Listeners at a public hearing on Thursday claimed that restricting sex definitions in West Virginia did not provide women with any additional rights and served as an avenue for Republicans to oppress trans people.
During the 45-minute hearing in the House chambers at the state Capitol, dozens of listeners opposed the “Children’s Bill of Rights” while a small number spoke in favor of it.
According to the law, “equal” does not imply “equal” or “identical” in relation to equality of the sexes. A child’s sex is determined at birth, and gender equity terms cannot be substituted, according to state statutes and standard public policies. Additionally, it may prove that some single-sex settings, like bag rooms, bathrooms, and athletic facilities, are not discriminatory.
Max Varney, a student at Marshall University, claimed that the act justifies transphobia by citing women’s rights.
“I am a transgender person in West Virginia, and I stand before you as such. I do not pose a threat to the general public,” Varney said, “and my existence is not offensive. This legislation is dehumanizing. It’s unfair. And it is repulsive.”
“Why shouldn’t I also be regarded as a person?” Varney went on. “I’m here today to demonstrate the reality of transgender individuals in West Virginia. I’m a genuine person. I am here. And I merit humane treatment.”
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 regulations. Governor of West Virginia, Jim Justice, firmly supported it at a meeting held just before the bill’s launch next month. Similar actions have been taken in different states: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an executive order outlining the specifics of gender in August.
Riley Gaines, a previous Kentucky swimmer, was present at both events and voiced her disapproval of the NCAA’s decision to allow transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to face her in the 2022 world championship culture. Gaines is a member of the Independent Women’s Voice anti-trans party.
The president’s language 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 large “Bill of Rights” premise, the measure does not address problems like abortion, affordable childcare, or reproductive care. A House committee chairman rejected one lawmaker’s attempt to include an equal pay clause, stating that it was unrelated to the bill, which is now known as “The West Virginia Act to Define Sex-Based Terms Used in State Law,” “Help Protect Single-Sex Spaces,” and “Ensure the Accuracy of Public Data Collection.”
The act “guarantees my rights to security, privacy, and protection,” according to follower Nila Thomson at a public hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. “I’m but 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 cost.”
“To understand how this legislature feels about women, we don’t need a women’s bill of rights,” she said. “It’s disgusting and unpleasant.”
The House Education Committee passed another bill last month that would forbid transgender individuals from using the school room that is consistent with their female personality. The court committee has not taken up that act.
Republican Justice joined more than a few states that have passed laws restricting or outlawing biologically supported treatments for transgender children last year when he signed legislation banning gender-affirming treatment for minors.
Court problems are probably coming.
The trans bathroom 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 Fourth Circuit.
A 12-month-old transgender woman in West Virginia was granted permission by the U.S. Supreme Court last year to continue playing on her end school’s girls sports teams 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.
