A Virginia House General Laws Subcommittee tabled Senate Bill 785, a motion which would have protected lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender public employees from discrimination in the workplace. Though the bill passed the Senate with bipartisan support, it cannot be considered for the remainder of the session.
Kirsten Bokenkamp, the communications and policy director for Equality Virginia, said the bill faced the same end last year, when it was passed by the Senate but killed by a House subcommittee.
“We have bipartisan support among members of the House of Delegates,” Bokenkamp said. “But if it gets killed in subcommittee, then a number of delegates on both sides of the aisle, who would support workplace nondiscrimination, never get a chance to vote on it.”
Although the majority of the business community already ensures that their LGBT employees are not being discriminated against, Bokenkamp said there are still some legislators in strict opposition.
“It seems that for any bill that has LGBT in it that would do anything positive for the LGBT community, there [are] a number of legislators who will not support that bill, regardless that the majority of Virginians would support that bill,” Bokenkamp said.
Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, who introduced the bill and who has been a longtime supporter of the LGBT community, said non-discrimination is a mainstream value in Virginia and providing protection against discrimination should be non-controversial.
“All Virginians deserve equal opportunity, justice and fairness,” McEachin said. “Moreover, they deserve to be confident that their employment is dependent on their performance on the job, not on other extraneous characteristics.”
Scott Rheinheimer, the coordinator of LGBTQ Students Services and the LGBTQ Center, said these protections for LGBT employees have already been put into place independently by the University.
“The University of Virginia’s nondiscrimination clause actually includes sexual orientation and gender identity,” Rheinheimer said. “U.Va. has always been supportive of LGBTQ people as an employer.”
However, Rheinheimer said he is disappointed that protection against discrimination is still a debated topic.
“It is upsetting to know that something like this is political,” Rheinheimer said. “At the University of Virginia we have these protections … I just wish that we could do that for the entire state.”
McEachin and Bokenkamp said they are determined to continue working towards the passage of this bill and expect it to pass in the future. Until then, Equality Virginia is working with the business community, religious community, organizations and their coalition partners to show legislators that the majority of Virginians support an anti-discrimination bill for LGBT public employees.
“We need to stop looking backwards,” Bokenkamp said. “We need to accept where we are in 2015, and we’ll continue to fight for this bill until it passes.”
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