- Gov. Robert McDonnell
A week after Ken Cuccinelli, the new Republican attorney general of Virginia, directed state universities to eliminate sexual orientation from their nondiscrimination policies, the new Republican governor, Robert F. McDonnell, has stepped into the controversy.
He has issued an executive order that replaces one he issued last month. This time he included sexual orientation. He said:
“We will not tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation or any other basis that’s outlawed under state or federal law or the Constitution, and if it is reported, then I will take action, from reprimand to termination, to make sure that does not occur. I believe this properly takes care of it and assures the good people of Virginia that we will absolutely not have discrimination in this state.”
Now that we hated the Governor last week, do we know have to cheer him?
It’s all smoke and mirrors.
The policy can’t be enforced: if he tries to “take action” against someone who fired an employee for being gay, he’d be sued, and successfully. Because it’s not illegal to do that under either federal or state law, and there’s no executive order either that would at least have given the internal personnel administration something to work with.
Gays are not a protected class, so the 14th amendment has been held in courts not to apply to them..
What makes you think the 14th Amendment to the Constitution applies only to “protected” classes? The standard is, is the state treating similarly situated groups differently and is there a rational state interest in doing so. Fat people aren’t a protected class but if the government says it’s not going to issue fat people driver’s licenses, that law is unlikely to withstand scrutiny, unless the state can describe a state interest in not letting fat people drive.