I live in Rockingham County and I oppose Petition 432.

As health professionals know, attempting to define gender in strict binaries, even at a biological level, is impossible. At best it is imprecise, and at worst it exposes people of all gender identities to levels of body scrutiny that are extremely alarming.

Trans athletes are only asking to be allowed equal rights to participate in sports and gain all of the educational and social benefits available to all collegiate athletes.

Women uncomfortable in the locker room environment can be given private spaces to undress without banning trans athletes. The only people in this scenario at risk of psychological harm are the trans athletes who will be further alienated and ostracized from their peers if this petition moves forward. LGBTQ+ youth are already four times more likely than their peers to attempt suicide (source: Trevor Project) because of social stigma. Their health, both mental and physical, matters too.