Virginia Department of Corrections Ignores Cuccinelli's Anti-Gay Directive

Colleges and universities were the first, then local municipalities joined in, and now the Virginia Department of Corrections has joined in and made it clear that it will not delete sexual orientation from its departmental non-discrimination policies. Cuccinelli may have sent Victoria Cobb and the gay-haters at The Family Foundation into orgasms with his action, but more and more Virginians seem prepared to ignore the Cooch's effort to institutionalize anti-gay job discrimination. Obviously, it is an encouraging development although given Cuccinelli's insanity, there is always the chance he will try to force institutions to follow his religious extremist motivated directive. Ultimately, these actions will likely force Taliban Bob McDonnell to revisit the issue again and, should his future appointees reverse the policies, Virginia will again receive a round of negative media coverage around the world. Here are some highlights from the Washington Post on the Department of Corrections action:
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The Democratic-appointed Virginia Board of Corrections has adopted a resolution reaffirming a nondiscrimination policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, overruling concerns expressed by a representative from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's office.

The wording of the resolution was modeled on an an existing Department of Corrections policy, specifically adopted last year to bring the department into line with Gov. Tim Kaine's Executive Order Number 1, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
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That would be the same executive order that Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has essentially repealed, arguing it went beyond the authority granted to the executive office by the General Assembly.
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The board agreed the Corrections department shall "make all employment decisions based on one's merits and qualifications and specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, retaliation, age, political affiliation, sexual orientation, veteran status, and person with disabilities, except when age or sex is a bona fide occupational qualification."
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State agencies and colleges and universities around the state are now going to be sorting out that very issue. Does McDonnell's executive directive empower them to keep policies they adopted in response to the executive order the governor rejected?
Complicating the issue is that boards deciding the point will be holdovers, appointed by Democratic governors. Already, the boards of visitors at George Mason University and Mary Washington University have decided to hold firm to their past policies.
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"The view of the board was that there was political schism, which we really did not want to get into," Socas said in an interview. "There appear to be within the executive branch different views on the question of sexual orientation and whether that is a protected class. The attorney general has a view on that. The governor has a view on that. And there seems to be some ambiguity between the two. The view of the board was that we should provide clarification."
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Moore v. Museum of Natural History gives the Supreme Court of Virginia an opportunity to end the issue once and for all if it has the courage to do so.