McDonnell: Opposition to gay measures based on law

RICHMOND

Gov. Bob McDonnell on Monday said his opposition to two gay rights-related vestiges of former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s tenure are based on legal theory and aren’t a sign his administration is anti-gay .

One issue is a proposed regulatory change that would have allowed same-sex partners of state employees to share state health benefits. Kaine pushed that concept on his way out of office; McDonnell had it withdrawn from consideration last week.

The other is McDonnell’s failure to issue a non-discrimination order as several previous governors did. On Monday, McDonnell said that Kaine’s executive order on the subject remains in place, save the “sexual orientation” passage he objects to.

He and Kaine jousted on the topic four years ago when McDonnell was attorney general – McDonnell argues that such employment policies are the province of the legislature, not the governor.

And he told reporters Monday his policy will remain what it was when he was the state’s top prosecutor – discrimination won’t be tolerated in the state work force.

“The only thing I care about is will they work hard, will they follow the vision that I’ve outlined for state government, will they have a servant’s heart, do they love Virginia and will they get results,” he said.

Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, of the gay rights group Equality Virginia, argues that Virginia needs anti-discrimination legislation, not just public statements from the governor.

Chris Freund of the socially conservative Family Foundation disagrees.

Codifying the policy is an unnecessary step because “there’s been no evidence about discrimination in the workplace,” he said.

McDonnell hasn’t said whether he would sign into law that kind of bill.

The unapologetically conservative McDonnell faced tough questions about his views during last year’s campaign when his 1989 graduate thesis that contained writings about the harmful social impact  of homosexuals became public.

The governor later said his views had changed in the 20 years since he wrote the paper.

And while the election is over, the subject of gay rights remains a political fault line that is likely to continue to inspire questions about administration policies and critiques from foes.

“People in the  commonwealth want individuals to be judged on performance rendered on the job, not their personal lifestyles,” said House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, D-Henry.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com