Virginia's Attorney General Says Gays Not Protected Under 14th Amendment

A high school student asked Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli about the constitutionality of his letter suggesting that state universities did not have to establish antidiscrimination protections for gays and lesbians at a forum Friday at Liberty University.

The attorney general replied that his advice would not be a violation of the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause because "the category of sexual orientation would never have been contemplated by the people who wrote and voted for and passed the 14th Amendment," he said according to theNews & Advance newspaper of Lynchburg, Va.

Cuccinelli added that the letter was consistent with the stance of the five previous attorneys general, and that "state universities are not free to create any specially protected classes other than those dictated by the General Assembly."

Cuccinelli also answered questions about a recent inquiry into records about climate research done at the University of Virginia and about his opposition to requiring all citizens to have health insurance. He spoke at Boys State, a forum designed to offer high school students experience in politics and government.

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