Virginia AG orders colleges to stop protecting gays

[G_j]

http://rawstory.com/2010/03/virginia-orders-colleges-stop-protecting-gays/


Virginia AG orders colleges to stop protecting gays

By Daniel Tencer
Friday, March 5th, 2010 -- 5:27 pm

Officials and student leaders at Virginia colleges are reacting mutedly, so far, to an order from state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli that the schools stop protecting LGBT students.

In a letter (PDF) sent to the state's public colleges and universities and obtained by the Washington Post, Cuccinelli declared that the schools don't have the authority to uphold bans on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation when the state itself has no such ban.

"It is my advice that the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including 'sexual orientation,' 'gender identity,' 'gender expression,' or like classification, as a protected class within its non-discrimination policy, absent specific authorization from the General Assembly," the letter stated.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell last month reversed an eight-year-old executive order that banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in Virginia. The governor argued that only the state's General Assembly had the power to institute such a policy in the first place.

A bill to ban discrimination against gays was introduced in Virginia's legislature this year, but a Republican-led state House committee killed the bill this week.

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[rucky]

1. This needs to be challenged in court.

total bullshit.

[RKP5637]

2. Bigotry and hate rears it's ugly head once again. n/t

[LiberalFighter]

3. Gee I don't see anything that prohibits Virginia colleges from protecting gays.

23-9.2:3
A. In addition to the powers now enjoyed by it, the board of visitors or other governing body of every educational institution shall have the power:

2. To establish rules and regulations for the conduct of students while attending such institution.

5. To establish rules and regulations for the employment of professors, teachers, instructors and all other employees and provide for their dismissal for failure to abide by such rules and regulations.

[KittyWampus]

4. does this mean according to Cuccinelli that schools don't have the power to set their own policy?

it all seems very regressive.

Besides making Virginia state openly anti-gay, Cuccinelli seems to be overstepping when it comes to how higher educational facilities set their own rules and enforce them.

[G_j]

5. I can't see how this can be legal nt

[CBR]

6. That is sick. nt