Virginia AG reaffirms stance on college sexual orientation policies

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli writing in the Richmond Times-Dispatch: “The General Assembly has considered and defined the protected classes for purposes of nondiscrimination statutes. It has specifically defined unlawful discrimination at educational institutions. The Virginia Human Rights Act states that it is the policy of the commonwealth to ‘safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, or disability, in places of public accommodation, including educational institutions.’ In addition to this affirmative statement, the General Assembly has on numerous occasions, including this session, considered and rejected creating a protected class defined by sexual orientation. No state agency can reach beyond such clearly established boundaries.”
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(3.5.2010) Washington Post: “Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II has asked the state’s public colleges and universities to rescind policies that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, arguing in a letter sent to each school Thursday that their boards of visitors have no legal authority to adopt such statements.”