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Dear Friend,
It's the last Friday ahead of "crossover" and the remainder of the 2024 General Assembly session is coming into view.
What is crossover?
“Crossover day” in the Virginia General Assembly is the day in the legislative session bills must pass by in their respective chambers in order to be considered in the other chamber. In other words, a House bill must pass in the House of Delegates before it can even be considered in the Senate, and vice versa. This year, that day is Feb. 13th. After crossover, the only bills each chamber can consider must have already passed the other legislative chamber–the Senate can only hear House bills, and the House can only hear bills that have already passed the state Senate.
Here's what we know-
🥳All anti-trans bills were defeated ahead of crossover! 🥳
🌈HB 174 (Henson), which we support, crossed over and is assigned to the Senate Courts Committee! This bill would ensure that the Commonwealth can not deny the issuance of a marriage license on the basis of sex, gender, or race.
🌈HB 224 (Henson), which we support, crossed over and is assigned to the Senate Education & Health Committee! This bill would require age-appropriate instruction on suicide prevention and awareness in public schools including mental health wellness, healthy coping strategies, and resources for seeking help when a student is or knows someone who is experiencing thoughts or ideations of suicide or self-harm. This bill would also require teachers to receive mental health awareness training.
🌈HB 536 (Cole), which we support, passed the House of Delegates today! This bill would include LGBTQ+ students in the enumerated protections in school anti-bullying policies.
There are several actions you can take right now to keep equality moving forward-
💝 Send a Valentine to lawmakers who have voted to protect our right to safety and joy. We'll be dropping these letters of love to lawmakers during our 3rd Annual Valentine's Letter Drop!
📧 Send an email to your Senator to support bills that have crossed over, or are awaiting committee action.
2024 LGBTQ+ Lobby Days
On Monday, Equality Virginia and EV Advocates will host our third Lobby Day of the legislative session. Our Lobby Days create opportunities for LGBTQ+ Virginians and their allies to talk to their lawmakers ahead of critical decision-making moments. We're excied to join forces with Marijuana Justice on the 12th, to discuss the intersections between LGBTQ+ equality and drug decriminalization.
 Speaking of partnerships and shared agendas, on Tuesday February 6th I had the privelege to join the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) for their State Capitol Day to advocate for HB 224, mentioned above, which is now in the Senate. The grassroots work AFSP does focuses on eliminating the loss of life from suicide by: delivering innovative prevention programs, educating the public about risk factors and warning signs, raising funds for suicide research and programs, and reaching out to those individuals who have lost someone to suicide.
We're proud to work with AFSP's Virginia chapter this session to raise awareness about the importance of mental health awareness in Virginia's K-12 schools. Recent studies show suicidal ideation and attempt rates for youth are increasing. The Virginia Department of Health reports that 22% of middle school youth and 16% of high school aged youth in Virginia report suicidal ideation. And the Trevor Project reports that 43% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered suicide in Virginia. The measures in HB 224 increase educators’ capacity to effectively address the ongoing youth mental health crisis in Virginia.
I hope you'll take two minutes to send an email to your Senator to support LGBTQ+ youth and HB 224.
There is a lot of session behind us, and still so much ahead of us. For now, we're grateful for all the ways you've shown up, advocated for your community, and prioritized self-care for the long haul.
Here's to the final days before crossover and here's to you!
With gratitude,
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