I live in Bristol City Virginia and I oppose Petition 432.

This petition is not about locker rooms, it never has been. The Board of Health has no business labeling groups of people harmful based on who they are, it is textbook discrimination. 

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.

Something that people fail to realize is that this attack on transgender individuals isn't just an attack, it's manipulation. They are preying on some of the most vulnerable members of our society, and using this agenda to make others feel like they have a sense of control. In the state of this world we need to be brought together, not pulled apart. I do not have hate in my heart for those against the LGBTQ community, but I feel pity and sorrow that they have been taken advantage of. They have fallen victim to our officials and those in the media that shape the mere existence of a small community into a tool to manipulate the people. 

Instead of deciding who can be where and who can participate in what, we should focus on the real problems in Virginia. Women aren't being abused in locker rooms by random trans people, they're being abused in their homes, in their workplace and even in the streets, usually by people close to them. Women are struggling to afford healthcare, and women are suffering in poverty. It is vital that we spend our time and resources on our most pressing problems. All these harmful bills and laws do is spread our community thinner, and hopefully in a time such as this you can understand how vital it is that we act together.