I saw this at the Bilerico Project:
So a man working for the Virginia Museum of Natural History gets fired for being gay.
He decides to sue.
Instead of saying the man wasn't fired for being gay, his employer says there are no employment protections in that state based on sexual orientation.
The Virginia legislature has not passed any kind of protections for the LGBT community, although Governor Kaine wrote an executive order protecting state employees, which would include people who work at the state museums.
The Virginia state attorney, however, has filed a non-binding opinion that the governor doesn't have the authority to protect LGBT folks by executive order:
Sexual orientation is not a protected classification under either state or federal law. Attempts to make sexual orientation a protected category under the Virginia Human Rights Act have been continually and consistently rejected by the Virginia General Assembly. The only source of protection for this classification is provided by the Governor's Executive Order #1, which by itself, does not provide a cause of action.
So, you can get fired for being gay in Virginia.
No big deal, you say, because gays are murderers and pedophiles and worse than terrorists and the biggest threat to the survival of mankind in the history of the world!!!
But if, in Virgina, and other places, you can fire a man, or woman, for being gay, which is to say, just for being themselves, where will it end?
Will firing someone simply because of gender be next?
Because of their ethnicity?
Their age?
It has to start somewhere.
Unbelievable
ReplyDeleteSince these legislators have no souls this will have to be an economic issue. Remember when *Virginia was for lovers*? Not anymore.
ReplyDeleteI'm disturbed that they were bold enough to come out and say that he could lose his job that way. I wouldn't be surprised if other gays were fired in Va as well. It's a slippery slope that's only going to get worse until someone steps in and does something.
ReplyDeleteLou: It should be unimaginable!
ReplyDeleteFP: I think some of these issues do come down to money. Boycott the museum, hit 'em in the pocketbook. It seems that's all anyone cares about, the dollar.
Sailor: Thanks for stopping by and chatting. It is quite strange that there is no protection for jobs for gay men and women. Fire me if I'm bad at my job, not because of my orientation!
There's so much to do. I hope things change as soon as possible.
ReplyDeletethis has to change
ReplyDeleteso maybe they would turn their heads on lynching as well. if one is less than human, could folks turn to SPCA for protection?
ReplyDeleteThis is true. In 2005 VA voted to amend its state constitution to make VA the most unfriendly state in the US. That is one of the chief reasons Spouse & I moved out of VA.
ReplyDelete