| | Dear John, It’s been another great week for LGBT equality! We've just experienced “crossover” at the General Assembly, which means that only bills that have already passed in the House or Senate can continue to move forward. Now, each chamber will consider the bills passed by the other chamber, and if they continue to maintain support, they will make it to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law. Luckily, we saw numerous bills important to the LGBT community move forward, so keep reading to find out more! | |  | General Assembly Update Before the crossover deadline, two bills passed out of the House. Delegate Kenneth Plum’s HB 618 passed on the House floor with a vote of 56-43. This bill would recognize hate crimes against someone based on sexual orientation or gender identity and increases penalties. The other bill is Delegate Joseph C. Lindsey’s HB 19, which passed with a vote of 57-43. This bill gets rid of the requirement to have a photo ID in order to vote, a unique barrier to transgender people whose gender expression may not match the photo on their ID. Plus, several of our bills that passed in one chamber have already been advancing in the opposite chamber. Just this week, we've seen Delegate Patrick Hope’s HB 386, which prohibits licensed professionals from using conversion therapy on minors, has passed with a vote of 8-5 in the Senate’s Committee on Education and Health. Delegate Nancy Guy’s HB 1490, passed the Senate’s Committee on the Judiciary with a vote of 8-5, and would repeal the ban on same-sex marriages and unions. We also saw Senator Adam Ebbin’s SB 868, the senate version of the Virginia Values Act, which would ban LGBT discrimination in employment, housing, and public spaces, advance in the House’s General Laws committee with a vote of 13-9. Delegate Richard Sullivan's HB 276 hate crimes bill passed in the Senate's Committee on the Judiciary with a vote of 10-5. And, last but not least, Delegate Marcus Simon’s HB 145, which would require the Department of Education to craft model policies on how public schools should treat transgender students, advanced in the Senate’s Committee on Education and Health with a vote of 9-5. We are now beyond some of the most difficult weeks of this year’s session and we’ve seen unprecedented successes. However, we can’t let up our efforts. To ensure that pro-equality legislation makes it out of the General Assembly in this final stretch, we have to keep pushing forward until the last day of the session. You have helped LGBT equality get this far, and your support is how we will win! Click here to ask your legislators to support bills important to the LGBT community. | | | | | |  | Remote Phone Bank Make Calls from Home! Our amazing remote team made nearly 3,500 calls this week! These calls were also made to thank representatives who voted YES on the Virginia Values Act. The team spoke with nearly 1,400 individuals to connect them to directly to their legislators. If you'd like to contribute to the awesome work of our remote team, register at theneat.org/va and choose any time that works with your schedule. | | | | |  | Crowd the Capitol This week, Business leaders met with legislators to discuss the LGBTQ bills working their way through the General Assembly. Advocates also made a special stop to deliver thousands of postcards calling for non-discrimination protections to Speaker of the House, Eileen Filler-Corn. Come out on Tuesday, February 18 for Families and LGBTQ youth, or Tuesday, February 25 for Public Safety and Anti-Violence Advocates. Even if you've already spoken with your legislators, we still encourage you to participate. All are welcome! | | | | | | | |  | Volunteer Teams This week our Richmond volunteer team spoke with a dozen new individuals who either connected directly to their Delegate's office or pledged to make a thank you call on their own time. Plus, our Hampton Roads volunteer team mailed over 50 handwritten letters to legislators from supporters of LGBTQ equality. Join us Saturday at 4pm at MJ's Tavern in Norfolk for a letter-writing party in support of the VA Values Act, co-hosted by the Transgender Assistance Project of VA, Knight Hawks of VA, Stonewall Sports, Hampton Roads Pride, and the LGBT Life Center. | | | | |  | Dinner Sweetheart Special With it being Valentine's Day weekend, we couldn't resist sending a little love your way! What could be sweeter than celebrating successes for LGBT equality at the 17th Annual Commonwealth Dinner? You won’t want to miss out on this night to remember! Take advantage of our sweetheart sale, with early bird ticket prices extended through Monday, February 17th up until midnight. We are confident that by March, we will be raising a glass to a wholly-changed legal landscape for LGBT Virginians. Join us for this special, historic evening! | | | | | | | | | | | | Equality Virginia
530 E Main St Ste 600 | Richmond, Virginia 23219
(804) 643-4816 | [email protected] | | | | | | | | | | | |
