I live in Fairfax County and I oppose Action 4905.

The Board of Health has no business labeling groups of people harmful based on who they are.

There are real public health issues facing women and girls in Virginia, like domestic violence, maternal health, and poverty. Don’t let this hateful petition distract from your important mission to protect the health and promote the well-being of ALL people in Virginia.

Across our races, backgrounds, and genders, we all deserve to be treated fairly. There is a nationwide effort by some politicians and interest groups to force transgender people and LGBTQ+ people out of public life. These political attacks harm us all, whether we’re gay or straight, transgender or not, because they foster discrimination and distract us from the real problems we face.

I am transgender. I have seen attacks on trans people increase every year for the better part of the past decade. I fear that the Board of Health will not stop at just this one anti-trans attack should they be successful in advancing their proposed bigoted agenda, and I fear it will embolden bad actors further to harm trans people when we are just trying to exist in public life like everyone else.

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.