I live in Chesterfield 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. 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. 

My younger sibling grew up as a trans teen in this state facing discrimination in public spaces made them too nervous to use public restrooms or attend public school. My parents were able to homeschool them but not everyone has the opportunity to do that. Schools should be as welcoming and inclusive as possible for all people in our state including trans youth.

The potential for harm if the Board of Health acts on this petition is not only to trans youth but any person using facilities or participating in sports that would be subject to increased scrutiny. Any person that looks different from the imagined ideal norm for women and girls may be confronted with accusations, forced to undergo examination, or provide medical documentation. Cisgender girls and women will be the majority of those accused of not being women or girls, or not performing gender correctly. Cisgender women athletes will be accused of not being girly enough. Discrimination hurts everyone, both cisgender and transgender people.

I participated in girls sports briefly in high school, it was fun and challenging, and it fostered a sense of camaraderie with my teammates. I was one of the weakest players on my team, but I was included despite my obvious lack of skill, I learned about the sport (soccer) and about being on a team. I also learned about the necessity of more ways to detect concussion in young athletes, as top players on our team had to take time off to recover from concussions acquired during game play.

The women athletes that brought forward this petition have been misled by hatred and bigotry into unsporting behavior. Any personal competitive losses are not the fault of one’s opponents especially in sports that are based on timed races. Train harder, do better, do not waste time on distractions and blaming others for your own performances. Do not let your own inadequacies and insecurities lead you to lash out and harm athletes who are more vulnerable than you. Trans women and trans girl athletes deserve a chance to participate on teams that match their gender identities.

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.