Reversal in Virginia on Anti-Gay Bias

Inside Higher Ed
March 11, 2010
Virginia's public colleges and universities may be able to ban anti-gay discrimination after all.

Days after the state's attorney general told the institutions that they couldn't ban discrimination against gay people, the governor said they could. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell's announcement came amid growing student protests about the attorney general's policy and strong statements by some college officials that suggested they would ignore the attorney general. Both McDonnell and the attorney general, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, are Republicans.

Cuccinelli infuriated many students and faculty members in Virginia when they learned from The Washington Post that he had sent a letter to public colleges and universities last week saying that they lacked the authority to bar discrimination against gay people as part of their anti-bias policies. Cuccinelli argued that only the General Assembly could bar such discrimination and since it had not done so, the public colleges couldn't.

Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/03/11/virginia

Virginia Executive Directive Reverses Attorney General Position on Gay Rights

Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of the Governor
Executive Directive #1 (2010)

STANDARD OF CONDUCT FORCABINET MEMBERS, EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGENCYHEADS, MANAGERS, SUPERVISORS AND EMPLOYEESCONCERNING EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

As the chief executive officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia,I hereby establish a standard of conduct to ensure that all cabinet members,Executive Branch agency heads, managers, supervisors and employeesunderstand and enforce state and federal law prohibiting employmentdiscrimination.Employment discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated by thisAdministration. The Virginia Human Rights Act recognizes theunlawfulness of conduct that violates any Virginia or federal statute orregulation governing discrimination against certain enumerated classes ofpersons. The Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitutionprohibits discrimination without a rational basis against any class of persons.Discrimination based on factors such as one’s sexual orientation or parentalstatus violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.Therefore, discrimination against enumerated classes of persons set forth inthe Virginia Human Rights Act or discrimination against any class ofpersons without a rational basis is prohibited.Consistent with state and federal law, and the Virginia and UnitedStates Constitutions, I hereby direct that the hiring, promotion,compensation, treatment, discipline, and termination of state employees shallbe based on an individual’s job qualifications, merit and performance. Noemployee of the Executive Branch shall engage in any discriminatoryconduct against another employee.Executive Directive 1 (2010)Executive Directive 1 (2010)Page 2Allegations of any violation of the law or this standard of conduct shall be brought promptly to the attention of the Director of the Department of Human Resource Management for review and corrective action. Any cabinet member, agency head, manager, supervisor or employee who discriminates against a state employee or prospective employee in violation of the law or this standard of conduct shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, ranging from reprimand to termination.I further direct agency heads to ensure that every manager and supervisor in their respective agency is aware of and enforces this standard of conduct. Civility, fair treatment, and mutual respect shall be the standard of conduct expected in state employment.
/s/ Robert F. McDonnell, Governor
http://static.mgnetwork.com/rtd/pdfs/20100310_executive_directive_one.pdf

Virginia HBCUs Struggle With Legal Opinion That Bars Protection for Gays

Diverse Issues in Higher Education
by Peter Galuszka , March 10, 2010

RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia's historically Black colleges and universities are reeling after a controversial legal opinion by Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli that would invalidate any policy erected by public colleges that bans discrimination against gays and lesbians.
"This is having a chilling effect," says Dr. Charles Ford, a professor of history and interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Science at Norfolk State University. He says historically Black schools will be hardest hit if the opinion keeps away private foundation and grant money.
Cuccinelli issued his opinion just days after the state Legislature committee killed a bill to extend anti-discrimination rights to gay state workers. The issue is politically charged because the discrimination issue had been taken up in the Legislature after the state's conservative governor, Robert McDonnell, refused to include gays in an executive order prohibiting discrimination against state workers.
McDonnell’s two Democratic predecessors, former Govs. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, included gays in their anti-discrimination executive orders. During his campaign last year, the socially conservative McDonnell was criticized for a graduate thesis he wrote saying that the government should give married heterosexual couples more rights than "cohabiters, homosexuals and fornicators."

Full Story: http://diverseeducation.com/article/13612/virginia-hbcus-struggle-with-legal-opinion-that-bars-protection-for-gays.html

Students irate at Cuccinelli over gay-rights policies

The Washington Post
By Daniel de Vise and Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Campus activists across Virginia put spring break on hold Monday to mobilize against Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II, who has riled student groups with a letter advising public universities to retreat from their policies against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

More than 3,000 people joined the Facebook page "We Don't Want Discrimination In Our State Universities And Colleges!" Nearly 1,000 people joined another, started by activists at the College of William and Mary. The University of Virginia group Queer & Allied Activism urged students to protest on Cuccinelli's Facebook page and on Twitter.
Students at Virginia Commonwealth University, one of the few in the state not on break, planned a rally for noon Wednesday, with several hundred students committed. At Christopher Newport University, student Republican and Democratic leaders will discuss their next steps at a bipartisan meeting Friday.
"I've never gotten so many e-mails from students wanting to do something," said Brandon Carroll, 21, president of the student government at Virginia Tech. He said any erosion in gay rights at state universities is "going to make us lose top students. It's going to make us lose top faculty."
A growing number of industry leaders have also lined up against the directive from Cuccinelli (R), some portraying it as a threat to the quality and competitiveness of Virginia's higher-education system.
On Thursday, Cuccinelli wrote in a letter that Virginia's public universities could not adopt policies that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation "absent specific authorization from the General Assembly." All of Virginia's largest state schools have adopted such language. Faculty leaders at William and Mary sought expanded protections for gender identity and expression earlier this school year.

Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030804999.html

U.S. to Sign United Nations ‘Gay Rights’ Declaration

CNS News.com
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
By Matthew Lee, Associated Press

Washington (AP) - The Obama administration will endorse a U.N. declaration calling for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality that then-President George W. Bush had refused to sign, The Associated Press has learned. U.S. officials said Tuesday they had notified the declaration's French sponsors that the administration wants to be added as a supporter. The Bush administration was criticized in December when it was the only western government that refused to sign on. The move was made after an interagency review of the Bush administration's position on the nonbinding document, which was signed by all 27 European Union members as well as Japan, Australia, Mexico and three dozen other countries, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Congress was still being notified of the decision. They said the administration had decided to sign the declaration to demonstrate that the United States supports human rights for all. "The United States is an outspoken defender of human rights and critic of human rights abuses around the world," said one official. "As such, we join with the other supporters of this statement and we will continue to remind countries of the importance of respecting the human rights of all people in all appropriate international fora," the official said.

Full Story: http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=45246

Win for Anti-Bias Rules

Inside Higher Ed
March 18, 2009

A federal appeals court on Tuesday gave a major win to public universities and advocates for gay rights who have wanted to preserve in full the institutional anti-bias policies that bar discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled -- in a two-sentence decision -- that the Hastings College of Law of the University of California was within its rights to deny recognition to a branch of the Christian Legal Society. Hastings said that the student group's ban on members who engage in "unrepentant homosexual conduct" violated the law school's anti-bias policies. In turn, the Christian Legal Society argued that its First Amendment rights were being violated by the law school in that it was forcing the law students in the society to abandon their religious beliefs in return for recognition.
The appeals court's decision said simply this: "The parties stipulate that Hastings imposes an open membership rule on all student groups — all groups must accept all comers as voting members even if those individuals disagree with the mission of the group. The conditions on recognition are therefore viewpoint neutral and reasonable."
The court cited a ruling it issued last year upholding the right of a public school district in Washington State to deny recognition to a Bible study group whose members were required to hold certain beliefs. The student group sued, charging a denial of its religious rights. But the appeals court found that because the school district had blanket rules about discrimination -- and was not applying them in any different way to the Bible group -- the regulations were legitimate.
The Ninth Circuit's rulings -- in the Hastings case and the public school case -- may set the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the issues of public universities' right to bar discrimination and religious students' right to practice their beliefs. Advocates for gay rights have had high hopes for the Hastings case -- especially since they won the first round with a federal judge's ruling in 2006 in favor of the law school. Other courts have ruled in favor of the Christian groups on other campuses. In a case that is cited by supporters of the Christian Legal Society, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2005 ordered Southern Illinois University to recognize a chapter of the Christian Legal Society.

Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/03/18/hastings

House Approves Broad Protections for Gay Workers

The New York Times
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 — The House on Wednesday approved a bill granting broad protections against discrimination in the workplace for gay men, lesbians and bisexuals, a measure that supporters praised as the most important civil rights legislation since the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 but that opponents said would result in unnecessary lawsuits.
The bill, the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, is the latest version of legislation that Democrats have pursued since 1974. Representatives Edward I. Koch and Bella Abzug of New York then sought to protect gay men and lesbians with a measure they introduced on the fifth anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, the brawl between gay men and police officers at a bar in Greenwich Village that is widely viewed as the start of the American gay rights movement.
“On this proud day of the 110th Congress, we will chart a new direction for civil rights,” said Representative Kathy Castor, a Florida Democrat and a gay rights advocate, in a speech before the vote. “On this proud day, the Congress will act to ensure that all Americans are granted equal rights in the work place.”
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat and a longtime supporter of gay rights legislation, said he would move swiftly to introduce a similar measure in the Senate. Some Senate Republicans said that, if worded carefully, it would have a good chance of passing, perhaps early next year.
Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, has said that she would be the lead co-sponsor of the Senate bill. Ms. Collins, in a statement, said that the House vote “provides important momentum” and that “there is growing support in the Senate for strengthening federal laws to protect American workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation.”
President Bush threatened to veto an earlier version of the bill, but a White House spokesman, Tony Fratto, said the administration would need to review recent changes before making a final decision. Few Democrats expect Mr. Bush to change his mind.
The House bill would make it illegal for an employer “to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to the compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment of the individual, because of such individual’s actual or perceived sexual orientation.”
While 19 states and Washington, D.C., have laws barring discrimination based on sexual orientation, and many cities offer similar protections, federal law offers no such shield, though it does bar discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, sex, age, disability and pregnancy.
In the House on Wednesday, 35 Republicans joined 200 Democrats voting for the bill, which was approved 235 to 184, perhaps reflecting polls showing that a plurality of Americans believe homosexuality should be accepted as an alternative lifestyle, though a majority still oppose same-sex marriage. Voting against the bill were 25 Democrats and 159 Republicans.
Among the Democrats opposed, many said the bill should have also outlawed discrimination based on gender identity.
And while the Democrats fell far short of the 280 votes that would be needed to override a presidential veto, many of them, including the majority leader, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, spoke about the vote in exuberant tones, calling it “historic” and “momentous.”
For more than 30 years, outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation has been a cause of liberal Democrats, who have fought many partisan battles with Republicans but have always come up short. In 1996, the Senate came within one vote of passing a bill; the House did not vote on the bill that year.
The twist this year is that the measure has emerged as an example of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s pragmatism in trying to make headway on leading issues by granting concessions, even at the risk of angering her party’s base.
[To read the entire article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/washington/08employ.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin ]