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 terms of gender equality. A child’s sex is determined at birth, and gender equity terms cannot be substituted, according to state statutes and established public policies. Additionally, it may prove that some single-sex settings, like 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,” Varney declared. “I am hardly a threat to the public, and neither is my life offensive. This legislation dehumanizes. It’s unfair. And it’s repulsive.
“Why shouldn’t I also be regarded as a person?” Varney continued. “I’m here today to demonstrate to you the reality of transgender individuals in West Virginia. I really am. I’m here. And I deserve to be treated humanely.”
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 it at a meeting held just before the bill’s launch last month. Related actions have been taken in various states, including Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signing an executive order defining sex strictly in August.
Riley Gaines, a former Kentucky swimmer, was present at both events and voiced her disapproval of the NCAA’s decision to allow transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to compete against her in the 2022 world championship. Gaines is a member of the Independent Women’s Voice anti-trans party.
The language of the bill is devoid of specifics, such as enforcement methods and penalties, leaving its potential effects vague. Authorities have had trouble figuring out how rules limiting the use of restrooms by transgender people will be put into effect in other states.
Despite its broad “Bill of Rights” premise, the measure doesn’t address issues with abortion, affordable care, 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 protection,” 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’s disgusting and unpleasant.”
The House Education Committee passed a new bill last month that would forbid transgender individuals from using gender-appropriate restrooms at school. The court committee has not taken up 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.
There will probably be legal challenges.
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-year-old transgender woman in West Virginia was granted permission by the U.S. Supreme Court last year to continue playing on her middle 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.
