THE AG'S LETTER: Protect citizens with full weight of law

ARLINGTON When I read of Ken Cuccinelli's recommendations to Virginia's colleges and universities I thought immediately of the father of our great university system.

Thomas Jefferson famously said of other people's religious orientations that they neither picked his pocket nor broke his bones. I'm sure he would agree that another person's sex life neither picks my pockets nor breaks my bones.

But when bias against one's sexual orientation picks a person's pocket through job discrimination or breaks a person's bones through gay bashing, then it is the responsibility of the state to protect that person in every appropriate manner. Hate crimes laws and antidiscrimination laws and policies are long-standing, well-established, and proven legal means of affording such protection. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Virginians clearly face discrimination and hate crimes and the fear that accompany them.

While Gov. Bob McDonnell's words last week are welcome, they make for a lukewarm response that lacks any legal power to address the very real problem of discrimination. Nor do they offer Virginia's LGBT state employees any more protections than the nonspecific ones the U.S. Constitution already provides.

Failure to act in the face of that reality is a black eye on the commonwealth, and on the office Cuccinelli holds. To act in direct contradiction to that reality must have Mr. Jefferson spinning in his grave.

When you know that a woman is threatened on the job because she is female, would you not bring the full weight of the law to bear in any resulting legal proceeding? When you know that a family loses their home because they are black, would you not prosecute? When you know that a public college or university refuses to register a Christian student group because of its faith-based bylaws, would you not pursue the case with vigor?

When a college professor is fired for being lesbian or a young man is beaten and killed because he is gay, why would you not do the same?

That is the question raised by Cuccinell's recent letter to Virginia colleges and universities, warning them on including sexuality in their nondiscrimination policies. When you know that more than 15 percent of all hate crimes are committed against people based on perceived sexual orientation, how can you in good conscience block protection of gays, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students and faculty on Virginia campuses? When you know -- and there is overwhelming evidence -- that young men are victimized on college campuses because they are gay, why would you use your office to enable the perpetrators of such hate crimes?

The attorney general can deny that allegation, but Virginia's long history of racial discrimination and violence clearly teaches us that when public officials do not act to protect those who are victimized because of who they are, then those who perpetrate such acts are enabled, and even encouraged, to continue. Failure to use the full weight of the office to protect vulnerable Virginians is wrong. It is immoral. It is an affront to the very One who, self-evidently, created us all equal and with certain inalienable rights.

If, as Cuccinelli has said, the problem lies in the law, why send a letter to schools informing them of the law's shortcomings? Why not, instead, use the power of your position to encourage our General Assembly to change the law? Senate Bill 66 would have made protection against discrimination for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender state employees the law. Why not encourage the Assembly to enact legislation that would allow schools to craft their own non-discrimination policies that reflect the concerns on their own campuses?

Like Mr. Jefferson's words with respect to other faiths, you do not have to be gay or lesbian, you do not have to like gays or lesbians, you do not even have to respect them, but Cuccinelli does have a constitutional responsibility to protect them -- and his recent actions demonstrate clearly that his is failing to live up to the responsibilities and obligations of his job.

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it does bend toward justice. I urge the attorney general to reconsider his position and stand on the right side of history.

The Rev. Dr. David Ensign is pastor of Clarendon Presbyterian Church, Arlington, and a board member of People of Faith for Equality in Virginia. Contact him at revdocdee@gmail.com.