Virginia: Gym backtracks on gay family membership ban
A Virginia gym has lifted its ban on gay family memberships after telling a gay couple their membership was being revoked.
Roanoke Athletic Club told William Trinkle in May that he, his male partner and their two-year-old son were not considered a family under Virginia law and that their membership was being cancelled.
After Mr Trinkle threatened legal action, the gym’s parent company announced that two of its venues would offer ‘household memberships’ open to families headed by gay couples.
Mr Trinkle, who described the decision as a “a punch to our gut”, said he would sue Roanoke Athletic Club and its parent company Carilion Clinic for breach of contract and for violating Virginia’s consumer protection act.
Yesterday, Bud Grey, the vice president of corporate communications, wrote on Carilion Clinic’s Facebook page: “Since opening our doors over three decades ago, we have always strived to provide the very best in service, programs, and staffing. Our goal has been, and always will be to encourage and inspire health and wellness among all members of the communities we serve.”
He added that the company will permit membership to “a primary member and up to one additional household member that permanently lives in the same house, and any of their dependent children under age 22, who also reside in the household on a permanent basis.”
