Posts with the tag virginia

Students in VA Stand Up for Gay Rights, Against the AG's Orders

Pema Levy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:17:29 EST

As Emily reported last week, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli sent a letter to Virginia Universities asking them to rescind policies that ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in hiring and admissions. Cuccinelli is not simply refusing to support gay rights, he is demanding that universities rescind their equal rights protections. Last week, students and faculty responded with indignation. This week, students are mobilizing against Cuccinelli's bizarre and intolerant demands. The Washington Post reports:

Campus activists across Virginia put spring break on hold Monday to mobilize against Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II, who has riled student groups with a letter advising public universities to retreat from their policies against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. More than 3,000 people joined the Facebook page "We Don't Want Discrimination In Our State Universities And Colleges!"...Students at Virginia Commonwealth University, one of the few in the state not on [Spring] break, planned a rally for noon Wednesday, with several hundred students committed.

And it's not just students, faculty and staff at the University of Virginia have signaled they will help students organize and protect the anti-discrimination measures. They are worried not only about the mistreatment of gay students and faculty, but many have signaled concern that repealing protections would jeopardize the prestige and competitiveness of Virginia schools. Senator Mark Warner warned it would "damage the Commonwealth's reputation for academic excellence and diversity."

I've spent the last few days researching young people as a political demographic, and one of its obvious traits is its tolerance for gay rights. The organizing going on in Virginia is solid proof that when the values young people believe in are directly challenged, students and young adults will gather their forces and fight for what they believe.

The well-known fact that young people are dedicated to equal rights underscores why Cuccinelli's bizarre attempt to roll back anti-discrimination rules is not only morally reprehensible but politically foolish. Republicans can get away with stalling on the progress of civil rights, even attempting to obstruct marriage equality with arguments about traditional marriage, but arguing that people should be discriminated against in a campus setting is something the majority really can't stomach these days. It also puts his fellow Republicans in a precarious position, like Governor Bob McDonnell who balked at his AG's letter, saying something like, I agree legally but I won't tolerate discrimination, "It's all separation-of-powers issues." Nice try McDonnell.

Students gathered at UVA last night to plan a response. A protest is slated for 12pm today. As students trickle back to campus from Spring break, I expect the issue to heat up, and eventually, the conservative opposition to wither.

Virginia Attorney-General is Weirdly Homophobic

Emily Rutherford — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:38:20 EST

(Flickr/lewishamdreamer)

The Washington Post is reporting that Virginia Attorney-General Ken Cuccinelli isn't satisfied with standard homophobic positions like opposing marriage equality or LGBT parenting rights—he wants to make life difficult for LGBT college students too:

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II has asked the state's public colleges and universities to rescind policies that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, arguing in a letter sent to each school Thursday that their boards of visitors have no legal authority to adopt such statements.

In the letter, Cuccinelli (R) wrote that only the General Assembly can extend legal protections to gay state employees -- a move the legislature has repeatedly declined to take, including as recently as this week.

"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 non-discrimination policy absent specific authorization from the General Assembly," he wrote.

To be sure, I am no expert on Virginia state law, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what legal grounds Cuccinelli could possibly have for this position. Is there really a law on the books that says (to paraphrase), "colleges and universities funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia may not determine which suspect classes they can and cannot discriminate against?"

I'm guessing not—and I'm interested to note that this article doesn't mention any evidence Cuccinelli might have for his position. This leads me to believe that Cuccinelli's stance isn't rooted in any understanding of Virginia law at all, but rather in the pure irrationality of homophobia. Repealing anti-discrimination policies reads to me like an active desire to discriminate, and my sense is that Virginians (whatever their stance on LGBT rights) wouldn't be too fond of the notion that their Attorney-General actively desires to discriminate against them.

VA Delegate: Disabled Children a Curse from God

C_Jefferson — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:06:42 EST

Bob Marshall and family.

Virginia State Delegate Bob Marshall of Manassas said at a press conference on Thursday that disabled children are a punishment from God.

He made the (absolutely medieval) statement at an event decrying state funding for Planned Parenthood, saying, "The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children."

Marshall then added, "In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There's a special punishment Christians would suggest."

We're on pins and needles waiting for Sarah Palin's response to Marshall, a Republican. In the past few weeks, the former Alaskan governor has been quick to admonish anyone making declasse statements about the disabled--except, of course, when those people are conservatives, like Rush Limbaugh.

Why the Results in Virginia Don't Say Much About Anything

Jamelle — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:29:18 EST

As far as I can tell, the conventional wisdom about yesterday's election in Virginia is that it represents a "shot across the bow" from independent voters worried about heavy spending and deficits. The election wasn't a referendum on President Obama's performance, but it was a sign that independents are increasingly uneasy with the liberal direction the country is taking.

This is complete bunk. For starters, self-described "independent" voters are often anything but; when pressed by pollsters, most independents will admit to leaning in one direction or another. In Virginia, it seems that most independents lean to the right - a poll from this summer suggests that the vast majority of independents identify as either moderate or conservative. If you were to ask independents who voted in yesterday's election whether or not they supported John McCain in last year's election, I'm fairly confident that a solid majority would say that they did. In fact, if you were to ask yesterday's voters whether they supported John McCain, a majority would say yes - 51 percent, to be precise.

Metro Delays a.k.a. This Is What You Get for Living in Virginia

KDubz — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:33:15 EDT

This weekend, there's going to be scheduled track maintenance on the Blue and Yellow lines from 7 a.m. Saturday until 7 p.m. Sunday resulting in single-tracking between Pentagon City and Braddock Road.

Metro advises you add 35 minutes to your travel plans:

"To alleviate train congestion through the single track location, every other Yellow Line train traveling in the direction of Huntington and every other Blue Line train traveling in the direction of Franconia-Springfield will terminate at Pentagon City Metrorail station and return to Fort Totten and Largo Town Center Metrorail stations respectively. All other Blue and Yellow Line trains traveling between Pentagon City and Huntington/Franconia Springfield Metrorail stations will operate every 36 minutes. "
[emphasis added]

Escape: When the City gets hot, get out!

Nick P — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:27:20 EDT

This betrays all of my loyalties. As somebody born and raised in D.C., I have spent all my life weeding out the people who pretend to be from D.C. but really reside in Bethesda, Rockville, Potomac, Arlington (you get the point). So, when I sat down and thought about writing for Social Capital, I was elated at the idea that now I would get to show off my intimate knowledge of my city by telling everybody where to eat, party, see free stuff, etc. Then, today, I sat down at the desk to write and I had nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true. I thought about lots of fun cheesy things I used to do with my friends pre 21, places I go to eat, and sketchy bars that I have been dragged to but I couldn’t help but think that I have all summer to post about those things. Instead, all I could think about was something outside of my city, something that touches almost every place that people who falsely claim D.C. actually hale from.

Frat Rapist to Get Early Release

Cara Boekeloo — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:13:20 EDT

William Beebe made headlines last year when he was convicted of raping Liz Seccuro at a University of Virginia frat party. What was unique about the case was that the rape happened in 1984. The case was opened in 2005 after Beebe sent Seccuro a letter of apology for the rape over two decades after it occurred as part of his Alcoholics Anonymous program. This week it was announced that Beebe will be released after only six months in jail.

D.C. Residents Closer to Getting Representation, But Questions Still Remain

Eli Corp — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 21:27:46 EDT

Today the House passed a resolution to give the citizens of the District of Columbia the right to elect a voting member in the House of Representatives. The bill would also give Utah an additonal at-large House seat, which was denied after the 2000 Census failed to count the several thousand Mormon Missionaries serving abroad. If it is approved and signed by the President, the bill would for the first time, give Citizens of the Democratic leaning District of Columbia a voting member in Congress, and give Republican leaning Utah an extra seat increasing the size of the House of Representatives from 435 to 437.

The bill was first introduced in March, but Democrats withdrew the bill after an attempt by Republicans to add an amendment which would have lifted a ban on simiautomatic handguns in the District of Columbia. The bill was re-introduced this week with rules to prevent Republicans from using parliamentary proceedure to hold the bill hostage at gunpoint (figuratively speaking).

After much wrangling and arguing over Constitutional issues centering around Washington D.C.'s status as a federal district rather than a state, the bill passed 241-177. These Constitutional arguements have some measure of validity. It is possible that the bill may end up in the Judicial system should it be passed by the Senate and signed by the President. Its passage in the Senate is uncertain, and already Republican leader Mitch McConnell has stated that he will use the filibuster to block its passage in the Senate. President Bush meanwhile has stated that if the bill arrives on his desk he will Veto it (along with nearly a dozen other pending bills).

Jefferson-Jackson Dinner Overview

Eugene Resnick — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 21:59:15 EST

The annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Richmond, Virginia took place yesterday February 17, 2007 in the Greater Richmond Convention Center amid what was declared as the largest JJ Dinner in Virginia history with over 3,000 guests. Last year's JJ dinner was also a milestone but it only featured 1,400 guests, an indication that the Democratic Party of Virginia is on a roll in 2007, 2008 and beyond. The insider pundits in VA have never been more energized as Virginia Democrats have salivated over the recent domination of the governorship from Mark Warner (2001-2005) and current Governor Tim Kaine (2005-2009). Unfortunately Tim Kaine is constitutionally barred from running for a second term but Democratic party activists in the state are already preparing for the 2009 race with talks of defeated Attorney General candidate from the 5th district Creigh Deeds running as his replacement.

With the victory of Senator Jim Webb last November, Democrats in Virginia have officially designated Virginia as a "purple state" and rightfully so. Northern Virginia, outside the suburbs of greater Washington, DC is exploding with economic and population growth. This region is also a hotbed of growing progressive political leanings. At the JJ Dinner featuring speakers Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Congressman Bobby Scott and Senator Jim Webb, all were in attendance to endorse the candidacy of Senator and Presidential Candidate Barack Obama. This was Obama's first campaign visit to Virginia and the first endorsement from a sitting governor. As Virginia becomes a critical battleground state in 2008, this endorsement is significant.

Senator Obama's speech was poignant and well received by the audience. He frequently referred to education, his life story, and his message and motif of the "audacity of hope" which reverberated well with the crowd. Although it was interesting to see the various Edwards and Hillary supporters in the crowd who came just to see the show, over 25 University of Virginia Democrats came to volunteer at the event to show their support for the rising young star in the Democratic Party. It is worth noting also that there was much speculation at the event that if Obama were to win the Democratic primaries, former governor Mark Warner would be an unbeatable choice for Vice President forming a ticket that would crush any Republican ticket. Warner's enthusiasm, charm, and Bill Clinton-esque personality and political leanings would serve Obama well in Virginia which has a more moderate Democratic Party than say Hillary Clinton's New York base.

All in all, the dinner was a huge success for Barack Obama. His rising popularity among Democratic primary voters seems only to grow as the field of the Hillary, Edwards, and Obama triumvirate travel the country trying to prove to Democrats and all Americans alike that they are the best candidate to move the country forward, end the war in Iraq, enact universal health care by 2012, and promote economic fairness. It seems from my observations at the College Democrats of America National Leadership Summit, the Democratic National Committee's Winter Meeting, and the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner that the 2008 Democratic candidates are the strongest and most diverse group of candidates that the Democrats have ever seen in American history. This is a testament to not only the changing face of the party but also of society as the possibility of a female or black president becomes ever-more on the horizon of reality.

Published: February 18, 2007