I live in Fairfax County 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 transgender woman, I moved to Virginia from Ohio several years ago to live freely as myself, and I fully believe that was one of the best decisions I've made. Despite how life here isn't always perfect, I truly enjoy it, and would much rather work to make it better than give up and move somewhere else.

Whether anyone recognizes it or not, transgender people are part of life in this state, from software engineers to lawyers, from retail workers to executives, and all of us are part of the fabric that makes this state what it is. In the end, the hateful lies about who we are only serve to harm our ability to make Virginia the great state we know it can be.

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. 

I urge you to stand on the right side of history and reject Petition 432.