I live in Springfield, VA (Fairfax County) and I oppose Petition 432 asking the Virginia Board of Health to amend regulations allowing a ban on transgender women from sports and certain facilities. I am the parent of two young children, ages 4 and 8. Why shouldn't they and their friends be able to participate in any activity regardless of their gender?

When I was growing up in the 1990s, our town's local tennis club banned one of my moms for participating because she was married to a woman. That was senseless discrimination then, and this is senseless discrimination now. 

This petition is not about locker rooms. The Board of Health has no business labeling groups of people harmful based on who they are, and based on no evidence that they are causing harm. We all deserve fair treatment, and this is not it. 

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.

Our trans community members are already at risk of mental health issues due to anti-trans stigma. Our trans youth are at much greater risk of suicide than their cisgender peers. Preventing them from participating on sports teams that match their gender identities will only further isolate them and put them at greater risk. I am concerned about the potential for harm if the Board of Health acts on this petition.

No one should face discrimination because of who they are. Trans people have always been here, and always will be.