging
the
constitutionality
of
the
new
law
before
July
1.
“The
fact
that
there
are
people
talking
about
relocating
out
of
Virginia
or
not
spending
their
tourism
dollars
here,
demonstrates
how
horribly
this
law
is
being
perceived
by
everyone
out
there
but
the
legislature,”
Price
said.
Porter
said
he
ultimately
wants
to
send
a
message
to
the
state
of
Virginia
that
while
legislators
are
free
to
enact
“whatever
laws
they
want
to
make
gays
and
lesbians
feel
unwelcome,”
they
should
“understand
that
those
laws
come
with
a
price.”
“There
are
lots
of
people
who
just
find
things
like
this
just
distasteful
and
disgusting,”
Porter
said.
