Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on Wednesday formally barred bias against gays working for the state, a bid to quell a controversy over discrimination and the state’s power to prevent it.
The directive appears to counter both the governor’s prior order and the legal advice of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who recently sent public colleges a letter arguing the institutions lacked the authority to include sexual orientation in their anti-discrimination policies.
The letter drew a chorus of protests from college students, Democratic lawmakers, the ACLU, national pundits and gay rights groups denouncing both McDonnell and Cuccinelli.
The Republican-majority House of Delegates has consistently shot down efforts to extend the protections to gay workers. The last two governors — Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine — had bridged that gap with executive orders, while McDonnell said he lacked the power to do so.
McDonnell’s “executive directive” — the first of his administration — lacks the force of law, although the new governor threatens sanctions or firings against state employers who violate it.
He turned to the U.S. Constitution to argue that gays are already protected. The 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, he wrote, prevents discrimination “based on factors such as one’s sexual orientation.”
His directive mandates “that the hiring, promotion, compensation, treatment, discipline, and termination of state employees shall be based on an individual’s job qualifications, merit and performance.”
“We have a talented state workforce, which is doing excellent work in very tough budget times,” McDonnell Chief of Staff Martin Kent wrote in a memo to state workers. “We also have outstanding cabinet members and managers, where excellence and fair treatment is the great norm, and discrimination is the extremely rare exception.”
The issue had boiled over onto the House floor repeatedly since Cuccinelli’s letter, with Democrats seeking to resurrect legislation that would have added gays to the state’s anti-discrimination laws.
