Virginia's attorney general is advising the state's public colleges to rescind policies that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Kenneth Cuccinelli says in a letter to college presidents and other officials that only the General Assembly can determine which classes of people are protected by state government nondiscrimination policies. Legislators have repeatedly refused to ban discrimination against gays in state employment practices.

The Republican attorney general says in the letter, dated Thursday, that state institutions cannot adopt a policy position that has been rejected by the General Assembly.

Democrats and gay-rights activists are criticizing Cuccinelli's move.

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