Word: commonwealths
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...policies are not controversial enough. How else to explain his decision to send a letter to Virginia universities and colleges instructing them to ban protections on gay rights? In the document, Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II advised that, “The law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including ‘sexual orientation,’ ‘gender identity,’ ‘gender expression,’ or like terms in its non-discrimination policy.” The attorney general may be right...
Moreover, Cuccinelli’s move is a targeted attack on a minority group. The Commonwealth of Virginia allows colleges and universities to operate under other policies without explicit permission; for example, a former Virginia assistant Commonwealth attorney pointed out that many places of higher education prevent their staff and students from carrying concealed weapons on the premises, even though this rule does not apply in the rest of Virginia. By singling out this specific legal point at this specific time, Cuccinelli’s letter seems suspiciously discriminatory itself...
...What They're Invalidating in Puerto Rico: In an effort to counter fraud, the government of Puerto Rico--a U.S. commonwealth--is rendering all its birth certificates worthless. A law passed last December, which is only now receiving widespread publicity, requires millions of native Puerto Ricans to replace their birth certificates starting July 1. Many of the documents, which were routinely used on the island for everything from school enrollment to sports-league registration, have been stolen and sold on the black market over the years...
...attorney general's response was noncommittal: "I applaud Governor McDonnell for the tone he is setting for the Commonwealth of Virginia. I will remain in contact with the Governor and continue to work with him on issues important to Virginians." Cuccinelli, in his earlier directive, had acted on his own accord, building on the governor's previous executive order, but went too far, says a state political analyst who preferred to remain anonymous. The governor's clarification amounted to "a public spanking of Cuccinelli," says the analyst. (Watch a gay-marriage wedding video...
...back and forth came after more than 1,500 students and supporters rallied Wednesday at Virginia Commonwealth University to protest Cuccinelli's letter. Waving rainbow flags, chanting "Down With Hate" and wielding signs that read "Jesus Had 2 Dads, Too" and "Homophobia Is A Sin," the animated band assembled near the student union, before 200 later broke away and marched down a main road within blocks of the Virginia State Capitol...