In answer to an inquiry about “don’t ask, don’t tell,” last week, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli gave his opinion on whether Virginia could ignore another federal law passed in a bipartisan effort by the 2010 Congress. This time, as opposed to the opinion he gave about The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, (also known by critics as ObamaCare) Cuccinelli deferred to federal guidelines.
Del. William R. Janis, R-Henrico asked Cuccinelli if the Virginia General Assembly has the authority to mandate a continuation of the policy in the aftermath of congressional repeal.
Cuccinelli said that he was unable to specifically address the issue because the actual federal regulations repealing the policy have yet to be issued.
However, the attorney general said that while the states have the power to appoint officers to the state militias, including the modern National Guard, the power to determine which Guard officers are eligible for service in the overlapping National Guard of the United States rests with the U.S. Congress.
Further, Cuccinelli said that Congress, through its spending power, “can condition the use of federal funds on a State’s acceptance of DADT.
“Should the General Assembly wish to avoid the conditions attached to these funds, it can raise, equip, and fund an independent Virginia militia entirely from state revenues,” the opinion concludes.
That prospect is unlikely, say officials, given the fact that the overwhelming majority of funding for state Guards is provided by the federal government.
Last year after taking office, the attorney general issued an opinion that public colleges and universities should remove “sexual orientation” from their anti-discrimination polices because the protection is not specifically articulated in the state code.
The opinion angered many in the gay community and spurred a slew of bills in the current General Assembly to codify the gay rights protection in Virginia law. As you may recall, after Cuccinelli issued that opinion, Gov. Bob McDonnell had to intervene and eventually issued a statement saying Virginia does not discriminate, period.
Cuccinelli’s reluctance to give an opinion in objection to “don’t ask, don’t tell,” may be influenced for two reasons.
McDonnell doesn’t need a similar to last year’s headache and Cuccinelli dosen’t want to appear anti-gay. For a man with higher political aspirations, it’s a fight he doesn’t need.
Besides, the attorney general knows that when it comes to military issues and its funding, federal policy trumps state rights.
More recently in the mid 90s, Virginia Military Institute initially refused the admittance of females as Keydets. Reluctantly, VMI did so in 1997 to avoid losing federal dollars.
Cuccinelli made a prudent decision – monetarily and politically. I wish he’d used similar judgment before taking on the feds to repeal national healthcare.
Nelson Graves, a resident of Augusta County, is an employee of Virginia and a News Virginian columnist. Email him at: Ngraves9@hotmail.com .
Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment