Virginia State Court of Appeals: Law recognizes same-sex relationships similar to marriage

[Doondoo]

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Even though same-sex couples can't get married in Virginia, they can live together in a situation that's comparable to marriage in the eyes of the law, the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

A three-judge panel unanimously reversed Fairfax County Circuit Judge M. Langhorne Keith's ruling that the word "cohabit" can only apply to a man and a woman because of the state law barring gay marriage.

.......

University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias said the appeals court seemed to be treating same-sex couples the same as heterosexual couples - but only in the narrow analysis of contract law, not the broader public policy context.

Chris Freund, spokesman for conservative Family Foundation of Virginia, said the ruling proves that opponents of last year's constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriages and civil unions were wrong in claiming the measure would interfere with private contract rights.

"Today's decision is simply about a contract between two people and has nothing to do with how the Commonwealth of Virginia defines or recognizes marriage," he said.

But David Spratt, former chairman of the Virginia Bar Association's Domestic Relations Section, said the ruling could have more far-reaching consequences depending on how this area of the law evolves.

"The legislature certainly does not recognize same-sex relationships as anything - they don't even recognize the capacity of same-sex couples to contract," said Spratt, now a legal rhetoric professor at American University, Washington College of Law. "So the fact that a court is saying a relationship between same-sex couples can be analogous to marriage is important."



http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VA_VACAP_COHABITATION_VAOL-?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=STATE