Pro and Con Gay Rights Bills Pre-filed with Virginia General Assembly

While the news media has given much coverage to the latest lunacy and example of unrelenting anti-gay hatred that is the norm for Del. Bob Marshall - Ken Kookinelli's evil twin in the House of Delegates - additional bills have been pre-filed that would block the effort pushed by Marshall to ban gays from serving in the Virginia National Guard and in some cases extend employment non-discrimination protections to LGBT citizens in both the public and private work sectors. True to form, the Christo-fascists at The Family Foundation - and organization that one can only hope will soon gain hate group registry status with the Southern Poverty Law Center - is shrieking and carrying on at anything that might curb the religious based bigotry which is the organizations stock in trade. Statehouse News Online has details of the bills pre-filed to date and here are some highlights:
*
The repeal of the federal "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell" law has put a new twist in an old debate for Virginia lawmakers. For several years bills have been offered in the General Assembly that would include sexual orientation as a protected class and prohibit discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender public employees. Several bills have been proposed ahead of the upcoming General Assembly session that could enhance gay rights or erode them.
*
The latest bill, announced Wednesday, would ensure that Virginia’s eligibility requirements for the National Guard would mirror national standards set by Congress and the U.S. Department of Defense and reflect the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Del. Joe Morrissey, D-Henrico, said he will file that bill to counteract an effort by Del. Bob Marshall, R- Manassas, to ban gays from serving in the Virginia National Guard.
*
This year Del. Adam Ebbin, D- Alexandria, plans to file the bill again. And Del. Jim Scott, D-Fairfax County, has already filed a bill that would extend protection for gay workers to all employers, both public and private. Scott said he introduced a similar bill eight or nine sessions ago, and it quickly died for lack of support. But two things have changed since then, Scott said.
*
Gov. Bob McDonnell issued an executive directive stating that discrimination based on factors like a person’ s sexual orientation or parental status violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. An earlier executive order prohibiting discrimination was missing the words “sexual orientation,” which the two previous governors had included in their orders. The other change that spurred Scott was the repeal of the federal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law, he said.
*
The Virginia-based Family Foundation said the proposed legislation is unwarranted and could hamper private businesses and religious institutions. Church-based schools and social services could be forced to serve or hire gay people or shut down, said spokesman Chris Freund.
*
Freund said he doesn’t see the bills making progress. He said the Family Foundation is reviewing Marshall’s proposal to see if it meets legal muster. The group said that "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell" was a good policy and should not have been repealed.
*
As is always the case here in Virginia, it will be interesting to see if the haters at The Family Foundation once again co-opt black pastors into their discriminatory dirty work - even though The Family Foundation supporters are in many cases the same folks who opposed desegregation and interracial marriage. A flawed knowledge of history time and time again sees the black religious community doing the bidding of their former oppressors. It drives me crazy that these pastors unthinkingly continue to do the work of those who continue to despise them almost as much as gays.