There is now a growing momentum to protest the institutionalized bigotry perpetrated by Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Cuccinelli's edict to the state's public colleges and universities  had no legal standing to add sexual orientation to their nondiscrimination policies and that they must be rolled back, has left openly LGBTs on campuses sitting ducks for bigoted supervisors.

The Virginia Young Democrats have issued a call to action in response, launching on March 12. there is also a searchable list of the various upcoming protests/actions on the VYD's web site.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

March 10th, 2010

Contact: 

Toby Quaranta, Executive Director

Toby.quaranta@vayd.org

(703) 309-6556

 

 

Virginia Young Democrats join in leading actions to protest Ken Cuccinelli

We are outraged by the decision to put personal prejudice ahead of good policy

Sean Holihan, President of the Virginia Young Democrats, released this statement via YouTube, Facebook, theBlue Commonwealth Community Blog, and the Virginia Young Democrats Homepage this morning. The link is:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np7BzkGn7Uw. His Full Comments are below.

Hi, I'm Sean Holihan, President of the Virginia Young Democrats. Late Friday, March 5th, our Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, decided to wage a war against our state colleges and universities, telling them that their policies protecting Gay and Lesbian Virginians are illegal. There are so many things wrong with this, so many reasons to be angry. You might be angry that while our Universities' budgets have been gutted, Ken Cuccinelli is now trying to meddle in their hiring and admission processes. Perhaps you are angry because you don't care who your college professor loves, you just want a good education. Or perhaps you're outraged because you don't think your sexual orientation should ever come into account when you're applying for admission to the College of William and Mary, UVA, or Virginia Tech. Whatever the reason, we are outraged with you. We are outraged by the decision to put personal prejudice ahead of good policy.

This week, most of our large Universities are on Spring Break. So, I am calling on young people of all parties to take part in three specific actions on your campus, in your high school, or in your community. First, we're asking people to make March 12th a facebook day of action. On March 12th, I'm asking you asking you to send a message to Ken Cuccinelli, Governor McDonnell, and the Republicans in the General Assembly by changing your status message to say “This Virginian does NOT Discriminate.” Second, we are asking you to send an email to the governor, telling him to reign in his Attorney General and to amend his Executive Order on non-discrimination by including sexual orientation, just like Governors Kaine and Warner. Third, there are many groups taking part in actions protesting Ken Cuccinelli. I'm asking you to join in these activities, and you can find a list of them on our Website, www.VAYD.org.

Ken Cuccinelli, Bob McDonnell, and the Republican members of the legislature need to realize that if they ca
n't put personal prejudice aside and start concentrating on getting people jobs and giving them a good education, voters will make a different choice in the next election. There is no place for this in government, there is no place for this in Virginia. Thank you, I hope you'll join us.  

About VAYD:

The Virginia Young Democrats is a statewide organization for Democrats under the age of 36.  With 51 chapters and 10,000 members, the Virginia Young Democrats are the premiere volunteer organization for Democrats in the commonwealth.