Are Bob McDonnell and Ken Cuccinelli using the law to hide their discriminatory ambitions?

The short answer here is yes. There’s no reason to believe that Bob McDonnell omitted employment protections for LGBT state employees from his executive order or Ken Cuccinelli advised state colleges to remove such protections from their policies for any reason other than the unfortunate fact that the LGBT community is a target of the current conservative administration.

Both Republicans have a clear record of supporting the legal discrimination of LGBT peoples in the commonwealth of Virginia.

As Attorney General of Virginia, McDonnell helped write and supported the passage of the Marshall-Newman Amendment, which very narrowly defines marriage in the commonwealth as being only between one man and one woman, a point McDonnell bragged about to his mentor, Pat Robertson. In addition, while a student at Pat Robertson’s school, McDonnell penned a thesis where he argued that the courts had created the “perverted notion of liberty that each individual should be able to live out his sexual life in any way he chooses without interference from the state”, and that, “man’s basic nature is inclined toward evil, and when the exercise of liberty takes the shape of…homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish, and deter.”

Ken Cuccinelli made his views very clear just before being elected in 2009 by telling the Virginian-Pilot, “My view is that homosexual acts, not homosexuality, but homosexual acts are wrong. They’re intrinsically wrong. And I think in a natural law based country it’s appropriate to have policies that reflect that. . . They don’t comport with natural law. I happen to think that it represents behavior that is not healthy to an individual and in aggregate is not healthy to society.”

Neither of these men are undecided when it comes to LGBT legal issues. It’s not a debate for them. Each has indicated that they believe in policies and law that, in their view, would deter homosexuals from being homosexuals; or at least, from being active homosexuals. Is it any wonder that McDonnell would strip any reference to sexual orientation from his executive order regarding state employment, or that Cuccinelli would jump at the chance to admonish state colleges to do the same?

It’s not surprising at all. We knew what we were getting when McDonnell and Cuccinelli were elected. We knew there was little to no hope these men would be moderates on social issues. The most disheartening thing about all this; however, is that what they are doing is totally legal. Both have acted within the legal framework to carry out their agenda within the scope of their offices. They have taken advantage of, and I believe they relish in the fact, that anti-discrimination legislation that includes sexual orientation has consistently failed to pass in the General Assembly.

In this year’s session alone, the Virginia Senate passed SB 66, which would have prohibited discrimination in public employment based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, or status as a special disabled veteran. The bill, however, died in subcommittee of the House of Delegates. Why? It’s simple. The House of Delegates is filled with conservatives like McDonnell and Cuccinelli. I mean, this is the same body that passed a bill based on “mark of the beast” prophecy in the Bible.

I don’t agree with J.R. Hoeft over at Bearing Drift very often, but I agree with him that we need to elect people to the General Assembly, especially the House of Delegates, who do recognize that LGBT peoples are minorities in the commonwealth, and should be protected as such under Virginia law. Unless this happens, those like Bob McDonnell and Ken Cuccinelli will continue to use the law as their shield while they make Virginia a more dangerous place for LGBT peoples.

Related posts:

1. Elections Matter: McDonnell Leading Conservative Swing
2. From the State of the Union to action: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” targeted
3. Rachel Maddow: Bob Marshall and Bob McDonnell
4. Responding to McWaters’ Response
5. Indicators of GOP landslide in Virginia