I live in Virginia Beach and I oppose Petition 432.

This petition is not about locker rooms. 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. 

As a trans woman who was fortunate enough to transition at the age of 12, I am deeply concerned by the blatant discrimination and hateful rhetoric espoused in this petition. While I never personally participated in organized athletics, I resent the idea that I should be banned from them wholesale solely on the basis of my gender identity. With the support of blockers and HRT from the age of 14 onwards, there is virtually no difference between my athletic ability and that of my cisgender peers. I refuse to be seen as a threat to the health and safety of cisgender female athletes when I have done nothing to earn such a classification. I am a human being worthy of the same rights and opportunities as my peers, regardless of our backgrounds. 

This petition 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.