Roanoke Times Op-Ed: Ignore Cuccinelli Directive

Virginia's loony Attorney General, Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli, continues to generate a flap over his anti-gay directive to Virginia's public colleges and universities. Over the better part of the last month Kookinelli's directive that discrimination based on sexual orientation is permissible has been lambasted by every major newspaper in Virginia . Now, the Roanoke Times has an op-ed that suggests not only that Kookinelli's legal analysis is wrong, but encourages the state's public colleges and universities to ignore the Cooch's religious based campaign of discrimination. The legal analysis in the column by Virginia State Senator Edwards looks on point and also recognizes the damage being done to the state's reputation. Here are some highlights:
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In the early years of our country, Virginians were the leaders in establishing the democratic institutions and individual and civil rights that inspired the world. Thomas Jefferson wrote that all people are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights; George Mason authored the Virginia Declaration of Rights and together with James Madison fathered the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution. In the long march of history, these individual liberties and civil rights have expanded to cover more people, including minorities and women, rather than shrunk to cover fewer people.
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That is why it is disheartening for the attorney general of Virginia to advise the colleges and universities that they should rescind their existing nondiscrimination policies that protect persons due to sexual orientation.
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The attorney general's opinion is wrong legally and also counterproductive. Our public colleges and universities through their boards of visitors have the authority to establish policies that are "needful" to carry out the mission of the institutions. This is unlike localities, which are subject to the Dillon Rule whereby the governing authority must be expressly granted by the legislature.
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The attorney general's opinion is also counterproductive to the best interests of the institutions and Virginia. The antidiscrimination policies did not evolve in a vacuum; they serve the competitive needs of the colleges and universities to attract first-rate faculty and students. Antidiscrimination policies have become common throughout the country in major universities and are essential to attract the best and brightest faculty, administrators and students in higher education. . . . The attorney general does a disservice to our colleges and universities and to Virginia's competitive place in the national and global economy by issuing this advisory opinion.
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I would urge the boards of visitors of Virginia's colleges and universities to stand firm and refrain from rescinding those policies, which have proven to be necessary and beneficial to higher education in Virginia.