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Northam Ceremonially Signs the Virginia Values Act

Marilyn Drew Necci | July 28, 2020

Topics: Aurora Higgs, Diversity Richmond, Equality Virginia, General Assembly 2020, James Parrish, LGBTQ rights, Mark Herring, pam northam, Ralph Northam, Vee Lamneck, Virginia Values Act, Virginia Values Coalition, Zakia McKensey

Joined by LGBTQ rights advocates from around Virginia, Governor Northam held a ceremonial signing of the Virginia Values Act last Thursday at Diversity Richmond.

Last Thursday, Governor Ralph Northam got together with LGBTQ advocates from all over Virginia to host a ceremonial signing of the Virginia Values Act. The event, which was streamed on Equality Virginia’s Facebook page but not open to the public, was an opportunity to commemorate the significant expansion of LGBTQ rights in Virginia in a proper socially-distanced fashion, and everyone involved was glad to take it.

The Virginia Values Act was passed by both houses of the General Assembly earlier this year, signed into law in April by Governor Northam, and went into effect at the beginning of July. The act forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in a number of areas, including employment, housing, and public accomodations. For the first time, LGBTQ Virginians can live free of worry that they will be evicted, fired, or refused service in stores and restaurants.

In light of such a groundbreaking expansion of LGBTQ rights within the state, LGBTQ advocates wanted to commemorate the Virginia Values Act’s passage in a more formal setting that hadn’t been possible in April, at the height of the pandemic. The gathering last Thursday at Diversity Richmond provided the perfect opportunity. Virginia Values Coalition director James Parrish, Equality Virginia executive director Vee Lamneck, local advocates Zakia McKensey and Aurora Higgs, and other LGBTQ Virginians were joined at the event by public officials including Governor Northam, Virginia First Lady Pam Northam, Attorney General Mark Herring, and Virginia state Senator Adam Ebbin.

Governor Northam called the ceremonial signing “an exciting day for Virginia.” Referencing the years of effort that went into crafting and passing the Virginia Values Act, he said, “It has been a team effort and together, together we have all come a long way.”

Watch the full signing ceremony, as streamed on Facebook Live, below.

Photo via Governor Northam’s office

The Work Is Never Done

Mitchel Bamberger | July 1, 2020

Topics: anti-LGBTQ discrimination, Aurora Higgs, black lives matter, Civil Rights Act, Equality Virginia, LGBTQ civil rights, Title VII, US Supreme Court, Vee Lamneck, Virginia Values Act

Equality Virginia’s Vee Lamneck talks to GayRVA about Title VII, The Virginia Values Act, and the connections between LGBTQ and BLM.

On June 15th, the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed three historic cases and came to one monumental decision: that Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protected LGBTQ people from discrimination in the workplace based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Prior to the Title VII decision, it was completely lawful in quite a few states of the union for an employee of a private corporation to be fired or passed up for employment for being LGBTQ.

The Supreme Court made a statement about one of the cases, saying, “Today, we must decide whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender. The answer is clear. An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.” – Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, June 15, 2020.

In many ways, this case was a matter of analyzing the Civil Rights Act through a modern lens and recontextualizing the age-old issue of sex discrimination to address the issues of LGBTQ people. When The Civil Rights Act was originally passed, the legislators responsible for its proposal and approval were almost certainly thinking of women, and not of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans people. However, when Title VII was reviewed in today’s context, the justices found that the same laws that protected women from discrimination in ‘60’s should also protect LGBTQ people today.

One of the foremost advocacy groups for LGBTQ rights in Virginia is Equality Virginia, an organization that is dedicated to creating a truly inclusive commonwealth for all Virginians, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. Equality Virginia Executive Director Vee Lamneck, who uses they/them pronouns, spoke to us about what this landmark Supreme Court decision means for LGBTQ Richmonders, Virginians, and Americans.

“LGBTQ people have been advocating for their rights for decades,” Lamneck said. “There are many states in the country that have non-discrimination protections in place at the state level, and I am very proud that Virginia is soon to be one of them.”

Lamneck is referring to The Virginia Values Act, which was passed by the General Assembly this spring and takes effect on July 1st. This bill will protect LGBTQ Virginians from discrimination in all public spaces and places of business, not just as employees but as customers and citizens as well.

“This means that LGBTQ people will be able to go about their daily lives without fear of discrimination in housing, in public spaces like restaurants and hotels, and also in employment,” Lamneck continued.

Image via Equality Virginia/Facebook

Lamneck explained that the Virginia Values Act goes farther than the recent Supreme Court decision, protecting LGBTQ people beyond the workplace. “The Virginia Values Act speaks to public accommodations protections, so that you cannot be discriminated against or denied service when you walk into a restaurant or shop or hotel on the basis of your orientation or identity,” they said. “Title VII does not speak to that, which is why there’s a lot more work to do on the federal level.”

While Lamneck is very pleased about the protections Virginians are ensured within the Commonwealth, they still consider it very important to focus on federal protections. “Once Virginians leave the Commonwealth and go to other states, depending on which state you’re in, those protections may not be in place,” they said.

The recent Supreme Court decision is important to ensure that LGBTQ people are protected against discrimination throughout the country, but it’s not the only action taking place at the federal level where LGBTQ rights are concerned. Lamneck pointed out that the Equality Act, a bill that would amend the Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes throughout, passed the US House Of Representatives in 2019, and is currently under consideration by the US Senate.

“The passage of the Equality Act will ensure comprehensive protections for LGBTQ Americans,” Lamneck explained. And while there’s still hope within the LGBTQ community that it will be passed at some point, the recent Supreme Court decision does offer some much-needed relief. “This decision is so important,” they said, “especially for those individuals and their families living in states without these protections.”

Aurora Higgs, a 29 year old black transgender woman who is an LGBTQ scholar, activist, and public speaker, has worked with Lamneck and Equality Virginia on campaigns for LGBTQ equality in Virginia. Higgs is very happy to see the Virginia Values Act go into effect later this week, mentioning that previous laws intended to provide protections for LGBTQ Virginians, none of which passed, had all included disappointing limitations. “This law is so much more comprehensive and covers all of the people in the rural areas that are always going to be the most at risk,” Higgs said.

Despite living in a state that now has protections for LGBTQ people against employment discrimination, Higgs was still glad to hear about the Title VII Supreme Court decision. “It will ensure that the same protections that I enjoy in a state that already has those laws in place can be experienced anywhere in this country,” Higgs said. “Traveling for queer and trans people is incredibly daunting, because you never know what the climate of a community is until you’re in it.”

Higgs shared how she in particular has faced real concerns about discrimination in employment over the course of her life — concerns that she hopes will be diminished by the passage of the Virginia Values Act and the recent Supreme Court decision. “It’s really difficult to enforce discrimination policies in a job interview when there are so many factors that they could use as pretext to not hire you,” she said. “I worry about showing up for job interviews and being seen as a professional when I’m trans and black.”

Under the Supreme Court’s new Title VII decision, Higgs said, working conditions will improve for LGBTQ Americans in a variety of ways. “Employers will have to have a fire lit under them to ensure that insurance policies are adequate for trans people and that the workplace culture is adequate,” Higgs said. “As happy as I am I see it, [it’s] not so much a victory as getting one more hurdle out of the way to liberation, which is the final goal.”

Both Higgs and Lamneck drew parallels between LGBTQ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement that has recently swept across the nation. Lamneck explained how the human rights effort of the BLM Movement and the nationwide protests have affected the work of Equality Virginia, and how the fight for LGBTQ rights and Racial Equality are connected. They also illuminated how the discrimination and inequality that LGBTQ people are subjected to is compounded by their race. Race is the hidden, implied context of every conversation, every law and every decision. A black LGBTQ person’s struggle for equality is compounded by their blackness — which makes things harder still. “Even with the Title VII decision, black LGBTQ people are still experiencing disproportionate discrimination in their lives.” Lamneck said. “Our laws need to address systemic racism and inequality.”

Aurora Higgs. Photo via Facebook

To Higgs, it’s clear that the goals of the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBTQ rights movement are fundamentally aligned. “The BLM movement seeks to disrupt not just racism but white supremacy,” Higgs said. “White supremacy has historically been misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic. All of those thing are still present to this day, and they compound one another.”

However, both Higgs and Lamneck agree that the effects of discrimination are magnified by those who exist within multiple marginalized groups. “My experience as a white queer person and the discrimination that I may experience is going to look different than the discrimination of the black trans person next to me because she is experiencing racism, homophobia, and sexism all at the same time,” Lamneck explained.

“There is so much joy and hardship that comes with being black and trans and queer,” said Higgs. “But when you have different dimensions of diversity and marginalization, they compound on one another.”

Higgs believes that the LGBTQ civil rights movement working alongside the Black Lives Matter movement is an ideal way to enable both groups to better understand and support one another. “Although the [Black Lives Matter] movement highlights black lives, it’s really shedding a light on oppression, and I think we all relate to oppression,” she said. “The fastest way to empathy is shared experience.”

While Lamneck is feeling positive about the recent progress in LGBTQ civil rights, they recognize that there’s still a lot more to be done. “This moment reminds us that, yes, this is a victory for the LGBT movement, but also that the work is not done”, Lamneck said. “We need to work to address systemic racism, homophobia, and transphobia. The work for LGBTQ equality must be interwoven with the work to dismantle systemic racism.”

In the future, Lamneck hopes to not only carry on with Equality Virginia’s current mission of fighting for LGBTQ civil rights in the Commonwealth, but to expand that work to encompass other marginalized groups. “I think our work here as an organization needs to continue to restructure as an anti-racist organization,” they said.

For Higgs, the main focus of civil rights activism in the coming years needs to be to increase political representation by and for marginalized groups. “We don’t have hardly any representation in the federal government,” she said. “The most sustainable solution I can think of is having more queer and trans people of color in both appointments at the state level and as elected officials nationwide. I don’t think we can really hope for anything until we have representation in politics.”

For now, though, LGBTQ people in Virginia can breathe slightly easier, knowing that the Virginia Values Act and the recent Supreme Court decision give them more protections against discrimination than they’ve ever had before.

Top Photo via Equality Virginia/Facebook

Hundreds of LGBTQ Advocates Lobby Lawmakers for Protections

VCU CNS | February 7, 2020

Topics: Adam ebbin, anti-LGBTQ discrimination, Barbara Favola, danica roem, Day of Action, Department of Education, Eileen Filler-Corn, Emma Yackso, Equality Virginia, General Assembly 2020, hate crimes, Jennifer Boysko, Library of Virginia, Mark Levine, Mark Sickles, Patrick Hope, Scott Surovell, Side By Side, transgender students, Vee Lamneck, Virginia Values Act

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

VCU CNS | January 28, 2020

Topics: Adam ebbin, Delores McQuinn, Equality Virginia, General Assembly 2020, Jennifer Boysko, Mark Sickles, Transgender Assistance Program of Virginia, Vee Lamneck, Virginia Fair Housing Law, Virginia Values Act

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

VCU CNS | January 23, 2020

Topics: birth certificates, Equality Virginia, gender transition, General Assembly, Jennifer Boysko, SB 657, transgender community, Vee Lamneck

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

VCU CNS | January 13, 2020

Topics: Adam ebbin, Equality Virginia, General Assembly 2020, James Parrish, Ralph Northam, Vee Lamneck, Virginia Values Act, Virginia Values Coalition

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)

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