Del. “Sideshow Bob” Marshall (R, Of Course) Fights to Keep Anti-LGBT Discrimination Legal in Virginia

by Lowell

Sadly, the latest crazy/nasty bill by Del. “Sideshow Bob” Marshall (R, of course) is nothing new for this raving anti-LGBT bigot. Remember, this is the same “Sideshow Bob” who “Suggested that children born with disabilities are God’s punishment to women who have previously had abortions;” ” Warned homosexual behavior “undermines the American economy” in an angry letter to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond after it flew a rainbow flag;” “After DADT was repealed, introduced legislation banning “active homosexuals” from joining the Virginia National Guard;” “Warned repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) will “jeopardize our alliances,” especially with Muslim countries, because foreign troops will refuse to fight alongside gay Americans;” etc., etc.

Well, now the Virginia General Assembly is gearing up for its 2016 session, and Sideshow Bob is baaaaack….with more crazy, hateful, bigoted legislation. This time, it’s HB77 on “sex or gender discrimination; applicable federal law,” which “[p]rovides that for the purposes of the Virginia Human Rights Act, an ‘unlawful discriminatory practice’ shall not include conduct that violates any federal administrative policy, rule, or regulation adopted on or after January 1, 2012.” Why January 1, 2012?  It’s hard to know for sure, but check out a couple things that happened after that date.

• According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) website: “In 2012, the EEOC held that discrimination against an individual because that person is transgender (also known as gender identity discrimination) is discrimination because of sex and therefore is prohibited under Title VII. See Macy v. Department of Justice, EEOC Appeal No. 0120120821 (April 20, 2012). The Commission has also held that discrimination against an individual because of that person’s sexual orientation is discrimination because of sex and therefore prohibited under Title VII. See David Baldwin v. Dep’t of Transportation, EEOC Appeal No. 0120133080 (July 15, 2015).”
• From the U.S. Department of Labor: “On July 21, 2014, President Obama signed Executive Order 13672, amending Executive Order 11246, to prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Executive Order directed the Secretary of Labor to prepare regulations implementing the new protections. As a result, the Department of Labor published a Final Rule in the Federal Register on December 9, 2014, changing OFCCP’s regulations to require federal contractors and subcontractors to treat applicants and employees without regard to their sexual orientation or gender identity. The amended regulations took effect on April 8, 2015.”