The Arlington County Human Rights Commission reconsidered an earlier decision and dismissed a ruling that called on a local business to copy or pay for the copying of gay-themed videos.
The county’s decision came on June 8, the same day that it received a lawsuit from Tim Bono, owner of Bono Film and Video, charging commission officials with violating his constitutional rights by requiring him to copy the movies. Bono filed the suit June 7.
Arlington County Attorney Stephen MacIsaac said the commission’s decision was not influenced by the lawsuit.
“The Human Rights Commission reconsidered and then dismissed the case,” he told The Examiner. “I don’t think [the lawsuit] changes much.”
MacIsaac said the commission’s mandate “to receive, investigate and conciliate complaints from those who believe they have been victims of unlawful discrimination” does not include content, such as the videos. The commission can only protect individuals.
“The ordinance doesn’t protect against [content],” he said. “It’s not designed to protect against content. It protects people, not content.”
Despite the commission’s decision to rescind the order, Rena Lindevaldsen, Bono’s attorney, said the lawsuit will not be withdrawn, and that she will challenge the law under Virginia’s constitution.
“We also challenge the legality of the sexual orientation provision,” she told The Examiner. “We maintain under existing state law that the county doesn’t have the authority to investigate claims of sexual orientation discrimination.”
Lindevaldsen is an attorney for the Lynchburg-based Liberty Counsel, “a nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family,” according to its Web site. Liberty Counsel has been involved in legal fights over gay marriage and placing the Ten Commandments in public buildings, as is behind efforts to allow religious groups to meet as after-school programs.
Gay-rights activist Lilli Vincenz, who asked Bono to copy footage of a gay-rights parade, filed the original complaint. When Bono refused to copy the footage, Vincenz went to the Human Rights Commission.
