Loudspeakers at a public hearing on Thursday said that policy in West Virginia to alter the definitions of identity would deny women any additional rights and would be used by Republicans to oppress transgender people. CHARLESTON, W. Va.
During the 45-minute hearing in the House chambers at the state Capitol, dozens of speakers opposed the “Children’s Bill of Rights” while a small number supported it.
According to the law, “equal” does not imply “same” or “identical” in relation to equality of the sexes. A woman’s sex is determined at birth, and female-centric terms may not be substituted, according to state statutes and established public policies. Additionally, it may prove that some single-sex settings, such as locker rooms, bathrooms, and athletic facilities, are not discriminatory.
Max Varney, a student at Marshall University, claimed that the act uses stigmatization as justification for women’s rights.
“I am a transgender person in West Virginia, and I stand before you. I don’t pose a threat to the general public, and my existence is not offensive,” Varney said. “This legislation is dehumanizing. It’s unfair. And it is repulsive.
“Why shouldn’t I also be regarded as a person?” Varney continued. “I’m here now to demonstrate to you the reality of transgender individuals in West Virginia. I am real. I am here. And I deserve to be treated with dignity.”
The bill, according to Fairness West Virginia, the state’s sole LGBTQ+ advocacy group, does nothing to help women and, among other things, forbids transgender people from using gender-appropriate restrooms in public buildings.
The GOP-supermajority House of Delegates is still debating the policy. Governor of West Virginia Jim Justice firmly supported the bill at a meeting held just before it was introduced last month. Related actions have been taken in other states, including Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signing an executive order in August outlining the specifics of gender.
Riley Gaines, a former Kentucky swimmer, was present at both activities and voiced her disapproval of the NCAA’s decision to allow transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to compete against her in the 2022 world championship. Independent Women’s Voice, an anti-trans group, includes Gaines.
The language of the bill is vague about its possible effects because it omits specifics like enforcement strategies and penalties. Officials in other states with laws limiting the access of transgender people to restrooms had had trouble figuring out how they will be put into practice.
Despite its broad “Bill of Rights” premise, the measure doesn’t address problems like abortion, affordable childcare, or reproductive care. When a House committee president ruled that an equal pay provision wasn’t relevant to the bill, which is otherwise titled “The West Virginia Act to Establish Sex-Based Terms Used in State Law, Help Protect Single-Sex Spaces, and Ensure the Accuracy of Public Data Collection,” one lawmaker’s attempt to include it was rejected.
The act “guarantees my rights to security, privacy, and safety,” according to follower Nila Thomson at a public hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. “I’m so appreciative that you came up with this act on your own.”
However, Mollie Kennedy, the community outreach coordinator for the West Virginia section of the American Civil Liberties Union, referred to it as a “bigoted bill.”
“To understand how this legislature feels about women, we don’t need a women’s bill of rights,” she said. “It is disgusting and unpleasant.”
The House Education Committee passed a new bill last month that would forbid transgender individuals from using the restroom that is appropriate for their gender identity. The court committee has not discussed that act.
Republican Justice joined more than a few states that have passed laws restricting or outlawing clinically supported treatments for transgender children last year when he signed legislation banning gender-affirming treatment for minors.
Legal challenges are likely coming.
The trans restroom ban on a Virginia school board was declared unconstitutional by the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020. West Virginia is under the purview of the 4th Circuit.
A 12-year-old transgender girl from West Virginia was granted permission by the U.S. Supreme Court last year to continue playing on the girls’ sports teams at her middle school while a state ban lawsuit is still pending. Trans athletes are not allowed to compete in sports that are consistent with their gender identity under the ban.
