Family Refused Country Club Membership

A country club in Norfolk, Va., voted last week to allow two married women to join, but only as individuals, not as a family.

Shannon Bowman and Martha Daas would pay about $3,200, or twice the family rate, in fees and annual dues to join the Mallory Country Club in West Ghent as individuals. The married couple is raising two children together, but same-sex marriage is not recognized in Virginia.

Mallory Country Club members recently voted on whether to accept or reject the family's membership application, and while a majority of voters sided with the women, it wasn't enough to approve their application, according to the Virginian-Pilot.

Roughly 180 votes out of 311 were cast to support family memberships for same-sex couples with children, the Virginian-Pilot reported. But a two-thirds majority -- or 207 votes -- was required to put the measure through.

Bowman, Daas, and another same-sex couple launched their membership effort this year when they wanted to take their 8-year-old daughter to the club's pool.