I live in Henrico County, and I oppose Petition 432.

As a lawyer, law professor, and pro bono attorney who has volunteered at Name and Gender Marker Change Clinics for years, I can speak from experience that the trans community simply wants to exist and enjoy the same rights as their fellow Virginians. This petition has nothing to do with the health of Virginians and everything to do with discrimination.

This petition is not about locker rooms. The Board of Health has no business labeling groups of people harmful based on who they are. 

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. 

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.