From the Frontlines of the Kulturkampf - The Fairfax County (Va.) school board has postponed a decision on adding sexual orientation to its non-discrimination policy. Professional homophobes would likely have sued the board if they had approved the action, so they decided to seek an opinion first from Attorney-General Jerry Kilgore, advising whether such a move is permitted under Virginia law.

Kicking the question upstairs isn't going to quell the debate, but the prospects aren't good. In 2000, the Virginia Supreme court struck down Arlington County's domestic partner benefits in a decision holding that the law violated the so-called Dillon Rule. This ancient (and therefore, in Virginia, venerated) legal doctrine gives local governments only those powers specifically granted by the state. (The opposite result was reached in our sister state.)

It will be interesting to see how Kilgore handles this legal technicality. A negative response seems reasonably likely given our local political environment. Kilgore holds the only statewide office in the hands of GOP, and he has designs on the Governor's mansion. Gay-baiting always makes good politics (and lucrative fundraising) in Virginia. But how far does the A-G want to push the Dillon Rule in interferring with the power of a local government to manage its employees? That concern may offer some counterbalance to conservatives' desires to cut down those liberal urban jurisdictions that have issued progressive non-discrimination policies. Look for the Virginia Log Cabin Republicans to be as ineffectual as usual in lobbying this issue.