I live in Locust Grove 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. 

Having family and friends that are trans, and having worked with trans patients in the healthcare field, I have come to learn that trans people just want to exist in peace. They truly do not want to harm or bother anyone else. 

And as a parent, I have no issue with any of kids competing against a trans athlete. I don’t feel like a trans kid is taking away a spot my kid should have. I don’t have fears of my kid competing against, or with, a trans athlete. These kids just want to exist too, in peace, and not bother anyone else.

And the harm that these bans and attacks will do to kids can cause damage far more than visible to the eye or see on a sports team…

Repeatedly telling someone they don’t exist, or shouldn’t exist, robs that person of their purpose and joy in life. It’s a slap in the face, repeatedly, day in and day out.

Perhaps instead of focusing on attacking trans kids, we spend more time and effort focusing on accepting people and making our society a loving place that all people exist in….

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.