I strongly oppose this petition. 

This petition is not about safety. Instead, it is furthering a narrative of hate and fear and discrimination against trans people. As a Virginian and a trans woman, I stand for the rights, freedoms, and liberties of all people, especially those who are marginalized. 

No one should face discrimination because of who they are. Trans people have always been here, and always will be. We have been berated and pushed to the side, but we cannot disappear. Because our transness isn't a social movement. It isn't the product of a woke media or an attempt to push "biological men" into women's spaces. It is instead a genuine and earnest expression of what I and many others experience as a fundamental part of our being and wellbeing. 

Trans women care deeply about and want to protect the rights and spaces of women in general, including CIS women. We do not want to cause harm or hurt and wish only to live peaceful normal lives. When I go into a bathroom or locker room space, it is not to harm but to use that space for the function for which it was intended and then to go about my day.

The Department of Health serves to protect the health and promote the well-being of ALL people in Virginia. Across all 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 would rather the Department of Health focus on the rights to reproductive freedom and abortion for women, improved healthcare costs, better and more affordable housing, more egalitarian and reasonable wages, better support for unionization of workers, etc. There are so many incredibly important things to be spending our time and energy on. Please do not use those resources which are provided by the public for the public to fuel this engine of hate. Please vote against this and all anti-trans legislation. Talk to trans folks. Meet us. Learn about us, and you will realize we are not a threat to others but a beautiful part of the complex and diverse web of human life and experience.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

--Waverly Garner