Mason Firm on Nondiscrimination Policy

The Board of Visitors resolved Wednesday to continue protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the George Mason University community under the university’s nondiscrimination policy.

Mason’s governing body reaffirmed the current “institutional commitment to nondiscrimination,” maintaining the protected classes within University Policy 1201.

The resolution comes over three weeks after Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli wrote a letter to all state universities addressing the inclusion of ‘sexual orientation,’ gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ in the institutions’ nondiscrimination policies.

In the letter, Cuccinelli advised the state institutions to remove the language from their nondiscrimination policies on the basis of current Virginia state law as determined by the General Assembly.

The letter was later leaked to the public, sparking outrage, confusion and protest.

While most of the discussion that produced the resolution occurred during closed executive session, Press Secretary Dan Walsch confirmed this morning that the visitor’s conclusion would leave the policy unchanged and unadjusted unless a serious external legal change occurs.

“If at [a point] in the future a new state law is passed that requires all state agencies and entities to make some changes, then we will comply with the law,” he said.

The full resolution is displayed below.