Based on numbers he’s seen, Gov. Bob McDonnell said today he’s not sure the state needs a law protecting people against bias based on sexual orientation.
Asked on his monthly radio appearance on WRVA if he would sign such a bill, the governor said, “I don’t know that we need it based on the numbers that I’ve seen.“
“There really isn’t any rampant discrimination on any basis in Virginia,“ he said. “If you’re going to have a law, it needs to actually address a real problem.“
McDonnell, unlike his predecessor who signed an executive order extending protections based on sexual orientation, issued an executive directive saying workplace discrimination, including bias against gays, is prohibited in Virginia.
McDonnell’s pronouncement doesn’t make the anti-bias statement law, but says it must be obeyed in Virginia because such discrimination would be against the state and U.S. Constitutions.
His directive came after public outcry over Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s opinion delivered to state college and university leaders saying that it was illegal for them to have policies that ban discrimination against gays without a mandate from the legislature.
McDonnell, who gave an opinion in 2006 when serving as attorney general that it’s up to the legislature to add the sexual orientation protection to state law, said he thinks the issue has now been addressed.
The governor also answered questions on Cuccinelli’s latest action—suing the federal government over health-care reform.
A caller asked McDonnell if he thought so many people would oppose health care if President Barack Obama was white.
“From my perspective, and most people I know, they’re basing their support or opposition solely on what is good for the country,“ McDonnell said.
He noted that the state law barring residents from being required to purchase health insurance passed with bipartisan support and that two of the state’s Democratic congressmen opposed the federal bill.
“I don’t think it’s overly partisan and has nothing to do with the president’s political agenda or anything else,“ he said, noting his support of Obama’s charter school push. “For me it’s solely about ideas.“
McDonnell said about 400,000 people would be added to the state’s Medicaid roles under the federal plan at a cost of $1.1 billion by 2022.
The governor also disclosed that he’ll announce more than a dozen state agency heads in the next couple of days, including between 10 and 15 appointments today.
“We’re rapidly completing the rounding out of our agency heads,“ McDonnell said.
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