I live in Fairfax Count and I strongly oppose Petition 432.

This petition is not about locker rooms or about protecting women.  The Board of Health has no business labeling groups of people harmful based on who they are.  And the Board of Health has no way of determining any single person's biological sex without dramatically violating their personal health information or performing invasive testing. 

The petition references § 32.1-2 of the Code of Virginia.  The General Assembly and the Board of Health are tasked with the "general welfare of the citizens" and "improving the quality of life in the Commonwealth."  The citizens referenced are all of the citizens, not just the majority.

There are real public health issues facing women and girls in Virginia, like domestic violence, maternal and child 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.

I am a pediatric nurse, and it is my responsibility and joy to provide care to all of the children I see.  Each child has different needs.  Some need shoe inserts to play sports safely.  Some need vaccines to protect them from morbidity and mortality from preventable diseases.  Some need food on the table.  Some need mental health care.  And what they all need is compassionate, evidence-based care free from discrimination based on who they are.  

And in my 15 years of working with children and families, I have seen that ensuring they have access to equitable care, in health care, in school, in government regulations, protects the health and safety of every person.  Not just a few.  I have had two trans patients who have gone from major depression, panic disorders, and attempted suicides, to happy, healthy joyful kids once they were receiving "preventive, curative, and restorative...health services" in the form of gender-affirming care.  If the Board of Health acts on this petition, they will be ostracized from their lives not because any of their friends, family, teammates, colleagues want them to be, but because the Board of Health has decided to take political sides in determining who is deserving of health care.  

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. Trans people cannot and will not be erased.