WASHINGTON, DC — A two-year-old boy and his two gay fathers will no longer be banned from a Roanoke, Virginia, private swimming pool after more than 150,000 people signed an explosive petition on Change.org urging the Roanoke Athletic Club to change their club's "family membership" policy, which discriminated against same-sex couples.
The Carilion Clinic, which owns the Roanoke Athletic Club, was under fire after at first allowing, and then denying Will Trinkle, Juan Granados, and their two-year-old son Oliver Trinkle-Granados to join the club as a family, prompting the family to file a lawsuit. After hearing about it in the news, Mark Lynn Ferguson — a Roanoke native — launched a Change.org petition that went viral on Tuesday, attracting more than 150,000 signers over the next 48 hours. Late Thursday, the Carilion Clinic announced the policy change on their club's Facebook page.
"Carilion Clinic did the absolute right thing here," said Ferguson, upon hearing the news. "I applaud them for listening to the thousands of people who signed my petition on Change.org, and for moving so quickly to respond to the outpouring of support for Will, Juan, and their son Oliver. Hopefully, more private clubs will follow the leadership of the Carilion Clinic and change their policies as well."
According to the Carilion Clinic's Facebook page, the revised membership policy now "consists of a primary member and up to one additional household member that permanently lives in the household, and any of their dependent children under the age of 22 who also reside in the household on a permanent basis."
"Incredibly, in just a few days, more than 150,000 people signed Mark's Change.org petition calling on the Carilion Clinic to allow gay parents and their kids to swim at the Roanoke Athletic Club," said Joe Mirabella, Campaign Manager for Change.org . "After Mark's campaign went viral, the Carilion Clinic clearly realized that they needed to respond quickly before the issue became a national news story."
Live signature totals for Mark Lynn Ferguson's petition campaign: www.change.org/pool .
Carilion Clinic's Facebook announcement: www.facebook.com/RACBAC/posts/470820219614208 .
For more information on Change.org, please visit: www.change.org/about .
Change.org is the world's fastest-growing platform for social change growing by two million new members a month, and empowering millions of people to start, join, and win campaigns for social change in their community, city and country.