I checked my email last night as I usually do as the weekend speeds to a halt and found an email from the President of the university I attend. I usually graze over the emails and for the most part they have been about budget cuts recently...until this one. It was short and to the point....
To the VCU and VCU Health System Communities:
Virginia Commonwealth University received a letter from Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli requesting that the Commonwealth's public universities and colleges rescind policies that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
The University’s senior leadership team and I are examining the issue closely. Provost Gottfredson is planning forums to provide students, faculty and staff an opportunity to discuss the implications of the Attorney General's request.
Sincerely,
Michael Rao, Ph.D.
President, VCU and VCU Health System
The verbage was a little confusing in my overly tired state, but after a few reads I got it....
I was too tired to do any research last night, so I forwarded the email to my GF and said WTF. She is awesome and did some internet searches and found these:
The short story
The long story
The actual letter - an interesting read if you have time
I am mad at myself for not realizing more about virginia's laws concerning sexual orientation. But virginia provides no protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation, and now the attorney general says that its illegal for universities to not allow discrimination based on sexual orientation... wha? really?
attorney general cuccinelli you suck.
RSS Feed (xml)
I find this staggering, it is 2010 dammit!!
ReplyDeleteThis could get rather interesting from legal standpoint. Con law isn't my area, but I suspect this is going to largely hinge on the implied powers the AG referenced in his letter.
ReplyDeleteI don't care what side you're on - it is very clear that the GLBTQ population faces far more discrimination than any other minority group. What really gets me riled up is the way that certain groups - typically with "Family" in their names - confuse anti-discrimination policies (or marriage, for that matter) with "special protections" or "special rights."
Just a friendly FYI: if you want to be in a same-sex marriage, you have to do your research and evaluate your priorities...I know several couples who moved from Philly across the river to NJ only because NJ recognizes civil unions. Insane.
Allison I totally agree - we are not asking for special treatment just equal.
ReplyDeleteAll of this is going to make it that much easier if I need to move for a job once I graduate...and I will do my research
So wrong!!
ReplyDeleteSo, what the AG is saying is that the university must discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation? Huh? WTF????
ReplyDeleteHuman. Rights.
This is insane. The things people spend time and energy on never ceases to amaze me. I agree - attorney general cuccinelli you suck!
ReplyDelete