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Please copy, paste, and/or adapt the following letter and SEND IT TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.
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Dear friend,
I'm writing to ask you to join something I just recently learned about: a national boycott of the state of Virginia, where the harshest anti-gay law ever passed by a state legislature will soon go into effect. All businesses located in the state are covered unless and until they publicly urge the Commonwealth of Virginia to repeal the law (companies excluded from the boycott will be posted at VirginiaIsForHaters.org). J. Crew is being especially targeted, for reasons listed below. Gay-owned businesses are excluded.
WHY THE BOYCOTT? The law that goes into effect July 1, HB 751, not only prohibits civil marriage between same-sex partners, but actively seeks to invalidate any and all legal contracts between these individuals. Durable powers of attorney, health care directives, even wills and property contracts are at jeopardy now that this law has been passed.
WHY SHOULD I FOCUS ON J. CREW FOR THE TIME BEING? The boycott's organizers are beginning by focusing attention on J. Crew, for two reasons, (1) lots of gay people shop there, so input from gay consumers matters more to them than to other firms, and (2) it's an old Virginia company that has long been symbolically associated with Lynchburg, Virginia (yet maintains few operations there today). For these reasons, J. Crew is a company that's relatively likely to be willing to issue a public statement quickly. You can take action today by cancelling your subscription to the J. Crew catalog if you currently receive it (instructions below).
WHAT'S THE TEXT OF THE NEW LAW (HB 751)? "A civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage is prohibited. Any such civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement entered into by persons of the same sex in another state or jurisdiction shall be void in all respects in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby shall be void and unenforceable." This endangers all private contracts entered into by gay couples looking to attain any measure of stability and protection under the rule of law.
WHAT CAN I DO RIGHT NOW TO HELP OUT? Email service@jcrew.com with something like the following. "Dear J. Crew: Love your clothes, hate the way your state votes for hate. If you want to know why, check out VirginiaIsForHaters.org and in the mean time, discontinue my subscription to your catalogs. Until Virginia restores the rights of same-sex couples to protect their relationships, I won't be supporting Virginia businesses unless they've joined the effort to repeal the boycott. You might want to let the General Assembly know that a lot of your customers are angry. Sincerely, [name and address]"
WILL IT WORK? Gay boycotts succeeded in getting Florida Citrus to drop its advertising contract with spokeswoman Anita Bryant in 1980. Although studies suggesting that gay people are disproportionately affluent have been debunked (read the book MONEY, MYTHS, AND CHANGE: THE ECONOMIC LIVES OF LESBIANS AND GAY MEN by M. V. Lee Badgett), the gay market has the power of a growing reputation. And with lots more anti-gay ballot measures being considered in others states (perhaps yours?) RIGHT NOW, it's important that we send a strong message to Virginia politicians and companies right away.
Sincerely,
[name]
[I adapted some of the above material from VirginiaIsForHaters.org, where you can read much, much more about the boycott]
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