I am a former civil servant of a Virginia County and am still very active with the Virginia resident and business communities. The majority of people that I speak with living or growing businesses in Virginia believe that LGBTQ+ rights are human rights and those identified as LGBTQ+ are an important part of business and local communities.

Limiting education and access to information on sexual orientation- or seaming homosexuality as explicit is a giant step backwards. It signals to the rest of the world that Virginia is closed to certain humans, and therefore, closed to businesses that prioritize inclusion and equity.

Its  also dangerous to children who may identify as LGBTQ+leaving them no support system or safe place to discuss their concerns. I believe that Northern Virginia schools already have dealt with an above average suicide rate for high schoolers because of pressure to conform- how will this impact those that are already depressed because they don’t meet the unrealistic expectations of success that Virginia schools place on them (4.0+ , blonde hair/blue eyed, affluent, etc etc).