RVA Mag

Richmond, VA Culture & Politics Since 2005

Menu

Hundreds of LGBTQ Advocates Lobby Lawmakers for Protections

|

Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Equality Virginia and the Commonwealth’s LGBTQ community continue to lobby state legislators for important LGBTQ protections. Now that Democrats control the General Assembly, they’re having some success.

The day after hundreds lobbied lawmakers on behalf of LGBTQ rights during Equality Virginia’s Day of Action, two significant bills advanced in the General Assembly to further protections for the state’s LGBTQ residents. 

The House passed a bill from Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, on Wednesday to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, insurance, and banking. 

A Senate bill that adds gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability as reportable hate crimes, introduced by Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, reported from committee. The bill would also guarantee that victims would be able to bring civil action to recover damages against their offender. 

Vee Lamneck, executive director of Equality Virginia, was “cautiously optimistic” at the start of the legislative session, but said Tuesday during the organization’s annual lobby event that there is much to celebrate.

Equality Virginia lobbied their lawmakers to support LGBTQ bills during their Day of Action. League of Women Voters members Lois Page and Lynn Johnston regularly attend the weekly roundtables. Photo: Vee Lamneck, Equality Virginia

Lamneck noted that most of the bills supported by Equality Virginia, a group that advocates on behalf of the LGBTQ community, are still alive and advancing. Last session, most of those bills failed to pass from Republican-led subcommittees.

“This legislation will ensure that people are not discriminated against in housing, employment, public spaces, and credit,” Lamneck said.

LGBTQ youth showed up to make their voices heard too. Side by Side, a group dedicated to creating supportive communities for LGBTQ youth, helped sponsor the event.

“We want them to see that it’s easy and accessible, and what it’s like to actually be involved in the legislative process,” said Emma Yackso, director of youth programs and services for Side by Side. “A lot of them for many, many reasons don’t feel like they belong in government, don’t feel like their voices are actually ever going to be listened to.”

Groups visited legislators to discuss LGBTQ-related causes such as conversion therapy, housing instability, religious liberty, protection from discrimination, and the vulnerability of African American transgender communities. 

“We know that people who live at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities often face the most discrimination, harassment, and, unfortunately, sometimes violence as well,” Lamneck said.

The lobbying event was followed by an afternoon of workshops at the Library of Virginia and a reception to thank lawmakers. 

Equality Virginia hosted their Day of Action at the Library of Virginia on Tuesday to promote LGBTQ bills and rights. Photo: Maia Stanley, Capital News Service

 Some of the legislation that has advanced in the General Assembly — mostly with bipartisan support — includes two bills introduced by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax. Senate Bill 657 would make it easier to change a person’s name and gender on a birth certificate. SB 161 would make the Department of Education create and implement policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public schools; a duplicate bill in the House also passed.

The Senate also passed SB 245, introduced by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, which would ban the practice of conversion therapy in Virginia on patients under age 18. A similar bill introduced by Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, recently passed the House. On Tuesday, the House passed a health care bill introduced by Del. Danica Roem, D-Prince William, that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or status as a transgender individual. 

Advocates also celebrated that two bills referred to as the Virginia Values Act have made it to the floors of their respective chambers: SB 868, introduced by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, and HB 1663, introduced by Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax. Both would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, credit transactions, employment and public spaces.

“We speak with many individuals from across the Commonwealth who have shared with us their experiences of discrimination,” Lamneck said. “And not just that, but the fact that they live in fear, day to day experiencing discrimination. And so the Virginia Values Act will have a profoundly positive impact on the community.”

Deanna Bayer (left), volunteer for the Day of Action, and Dorthy Kelley (right), an employee of Equality Virginia, greet participants for workshops and events. Photo: Maia Stanley, Capital News Service

Gov. Ralph Northam and Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, attended an evening reception to wrap up the Day of Action. 

“This session we are going to ensure it is no longer legal in Virginia to discriminate against someone because of who they love,” Filler-Corn tweeted. Two House bills that add gender, disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation as reportable hate crimes and a House bill replacing terms such as “husband and wife” with gender-neutral terms have yet to advance through their respective committees prior to crossover day on Feb. 11.

Written by Maia Stanley, Capital News Service. Top Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash.

Bill Prohibiting Discrimination Against LGBTQ Virginians Advanced by Subcommittee

|

Topics: , , , , , , , , ,

The Virginia Values Act represents a collaborative effort by a number of General Assembly legislators and LGBTQ advocacy groups to end discrimination against LGBTQ Virginians on many fronts, including housing, employment, and more.

A General Assembly subcommittee advanced a bill Thursday that would prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, public accommodations, employment, and credit applications. 

Lawmakers suggested expanding the focus of a bill introduced by Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond, that would update the Virginia Fair Housing act to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in housing.

McQuinn’s bill was rolled into HB 1663, patroned by Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax. Sickles’ bill, called the “Virginia Values Act,” includes additional protections against discrimination for LGBTQ Virginians in employment, public spaces and credit transactions and also outlines a process for civil action in a discrimination case.

Del. Delores McQuinn.

The Virginia Fair Housing Law currently prevents housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status, and disability. Sickles’ bill would add “pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity” or status as a veteran, to current law.

“As an African American woman, I have personally been subjected to discrimination all my life because of my race and my gender,” McQuinn said in an email interview with Capital News Service. “This will be another step toward dismantling systematic discrimination and creating fairness and equal opportunities for all citizens.” 

Equality Virginia, a group that advocates for LGBTQ equality, said the legislation is a step in the right direction and praised the delegates’ work.

“These protections are long overdue and an important step forward for Virginia’s LGBTQ community,” Vee Lamneck, executive director of Equality Virginia, said in a statement.

Similar bills have been introduced by both chambers in previous sessions. Though praised by the ACLU and LGBTQ advocacy groups, such bills passed the Senate with support from some Republican senators, but never could advance out of Republican-led House subcommittees. 

Del. Mark Sickles.

Capital News Service reached out to Republicans who voted against previous legislation to gauge their support for the current bill, but none responded. 

Earlier this week the Senate passed a bill to allow a person who changed their sex to receive a new birth certificate. Introduced by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, SB 657 aims to eliminate problems for the transgender community that occur when their legal identification doesn’t match their transition, such as renting a home or applying for a credit line. 

The Transgender Assistance Program of Virginia is a nonprofit that works to end transgender homelessness by providing individuals with resources to find emergency shelter, food and referrals to housing programs. De Sube, chairperson of the organization, said any nondiscrimination bill will help the transgender community. 

The resource is needed, Sube said, because many clients are kicked out of their homes after they tell family, loved ones, or roommates that they are transgender. Then they run into discrimination while seeking housing.

“Many transgender people apply for housing, apartments, rental homes, etc., and they’re just denied because of their transgender identity,” Sube said. 

Sickles said in a statement that discrimination has no place in Virginia. 

“All Virginians deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, including LGBTQ people,” Sickles said. 

Sen. Adam Ebbin.

Advocates expect HB 1663 to be heard in committee Tuesday. The companion bill sponsored by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, is expected to be heard in a Senate committee the following day.

“In Virginia, although a gay couple can get married on Sunday, the sad reality is they can get fired on Monday, evicted on Tuesday morning and denied a hotel room Tuesday night,” Ebbin said in a press release. “This isn’t a theoretical issue, discrimination is happening today.”

Written by Jimmy O’Keefe, Capital News Service. Top Photo: A rainbow flag was raised on Sept. 23, 2019, along with a trans flag and the Philly Pride Flag for Richmond Pride. Photo from City of Richmond Flickr account. All legislator photos via General Assembly.

Senate Advances Bill Allowing Transgender People to Change Birth Certificate Without Undergoing Surgery

|

Topics: , , , , , , ,

Senator Jennifer Boysko has introduced her bill to modernize the gender-marker change process for Virginia’s trans community before, but with Democrats in control of the General Assembly, it might actually become law this time.

The Senate passed a bill earlier this week that would allow a person who changed their sex to have a new birth certificate issued without requiring surgery, something that the transgender community said will help eliminate problems experienced when their legal identification doesn’t match their gender presentation.

Senate Bill 657 would allow a person to receive a new birth certificate to reflect the a change of sex, as well as allowing the individual seeking a new birth certificate to list a new name if they provide a certified copy of a court order of the name change. 

“I just think it’s important to try to make life easier for people without being discriminated [against] or bullied,” said Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax. “Allowing an individual who is transgender to change their birth certificate without having to go through the full surgery allows them to live the life that they are due to have.”

Current Virginia law requires a letter from a health care provider stating that a transgender individual’s “sex has been changed by medical procedure,” according to Equality Virginia. Elsewhere in the Code of Virginia, according to Lambda Legal, that “medical procedure” is specifically defined as surgery. In 2019, Business Insider reported that the average cost for gender-confirming surgery is around $25,000. And according to 2015’s US Transgender Survey, transgender people are more likely to lack health insurance and access to health care than the general population, making this cost out of reach for many lower-income trans people.

The bill requires proof from a health care provider that the individual went through “clinically appropriate treatment for gender transition.” The assessment and treatment, according to Boysko’s office, is up to the medical provider. There is not a specific standard approach for an individual’s transition. Treatment could include any of the following: counseling, hormone therapy, sex reassignment surgery, or a patient-specific approach from the medical provider.

A similar process is required to obtain a passport after change of sex, according to the State Department.

Once the paperwork is complete, it is submitted to the Virginia Department of Health vital records department, Boysko said.

Sen. Jennifer Boysko. Photo via CNS

Boysko said her constituents have reported issues when they need to show legal documents in situations like leasing apartments, opening a bank account, or applying for jobs.

This is the third year that Boysko has introduced the bill. Neither bill made it out of subcommittee in previous years, but Boysko believes the bill has a better chance of becoming law this year. 

“I believe that we have a more open and accepting General Assembly then we’ve had in the past, where people are more comfortable working with the LGBTQ community and have expressed more of an interest in addressing some of these long overdue changes,” Boysko said.

Vee Lamneck, executive director of Equality Virginia, a group that advocates for LGBTQ equality, said the organization is “really pleased that this bill is moving through.”

“This bill is really important for the transgender community,” Lamneck said. “Right now many transgender people do not have identity documents… this is really problematic when people apply for jobs or try to open a bank account.” 

There are 22 other states in America that have adopted legislation similar to this, including the District of Columbia, Boysko said. The senator said that “it’s time for Virginia to move forward and be the 23rd state.”

On Tuesday, the Senate also passed Boysko’s bill requiring the Department of Education to develop policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public elementary and secondary schools, along with a bill outlawing conversion therapy for any person under 18 years of age.

The bills now advance to the House of Delegates, where they must pass before heading to the governor’s desk.

Written by Rodney Robinson, Capital News Service. Additional reporting by Marilyn Drew Necci. Top Photo: Sen. Jennifer Boysko, by Adam Hamza, via CNS

Advocates Hope LGBTQ Protections Will Pass With New Leadership

|

Topics: , , , , , , ,

The Virginia Values Act, introduced Friday in the General Assembly by Senator Adam Ebbin, would offer extensive (and much needed) non-discrimination protections to Virginia’s LGBTQ citizens.

Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, introduced Friday SB 868, called the “Virginia Values Act,” which would amend existing nondiscrimination laws to extend protections for the state’s LGBTQ residents. While protection from discimination against race, religion, age, and disability, among other demographics, already exist under Virginia law, the proposed bill seeks to include the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

Less than half of U.S. states prohibit discrimination for LGBTQ individuals, according to Freedom for All Americans, a nationwide campaign that seeks to provide nondiscrimination protection for LGBTQ individuals. Virginia is among the majority, with no laws protecting the community from wrongful firing or evictions based on discrimination.

Tracey Swinarsky is a transgender advocacy speaker with Equality Virginia, an organization that seeks equality for all LGBTQ individuals. She said she has experienced discrimination from two employers, including one that fired her because of customer complaints because she is transgender.

“If there was a legal thing that says legally you can’t do this, I would’ve taken action,” Swinarsky said.

“The new law will bring Virginia into the 21st century, and into alignment with Virginia voters, by modernizing and expanding existing human rights law,” the Virginia Values Coalition stated in a press release. The coalition formed in October, following the 2019 General Assembly session in which over 20 bills supported by Equality Virginia failed to advance.

SB 868 was referred to the Committee on General Laws and Technology, chaired by Sen. George Barker, D-Fairfax. 

Sen. Adam Ebbin, patron of the bill to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ. (courtesy of generalassembly.gov)

The proposed protections will directly target discrimination from public and private employers, housing, credit applications and public acommodations. The Virginia Fair Housing Law would include prohibiting eviction or denial of residence on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. 

Employers with more than five employees will also be prohibited from firing or refusing to hire an individual on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. It will also be unlawful for employment agencies to refuse to refer an individual for a job on that basis. 

Under the proposed changes, no individual could be legally denied service due to their gender identity or sexual orientation, including in restaurants, stores and public facilities, such as gyms and libraries. This section would not apply to any private club or facility owned by a religious corporation that is not open to the public. 

The bill also proposes including discrimination against sexual orientation or gender identity as qualifying reasons for grievance hearings, which are meetings that address employee allegations of discrimination. 

“It would give us a lot more feeling of safety and security if that happens,” Swinarsky said. “We’re a part of the world and they’re gonna have to deal with that and take care of us and handle us like anybody else out there — no matter what.”

Gov. Ralph Northam included the objectives of this legislation as a priority during his State of the Commonwealth address on Wednesday. 

“Then, we will pass comprehensive protections in employment, housing, and public accommodations for LGBTQ people,” Northam said in his address. “These are important steps toward building a more equal, just, and inclusive state.”

The Virginia Values Coalition worked alongside Ebbin and other partners including Equality Virginia, the Human Rights Campaign, Freedom for All Americans, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and the National Center for Transgender Equality to create the legislation. 

Legislators announce support of LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections in 2020 General Assembly. (courtesy of hrc.org)

Virginia is home to over 257,000 LGBTQ adults and over 50,000 LGBTQ youth according to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. The institute reported that 81 percent of Virginia residents think LGBTQ individuals experience discrimination in the state. It also shows that 74 percent of LGBTQ student respondents have experienced discrimination at school. 

“So we know that discrimination is happening with frequency in Virginia,” said Vee Lamneck, executive director of Equality Virginia, which also conducted its own surveys and reported that about half of its participants experienced discrimination. 

Lamneck stepped into this position just last week after being with the organization for over six years and deputy director for three years. The position was previously held by James Parrish, current director of the VVC. 

“An overwhelming majority of Americans, including Virginians, believe that LGBT people should be protected from discrimination,” Parrish said. “But also a majority of people believe those protections already exist, and they don’t.”

Sen. Ebbin patroned SB 998 last session, which also aimed to prohibit employers from discriminating on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. It passed the Senate 28-12 but didn’t make it past the first reading in the House. 

“Conservative leadership in the House of Delegates continuously stood in the way,” Parrish said. “The Republican-led Senate passed both the employment bill and the housing bill with a super majority of votes in the past several sessions but they were always dead-on-arrival in the House.”

Equality Virginia and the VVC said they are excited to see new leadership this session that seeks to protect the LGBTQ community.

House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn and Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, already pledged to support legislation that protects the LGBTQ community. 

“Passing comprehensive protections for LGBTQ Virginians will be a top priority for Virginia’s Senate in the upcoming General Assembly Session,” Saslaw stated in a tweet. “It’s long past time to end anti-LGBTQ discrimination in employment, housing, and public spaces.”

A CNS reporter reached out to a third of the Republican senators who voted against the 2019 bill to gauge their thoughts on SB 868, but none responded. Equality Virginia recently reported that 2018 and 2019 surveys found a majority of Virginia Republicans support passing protective legislation. In 2019, 63 percent said they would support protection from discrimination in employment, while 53 percent — a slight decrease from 55 percent in 2018 — said they would support protection in housing.

When Parrish was asked what he would say to opposing legislators, he advised to listen to the facts: a multitude of polls show that the majority of Virginians support protecting LGBTQ individuals from discrimination. 

“LGBTQ people live in every district in this state, so elected leaders should be looking out for all citizens,” Parrish said.

Written by Emma Gauthier, Capital News Service. Top Photo: A rainbow flag was raised on Sept. 23 along with a trans flag and the Philly Pride Flag for Richmond Pride. (Photos from City of Richmond Flickr account)

Symbolic, But Important Nonetheless: Richmond City Council Bans Conversion Therapy

|

Topics: , , , , , , , ,

Due to Virginia law, the ban can’t be enforced. But by passing it, Richmond City Council still sends a powerful message.

On Monday, Richmond’s City Council passed a resolution enacting a ban on conversion therapy within the city. The resolution, which is non-binding, was proposed by Mayor Levar Stoney, and received unanimous support from the nine members of City Council.

Conversion therapy, as many of us in Virginia’s LGBTQ community know all too well, is the practice of attempting to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity through therapeutic processes that are unscientific and often religiously based. A 2018 study published in the Journal Of Homosexuality found that participants in the study who’d undergone conversion therapy were five times more likely to have attempted suicide than those who hadn’t.

Over the past year, three different state boards regulating mental health caregivers have banned the practice by refusing approval for those who engage in conversion therapy. However, multiple attempts at passing bills in the General Assembly to ban conversion therapy in Virginia outright have failed in the House Of Delegates. Most recently in 2019’s General Assembly, a Senate bill introduced by 23rd District Virginia Senator Stephen D. Newman passed the Senate, but failed to make it out of committee in the House Of Delegates.

In a statement, Mayor Stoney praised the City Council’s decision, saying, “I am proud that members of Richmond’s City Council joined me in opposing the inhumane and regressive practice of conversion therapy and affirming the sexual orientation and identities of all Richmonders.”

The vote is, unfortunately, non-binding and symbolic. As a Dillon Rule state, Virginia requires any law passed by localities within the Commonwealth to align exactly with the laws passed by the state government. Therefore, without the passage of a state law banning conversion therapy, the City of Richmond has no legal ability to enforce a ban within city limits.

Nonetheless, activists were pleased by the verdict. Speaking to WTVR, Equality Virginia Deputy Director Vee Lamneck pointed out that this decision was a first in Virginia, and remains important despite its symbolic nature.

Conversion therapy survivor Adam Trimmer, who runs the conversion therapy survivors support group Love Actually Won RVA and is the Virginia ambassador for national anti-conversion therapy campaign Born Perfect, spoke of his experience during the public comment period for City Council’s resolution, and was thankful that they went on to pass the resolution.

“We are finally being heard and hopefully this can stop happening to our community,” he told WTVR. “I hope that the members of the General Assembly see this, and I hope they see [that] Mayor Stoney and City of Richmond support our efforts to protect the LGBTQ+ youth.”

Photo: GayRVA archives