Virginia Attorney General Tells Colleges to Back Off on Gay Rights Policies

Virginia's conservative attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli II, wants the state's public colleges and universities to pull back on policies banning discrimination against gay students because he says the schools don't have the legal authority to make those kinds of rules.

In a letter to the schools on Thursday, Cuccinelli argued that only Virginia's General Assembly can establish legal protections based on sexual orientation -- not the universities' governing boards of visitors, the Washington Post reported.

Cuccinelli, a Republican elected in November, seemed to be signaling to the academic community that he intends to take a harder line on social issues such as gay rights, the Post said.

"It is my advice that the law and policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including 'sexual orientation' 'gender expression,' or like classificaiton as a protected class within its non-discrimination policy, absent specific authorization from the General Assembly," he wrote.

The attorney general's letter came as the neighboring District of Columia began issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples.

Officials at several leading universities in the commonwealth reacted cautiously, declining comment on Cuccinelli's action.

But Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, a former state deputy attorney general and counsel to Equality Virginia, said the college boards should get a second opinion. "They call. it advice for a reason," she said.

Former Virginia Attorney General Jerrry Kilgore, a Republican, said it would be hard for Cuccinnelli to enforce his opinion without going to court. But Kilgore said board members at colleges and universities "are required to follow the law... and he's telling them what the law is."