Sexual Orientation Bill Up For Senate Vote Monday!
Legislation introduced by Senator Donald McEachin (D-9, Richmond), SB 66, seeks to add sexual orientation to the state’s hiring policy of non-discrimination. The bill was scheduled for a vote in the full Senate earlier this week but it was delayed, likely due to grassroots pressure. Certainly, thanks to concerned Virginians, there are some senators feeling the heat from home.
After Senator McEachin withdrew an attempted floor amendment, SB 66 made it through the second read on the floor of the full Senate and is up for a final vote on Monday. If this unnecessary legislation is successful, it would be the first time in Virginia history that sexual orientation would be elevated to a protected class. Furthermore, there is no evidence that discrimination is taking place.
Even if you have e-mailed your senator, it is critical that you contact him or her again over the weekend and urge a vote against this impractical bill. We can prevent this legislation from crossing over to the House if we work together to stop it now. Additionally, the impact of defeating this bill on the Senate floor, rather than in the House, a more likely scenario, may provide needed momentum to defeat the rest of the pro-homosexual agenda. Click here for your senator’s contact information or here to determine who your senator is.
I wonder what Victoria Cobb would be doing now had not progressive thinking liberals fought to free women from the puritanical-like treatment of women that was the norm in first century and a half of our country’s existance. The FF seems to embrace a puritanical approach to many of society’s ill’s. Under the Puritains women and children were treated harshly. Women were even viewed as instruments of Satan. The so-called religious right – for whom the FF acts as a conduit to shape our society – vilifies homosexuals in much the same way.
You make about as much sense as Obama saying “Corpse Man.” You are illogic, non-sequitor personified.
Would the Family Foundation support the bill if one case could demonstrate that a gay man or lesbian was discriminated against in state government? Certainly, the Family Foundation would still be opposed to the bill.
Would the Family Foundation oppose a bill that was introduced to prohibit discrimination in state government based on an individual’s religious beliefs? Certainly, the Family Foundation would be supoortive of the bill.
We know that it does not matter whether a case exists in either instance. Virginia should oppose discrimination in state government regardless of a person’s religion or sexual orientation. I know of several cases in the
Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue where several gay fire fighters were denied promotions simply because some managers felt they were gay. The individuals did not share their sexual orientation with their manager or their co-workers. Does the Family Foundation support the right of fire departments to deny promotions based on sexual orientation?
Should not hiring and promotions in state government be based on a person’s qualitifications and not on non-job related factors? That is the policy of the federal government in hiring and promotions. It works very well because federal managers are trained not to disciminate against any applicant on non-job related factors. Unless a person’s actions outside of work or on the job impacts their ability to do their job, then managers are prohibited from firing or denying promotions. That seems fair and reasonable to most people.
Managers in state governments should be concerned about getting the best qualified appilicants for any state job and not be trying to determine whether a person is gay or not. A person’s sexual orientation should be irrelevant. However, for some people, it is not irrelevant. They cannot separate their personal beliefs when hiring someone for a job or giving a promotion. This bill benefits every individual that applies for a state government job or applies for a state government promotion in the Commonwealth of Virginia. People should not be discriminated against in state government jobs period.
Kirk – Very good points. As I said in another thread on this blog, this type of legislation would not even be necessary if gays were not vilified by groups like the FF. The FF is all for families as long as the family looks like the Ingalls on little House On the Prairie.
Hey fellas: 58-42. The people have spoken.