Va. juvenile justice board votes to protect gay youth from discrimination over AG’s objection

[Derechos]

RICHMOND, Va. — The board that oversees the state Department of Juvenile Justice voted Wednesday to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation at its facilities despite an Attorney General Office’s directive to strip out the protection.

The state Board of Juvenile Justice included the protection in proposed regulations it approved last year. The department recently removed the language during the final approval stage after the Attorney General’s Office advised that the board did not have the authority to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation because the General Assembly had not done so. Several legislative attempts to write protections based on sexual orientation into law have failed.

The board voted 3-0, with chairwoman Barbara Myers abstaining, to keep its proposed protections pending re-enactment at a special meeting, which could come later this month. At that meeting, the board wants advice from the Attorney General’s Office as to what would happen if they insist upon keeping the anti-discrimination language.

snip

Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, an attorney for the gay rights group Equality Virginia, said she was encouraged that the board stood its ground. She questioned the motives of the Attorney General’s Office, which under Republican Ken Cuccinelli has issued similar advice to public colleges and to the state agency that manages foster children, which led its board to stripping out anti-discrimination language against gays.

“In this case, the board is trying to implement constitutional and federal statutory requirements and they’re being told they can’t,” Gastanaga said. “And they’re being told they can’t for reasons that are political, not legal and not moral and not ethical.”


http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/va-juvenile-justice-board-votes-to-protect-gay-youth-from-discrimination-over-ags-objection/2011/06/08/AGVRhDMH_story.html

[adds76355]

1. self-delete

[Galraedia]

2. Ken Cuccinelli should be impeached

Ken Cuccinelli should really be impeached as Virginia's State Attorney General. He is a total wackado who's hell bent on taking us back to 1922. I can understand opposition against gay marriage to an extent but denying a group of Americans equal protection based on your own personal beliefs is just unconstitutional.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Juvenile justice board retains anti-bias rules

Juvenile justice board retains anti-bias rules

By Frank Green
Published: June 30, 2011

The Virginia Board of Juvenile Justice on Wednesday left intact proposed policies that specifically protect the rights of gay and lesbian youths.

Gov. Bob McDonnell's office, on the advice of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's office, wanted the proposed provisions struck because only the General Assembly can create a protected class.

At its June 8 meeting, the juvenile justice board voted to keep the ban against discrimination in its proposed regulations and asked for reports to be presented at Wednesday's meeting on the ramifications of keeping the ban.
....

In the end, the board voted in favor of Justin M. Wilson's motion to leave the language in the board's proposed regulations, some of which take effect Friday and others at a later date.