Today is the beginning of a new year as far as laws and regulations are concerned here in the backwards Commonwealth of Virginia.
From the Richmond Times Dispatch: “Michael Schewel, state secretary of commerce, read a statement from Warner [Governor Warner], who is on vacation.
“This law [HB 751] raises serious constitutional issues, and it places Virginia outside the mainstream of other states when it comes to respecting individual liberty,” the governor said in the statement.” (I would link to the RTD but their site is unfriendly).
From the same article, there is a quote that I find ridiculous and disheartening (I put it in italics):
“The conservative-leaning Family Foundation, which lobbied for the bill, said the new wording would not affect the contracts that any Virginian, including homosexuals, enter into. Opponents are waging a campaign of fear, said Victoria Cobb, director of legislative affairs for the foundation.
The law reflects the values of mainstream Virginians, Cobb said in a statement.”
I find that I’m increasingly not “mainstream”. I wonder what I am then. According to a handy thesaurus, the antonyms to mainstream include abnormal, above par, atypical, and exceptional. In certain kinds of light, I’m sure I’m all of those.