Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice Ignores Cuccinelli and Approves Gay Nondiscrimination Policy

One thing that can always be relied upon is that Virginia Attorney General Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli will always slant his legal advice to state agencies in a way to encourage anti-gay discrimination and the gutting of LGBT friendly polices. In the twisted world of Kookinelli and Del. Bob Marshall, they only feel good about themselves when they are denigrating and persecuting someone else, with gays most often being the target of choice. And sadly, all too often the agencies receiving Kookinelli's recommendations do not have the courage or moral integrity to ignore Kookinelli's anti-gay bigotry and do the right thing. Thankfully, Department of Juvenile Justice has blown off Kookinelli and agreed Tuesday, for a second time, to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. Here are highlights from the Washington Post on the Department's defiance of Kookinelli's directive:

The board that oversees Virginia’s juvenile correctional facilities agreed Tuesday, for a second time, to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation despite being counseled against such action by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II.

The board voted 5 to 1, rejecting Cuccinelli’s contention that only the General Assembly can designate a special class of citizens.

The Department of Juvenile Justice operates five facilities and a diagnostic facility, and the Board of Juvenile Justice sets broad policy for the agency. More than 800 juveniles are housed in the institutions.

“The regulations passed by the board today will return to the governor’s office for review as the next step in the process. They will be reviewed then in the coming weeks,” said Jeff Caldwell, a spokesman for Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R). “The governor’s office will review the minutes of the board’s meeting and the language of the resolutions passed today before making any determination on this issue.”

A spokesman for Cuccinelli did not respond to a request for comment.

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