My name is Travis Fleshood, I live in Henrico 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 who they are. 

There are real public health issues facing women and girls in Virginia, like domestic violence, maternal health, and poverty. Trans people are being unjustly and preemptively blamed for crimes which they have not, nor have any intention to commit. They are being targeted because they are a minority of the population, and are a group that has relatively only recently coming openly into the public view. As such, there are those who are apprehensive to something they don't fully understand, and that apprehension is being exploited by those who need a scapegoat to distract from their ultimate agenda, either to cement power and control over others for themselves, or to erase a portion of the population for a undeniably-misguided moral ethos.

We all deserve to be treated fairly. Period. These attacks, political and physical, harm us all and put us all at risk. It sets the foundation of the mentality, "extermination of an other". Those who believe themselves to be safe from targeting and persecution only think that way because they aren't included in the group currently suffering. This is historically an inaccurate assumption, as there is nothing to guarantee that they will never be a part of a targeted group. The mentality shown by the drafters of this petition is that of total conformity and obedience of their will and way of thinking.

I, myself, am a cisgendered, heterosexual, Caucasian male from Baptist and Episcopalian families, born and raised in Virginia. Those qualifiers indicate that it would be some time before I was considered a person of interest in the rooting out of atypical individuals. This does not mean, however, that I would forever be able to be a sheep in wolf's clothing. There are various and sundry topics on which I have opinions that differ, and are at times diametrically opposed to the majority. I may fly under the radar longer than most, but eventually, my loyalty to the ruling entity would be called into question. No one who is not blindly deferential to those in power, and who is not able to conceal their individuality is safe.

Petition 432 is also indicative of this misguided desire to protect women and children. Countless studies have shown that transgender people are not inherently given to commit assault and abuse. This is possibly due to the fact that many trans individuals have themselves been the victims of such transgressions, and have no desire to put any other innocent through that pain. It should also be noted that Petition 432, and like proposals, only aim to protect people from abuse from trans individuals. There is never any mention of abuse from cisgendered individuals or those in positions of authority. These proposals are meant as a trip to the zoo while Mommy "rests" at home; a blatant attempt to hide the actions of the persons putting forth these proposals while those persons try to control the narrative.

On a more specific note, the percentage of trans athletes participating in public school or college-level sports is less than 0.01%. The testimonials put forth that demonize trans athletes and paint their opponents as victims of an unfair advantage are often grossly misleading, biased, and in some cases complete fabrications. Studies used to attest to the aberrant and unnatural nature of being transgendered are often from organizations that sound official, but that are often named as such to obscure the fact that they are not coming from a position of scientific objectivity. To suggest, as well, that a trans person has some kind of advantage over the cis athletes is firmly rooted in misogyny and outdated stereotypes, and predominantly used against trans females when said female doesn't conform to someone's traditional idea of a female, namely: long hair, weaker than any given man, and prone to fits of emotion. 

This petition has nothing to do with the health of Virginians and everything to do with discrimination. No one should face discrimination because of who they are. Trans people have always been here, and always will be. There have been accounts of trans people, transvestite and transsexual, throughout history. Trans people have done nothing to warrant being erased. They are only being targeted because the proponents of Petition 432 have a ignorant fear of those whom they do not fully understand. They have no accounts of events where there was crime committed by a trans individual that would not have happened if the individual was trans. They have no basis for their belief about how trans people behave other than their own insecurities and fears they have been taught. Petition 432 is an exercise in blind prejudice, and serves the protection and benefit of no one but its proponents.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my opinion on this matter, and I hope you come to a decision after much thought and personal reflection. I hope, also, that you have the empathy and self-awareness to recognize that unless you perfectly align with the ideals of those in power, you may be the subject of future petitions. Again, thank you.

Travis L. Fleshood