I live in Orange County VA and I would like to start off by saying how I oppose Action 4905.

The Board of Health has no business labeling groups of people harmfully based on who they are. Not only does this Action harmfully label people but it is also unenforceable due to many criteria. 

As I stated above, this action is unenforceable. Transwomen are typically defined as people who were identified as male at birth but for whatever reason, they decided they fit more as a women than as a male. This definition of course still includes people who would typically be defined as women despite not being Transgender as most people would see the term. If you base the definition based on chromosomes that still fails due to existence of intersex and others who have conditions which cause them to have different chromosomes than what would match their bodily appearances. Not matter how you define transgender then the term will always include those who actually do not themselves and who society does not consider transgender. Additionally, how must one prove themselves as being a certain gender as to not be falsely accused for breaking the law which would be set up by this action. If its as simple as pulling my pants down, who would be qualified to do this and how would this apply to minors. What about if you were to show ID or Birth certificate? Well most people dont have either on hand, especially minors and those who are born a certain gender can still be assigned another gender just because the dr said so(this has happened before). This type of law would be unenforceable without violation of not only trans peoples rights, but also the rights of everyday citizens such as yourself, your children, your friends, your family, etc.

There are real public health issues facing women and girls in Virginia, like domestic violence, maternal health, and poverty. If you truly believe this is an issue then I ask for you to look into the following study and the multitude of other studies that can be found which all show how trans youth are at risk for sexual assault when forced into their assigned bathrooms and lockerooms at birth:

Murchison GR, Agénor M, Reisner SL, Watson RJ. School Restroom and Locker Room Restrictions and Sexual Assault Risk Among Transgender Youth. Pediatrics. 2019 Jun;143(6):e20182902. doi: 10.1542/peds.2018-2902. Epub 2019 May 6. PMID: 31061223; PMCID: PMC8849575.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8849575/

(Both are the same study, I just provided both the citation and the URL)

Along with that study I would also like to bring forth another which found that, "After 2 years of GAHT, no advantage was observed for physical performance measured by running time or in trans women. By 4 years, there was no advantage in sit-ups. While push-up performance declined in trans women, a statistical advantage remained relative to cisgender women."

Cheung AS, Zwickl S, Miller K, Nolan BJ, Wong AFQ, Jones P, Eynon N. The Impact of Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy on Physical Performance. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2024 Jan 18;109(2):e455-e465. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgad414. PMID: 37437247; PMCID: PMC10795902.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10795902/

After looking at those studies, I would like to ask for you to think to yourself, is this truthfully helping society to become better, more connected, and protecting the most people from harm. I would disagree on all accounts that Action 4905 does anything close to this. I would argue that it completely does the opposite, it is creating a divide.

This proposed regulation has nothing to do with the health of Virginians and everything to do with discrimination. No one should face discrimination because of who they are. Trans people have always been here, and always will be. Trans people cannot and will not be erased. Trans people have existed since humans have created the idea of gender. Some examples of trans people throughout history include: In the Czech Republic a skeleton identified to have been male was found wearing female attire around 4,500 years ago; 1,200 BCE, there was evidence found in Egypt of trans people existing and living; around 1,300 CE, Kalonymus ben Kalonymus lament for being born as a man rather than a women is seen as the first known account of gender dysphoria; the edo period in japan has many countless examples; The pre-Islamic Bugis society of Sulawesi recognizes five gender roles; In the United States in 1776, the genderless Public Universal Friend refused both birth name and gendered pronouns; and The first known informal transgender advocacy organisation in the United States, Cercle Hermaphroditos, was founded in 1895. I will cut my examples off here as there are many more I could attest for.

Please vote for what is right and what is truly important, rather than such an Action as this. Your time Should and Must be spent truthfully and rightfully helping the people of Virginia rather than wasted on such a work as this which will further divide and attack the everyday citizens of Virginia.