The State of Virginia Is Accused of Discrimination by Asian-American Business Owners

A group of Asian American business owners is asking Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring to investigate what they call racial discrimination by the state in banning electronic skill games in stores they own that are frequented by racial and ethnic minorities.

The Asian American Business Owners Association, based in Roanoke, filed a complaint on Saturday with the attorney general’s office, which it also asked to effectively block the ban, scheduled to take effect on Thursday, by refusing to enforce it.

The 18-page complaint takes direct aim at the General Assembly for disparaging the games and the people who play them. Specifically, it cites public comments by Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment, R-James City, referring to legislative efforts to perpetuate skill games as “the Ali Baba bill” and Senate Finance Chair Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, who called them “sleazy.”