Virginia AG Ken Cuccinelli Stands Firm on Discriminating Against Gays
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli stands by remarks he made last week which caused outrage and protest across the state of Virginia, the Washington Post reports:
"In some of his first public comments on the issue since his letter last week to the universities sparked an uproar on campuses, Cuccinelli (R) said he continues to believe that the institutions are limited in their ability to adopt such policies without authority from the General Assembly. The legislature has repeatedly declined to put legal protections for gay men and lesbians into Virginia code. 'What I said in my March 4 letter was accurate advice under Virginia law, and it still stands,' Cuccinelli said in brief comments to reporters after addressing lawmakers on an unrelated issue. Universities, he said, 'don't have any more authority than the General Assembly gives them, which is a similar position as the localities. And until the General Assembly gives them more authority, they're quarantined by what they've got.'"
I find his advice rather odd. I don't know Virginia law, so I may be missing something, and he is only giving legal advice, not making actual policy. I just don't get his motivation...is he truly concerned about the universities in Virginia and the possible risk they might be taking with anti-discrimination policies? Or, is he using his position to influence university policy?
Posted by: Breathturn | Mar 14, 2010 11:51:36 AM
What a douchebag. Can't wait to find him with a dead underage female hooker or a live male one...
You know it's just a matter of time with these assholes.
Posted by: Alexander | Mar 14, 2010 11:58:38 AM
Cuccinelli's saying the state legislature can forbid localities from passing anti-discrimination legislation. He simply won't let it go. And this opinion is moving Virginia dangerously close to opening itself up to a federal lawsuit under Romer. Which is precisely what he wants I imagine. It is both a way to (1) ingratiate himself to the religious right; and (2) give the new conservative Supreme Court justices Bush appointed - Roberts and Alito - a chance to overturn Romer.
This is the so-called Republican "alternative" to the Democrats.
When right-wing gays wax lyrical about the joys of voting Obama out of office in 2012, Cuccinelli is what they want to replace him with. Lets make that crystal clear. Sometimes understandable frustration with the Democrats lead people to do horribly stupid things. Because as ineffective as the Democrats are at governing, they don't actively try to strip people of their citizenship. While the GOP is still the racist, homophobic, redneck party it has been since Nixon introduced the America to the Southern Strategy.
Posted by: John | Mar 14, 2010 12:20:30 PM
I hope AG Ken Cuccinelli also stands for his priorities. I can't see how he can justify going after gay students as a top priority to his constituents. The man is a joke and I hope Virginians see right through the prejudice that is consuming this man and the office he unfortunately holds.
Posted by: ♂ | Mar 14, 2010 12:24:10 PM
I stopped traveling to the USA on vacation back when the plant was in the Oval Office. If the US is as slow as this to extend human rights to gay folk, I wonder if I'll ever visit the United States again in my lifetime. There is a great deal of world more welcoming to me than the United States is. Get it together!
Posted by: Tone | Mar 14, 2010 1:07:50 PM
I don't think there is any danger of overturning Romer as long as Kennedy is on the court; he wrote it! If anything, I see this as great publicity to highlight this whole situation. The wingnuts are only able to make headway against gay rights by bluring their real intentions. This guy makes no bones about saying what they really are up to; and shining the light of day on their hateful agenda I think can only be a good thing. He actually is doing the gay community a big favor by exposing the truth.
Posted by: Mike | Mar 14, 2010 1:14:20 PM
This douchebag's posturing for governor. Antigay politics play well with virginia voters, who are largely backward and bigoted. And it must play, or else they wouldn't do it...because keep in mind, people like the cooch here don't take a shit without consulting polling data.
Posted by: TANK | Mar 14, 2010 1:33:57 PM
Sadly, Cuccinellis not going to lose too much sleep over being "exposed." He wouldn't have done this without consulting the polls. And if nothing else, it is a priority for Republican primary voters. Truth is the voters are bigots. Gays and lesbians don't have some sort of magical immunity either. More than a few gays have a hard on whenever some right-wing radio "shock jock" goes into a rant about deporting illegals. They eat it up too.
Posted by: John | Mar 14, 2010 2:10:46 PM
Mix his ego, good looks and drive for power and the end results will be disaster. Just give him enough rope, he'll hang himself just like Sandford and Ensign.
Posted by: patrick nyc | Mar 14, 2010 2:38:32 PM
Except that doesn't matter. Sanford and Ensign are doing just fine as it stands right now. Voters are cattle, and they always have been.
Posted by: TANK | Mar 14, 2010 2:48:06 PM
Sanford and Ensign are both not running for re-election, Ensign is facing criminal charges, not what i'd call doing fine.
Posted by: patrick nyc | Mar 14, 2010 3:05:35 PM
No formal charges have been brought against Ensign, right? Have they? And if not by now, rest assured they won't be.
Posted by: TANK | Mar 14, 2010 5:28:08 PM
His cucci looks pretty nelli to me.
Posted by: Tessie Tura | Mar 14, 2010 11:57:05 PM
Why even have a board of regents when you've got a legislature????
Those folks must be feeling pretty useless.
Posted by: BobN | Mar 15, 2010 1:41:51 AM
Considering how little these public universities actually get, the idea that the legislature can prevent them from offering these protections (while true) seems unfair. I'd say that alumni to these universities should shut off donations until the state alters their stand on this issue, but sadly most of the dbags that graduate from UVA and other public universities in VA (including the one I went to) are conservative asshats.
Posted by: Sam | Mar 15, 2010 11:44:20 AM
@Sam (& others): You hit the nail on the head. The legislature CAN prevent VA public institutions from offering these protections.
Or, more accurately, Universities have no legal standing if these policies were ever challenged in court. You can't uphold the law if there's no law to be upheld.
Cuccinelli might be a douchebag, but he's not a douchebag for issuing his opinion. Remember, his opinion isn't presented a personal one, but a professional one. His opinion is also 100% right. If the VA Legislature acted like human beings and passed a law giving anti-discrimination protections to gays, this wouldn't be an issue.
Direct your hate at them, you mongers.
Posted by: TommyOC | Mar 15, 2010 2:25:26 PM
Cuccinelli has lost and he needs to get over it, there are other concerns; mainly the economy, lets start there rather than focusing on bullshit issues. The more they push it the "real moral majority" will stand in opposition they will lose every time; thanks in part to the young voters in Virginia marched.
Posted by: Jeff Dunivant | Mar 15, 2010 11:04:36 PM
http://www.davidmixner.com/2010/03/students-of-virginia-massive-campaign-against-hate-grows-on-virginia-campuses.html#comments
David Mixner gives solid coverage of the student activism going on at the state level. Feel free to check out his addition to this topic.
Posted by: Casey Sears | Mar 16, 2010 10:55:42 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqsMBPhVUsU&feature=player_embedded
VA Is For Bigots: A Video Summary by W&M Students.
Posted by: Casey Sears | Mar 16, 2010 10:57:17 AM