Two anti-LGBTQ bills were defeated on February 9th in Virginia thanks to the hard work of Federation member Equality Virginia and many advocates on the ground who bravely shared their stories and asked their legislators to stand for fairness.

From Equality Virginia:

“HB 385 (Marshall), a bill that would remove discrimination protections covering more than 1/4 of gay and transgender public school employees, was heard first. Dozens stood up with EV in opposition of the bill, and the bill failed to report out of committee 11-11.
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Next, HB 781 (Cole) a bill that stigmatizes transgender people and youth by forcing them to use incorrect restrooms and locker rooms in any public school or government-owned facility, was brought up.
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EV would like to give a huge thank you to Andrew, a student from Appomattox High School, who testified against HB 781 by sharing his experience as a transgender student in Virginia’s public schools and how the bills would harmfully impact him and others like him. The bill failed to report out of committee 8-13.”

The news came on Equality Virginia’s Day of Action, at which many advocates gathered to strategize with each other and talk to their legislators about the importance of ensuring all Virginians a fair opportunity to live and work, free from discrimination, in their great state.

James Parish, Executive Director of Equality Virginia said, “Equality Virginia applauds the House Committee of General Laws for their strong bipartisan opposition to HB 781. This bill would have criminalized members of our transgender community for doing nothing more than using the restroom. This win would not have been possible without the thousands of Virginians who messaged their delegates, the letters shared by many parents raising trans youth and the leadership from our trans community all speaking against this harmful, mean spirited, and stigmatizing bill.”

To learn about all the legislation Equality Federation is tracking and see what is happening in your community please click here for our Legislative Action Center.