Virginia's attorney general has advised the state's public colleges that they don't have the authority to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, saying only the state legislature has that power.
The letter sent by Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli to state college presidents and other officials Thursday drew swift criticism from Democrats and gay rights activists.
Mr. Cuccinelli said the legislature has repeatedly refused to exercise its authority. As recently as Tuesday, a subcommittee killed legislation that would have banned job discrimination against gay state employees.
"It is my advice that the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including 'sexual orientation,' 'gender identity,' 'gender expression,' or like classification, as a protected class within its nondiscrimination policy, absent specific authorization from the General Assembly," Mr. Cuccinelli wrote.
The Republican advised college governing boards to "take appropriate actions to bring their policies in conformance with the law."
Jon Blair, chief executive officer of the gay rights group Equality Virginia, said Mr. Cuccinelli's "radical actions are putting Virginia at risk of losing both top students and faculty, and discouraging prospective ones from coming here."
C. Richard Cranwell, state Democratic Party chairman, said Virginia's colleges and universities were more than capable of setting policies that work for them "without meddling from Ken Cuccinelli."
Rebecca Glenberg, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, said colleges are bound by U.S. Supreme Court decisions not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
