RICHMOND - Seeking to halt a "distraction," Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says he will discontinue any further use of a lapel pin that features a more modest version of the state seal.
The state seal depicts the Roman goddess Virtus wearing a blue tunic draped over one shoulder with her left breast exposed. On the lapel pins Cuccinelli recently handed out to his staff, an armored breastplate covers her bosom.
"The image on my office lapel pin is similar to that of a large antique state flag that hangs in the Virginia Capitol," Cuccinelli said in a statement. "That is where I got the idea for my pin. I liked this particular image and thought it would be something unique for my employees.
"I cannot believe that joking with my staff about Virtue being a little more 'virtuous' in this antique version has become news.
"This is simply a media-made issue that has become distracting to the work of my office. I am going to end this distraction by discontinuing future use of the pin."
Cuccinelli suggested that "we all do the citizens a service by getting back to talking about things that are more important to them, including my office's work last week to get four sexually violent predators committed to mental-health treatment, the collection of $225,000 in back debt owed to the commonwealth, and assisting local law enforcement in an investigation that resulted in a drug kingpin being sentenced to life without parole."
Cuccinelli said the pins were not paid for with taxpayer dollars.
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