Keeping pressure on state leaders over what they see as Virginia's weak anti-bias protections, gay-rights group Equality Virginia is calling on college and university leadership to join their push for a change in state law.
In a letter to public college and university presidents, Equality Virginia urges the presidents and boards of visitors to support legislation amending the nondiscrimination policy in state law to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
It also seeks support to codify protections against sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination in state and local employment and to permit state benefits to include "otherwise qualified adults" living in the households of state workers.
The letter from Equality Virginia Chief Executive Officer Jon Blair is the latest effort to keep heat on Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's opinion that tax-supported colleges and universities have no legal foundation for protecting gay students and employees from discrimination.
The opinion -- consistent with attorneys general before him -- created enough of an uproar that Gov. Bob McDonnell subsequently issued an executive directive that as head of the government work force, he will not tolerate bias on the basis of sexual orientation, and he threatened to fire offenders.
Blair, in the letter sent Friday to the state's twoand four-year colleges and universities and released yesterday, said until Cuccinelli's opinion, "Virginia college presidents and boards of visitors have been silent" while other parties sought protections.
Cuccinelli's opinion said colleges and universities cannot prohibit discrimination against gays because the assembly has not authorized them to do so. Legislative efforts to change the law were unsuccessful this year, with the GOP-controlled House of Delegates blocking the House and Senate measures.
University presidents have slowly weighed in, mainly praising McDonnell's directive. School representatives say it will be up to the boards of visitors to change policies.
Contact Olympia Meola at (804) 649-6812 or omeola@timesdispatch.com.
Staff writer Karin Kapsidelis contributed to this report.
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