A lawsuit filed last week in Roanoke Circuit Court by a gay couple has led a Virginia health club to alter its membership structure. The Roanoke Athletic Club, which had first accepted and then revoked the family membership of Will Trinkle, Juan Granados and their 2-year-old son, announced yesterday that it will now offer "household" memberships to unmarried couples with children under 22.
Trinkle's lawsuit had charged that Carilion Clinic, which oversees the Roanoke and Botetourt Athletic Clubs, was in violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. According to the Washington Blade, the club came under further pressure after Mark Ferguson, a gay Washington, D.C., resident who grew up in Roanoke and blogs about Appalachian issues, launched a Change.org petition urging the club to offer family memberships to unmarried couples, ultimately receiving more than 100,000 signatures of support.
A lawsuit filed last week in Roanoke Circuit Court by a gay couple has led a Virginia health club to alter its membership structure. The Roanoke Athletic Club, which had first accepted and then revoked the family membership of Will Trinkle, Juan Granados and their 2-year-old son, announced yesterday that it will now offer "household" memberships to unmarried couples with children under 22.
Trinkle's lawsuit had charged that Carilion Clinic, which oversees the Roanoke and Botetourt Athletic Clubs, was in violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. According to the Washington Blade, the club came under further pressure after Mark Ferguson, a gay Washington, D.C., resident who grew up in Roanoke and blogs about Appalachian issues, launched a Change.org petition urging the club to offer family memberships to unmarried couples, ultimately receiving more than 100,000 signatures of support.
Bud Grey, vice president of Carilion Clinic, announced the policy change in a post to the 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," Grey wrote. "Our goal has been, and always will be to encourage and inspire health and wellness among all members of the communities we serve."
