I live in Fairfax County and I oppose Petition 432.

This petition is not about locker rooms. The Board of Health has no business labeling groups of people harmful based on their gender identity.

There are real public health issues facing women and girls in Virginia, like domestic violence, maternal health, and poverty. Don’t let this hateful petition distract from your important mission to protect the health and promote the well-being of ALL people in Virginia.

Across our races, backgrounds, and genders, we all deserve to be treated fairly. There is a nationwide effort by some politicians and interest groups to force transgender people and LGBTQ+ people out of public life. These political attacks harm us all, whether we’re gay or straight, transgender or not, because they foster discrimination and distract us from the real problems we face. 

For 16 years, I've had the honor of teaching and learning from hundreds of teenagers every year, who represent a spectrum of different cultures and gender identities. The best lesson I've learned, that I try to impart to my students as well, is that all of us are worthy of respect. This petition does not actually respect women and girls. It is fear mongering in an attempt to legalize bigotry, which will only serve to FURTHER HARM the women and girls it purports to protect.  We are all human, and we all deserve equal rights and protection under the law.

I expect our elected and appointed public officials to stand up for the rights of all people in our state, without letting the imagined fears of one group erase the rights of people who they view as "other". No one should face discrimination because of who they are. Trans people have always been here, and always will be. Trans people cannot and will not be erased.