I live in Loudoun 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. 

As a transgender woman, I just want to be able to live my life in public, like any other woman. When I use any public facilities, I am there to do just that. I want to be able to take part in simply existing in public spaces. The hatred that tries to push me and other trans people away does not protect anyone and harms countless people. You say you are trying to protect, but all you are doing is harming - and these efforts like this do not only harm trans people.

No one should face discrimination because of who they are.