Building Safer Communities: Tuesday, April 7th from 12:00-1:00pm Learn about how Virginia became the 21st state to pass hate crimes protections for LGBTQ people. Speakers will include Delegate Ken Plum, Delegate Rip Sullivan, Attorney General Mark Herring, and Ebony Kirkland with the Virginia Anti-Violence Project. Conversion Therapy Ban: Tuesday, April 14th from 12:00-1:00pm Learn about how Virginia became the first state in the South and the 20th state in the country to protect LGBTQ youth by banning the harmful practice of conversion therapy on minors by licensed professionals. Speakers will include Senator Scott Surovell, Delegate Patrick Hope, Casey Pick from The Trevor Project, and Adam Trimmer from Born Perfect. Identity Documents for the Transgender Community: Tuesday, April 28th from 12:00-1:00pm Learn about how Virginia modernized its birth certificate update process and adopted a third gender marker option on driver’s licenses. Speakers will include Senator Scott Surovell, Senator Jennifer Boysko, Delegate Marcus Simon, community advocate Julie Williams, and Harper Jean Tobin from the National Center for Transgender Equality. Safe Schools: Tuesday, May 5th from 12:00-1:00pm Learn about how Virginia will be the 17th state to have uniform guidelines for how public schools should treat transgender students to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to learn and graduate. Speakers include Senator Jennifer Boysko, Delegate Marcus Simon, Ted Lewis from Side by Side, and other advocates who supported this legislation. Trans-Inclusive Health Insurance: Tuesday, May 12th from 12:00-1:00pm Learn about how Virginia became the 14th state to enshrine existing protections into state law to ensure transgender residents can access the healthcare they need. Speakers include Katie Keith who is a healthcare policy expert, and advocates from the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood. Non-Discrimination Protections: Date and Time TBD Come celebrate and learn about how Virginia became the first state in the South and the 21st state in the country to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment, housing, and public spaces. In addition, we’ll discuss how lawmakers passed a comprehensive code update that adds sexual orientation and gender identity to dozens of areas in the code related to nondiscrimination, which further codifies protections for the LGBTQ community. Speakers will be announced soon. We hope you will join us for this series as we shine a spotlight on the lawmakers who championed these bills and recognize the dedicated advocates who helped make these legislative victories possible. Of course, we also want to give a special shout out to our corporate partners whose generous support helps to fund not just this series, but also EV's programming throughout the year. Head on over to our Legislative Lunch & Learn page to learn more about this program and our valued partners. It truly takes all of us to create a safer, more inclusive Commonwealth where LGBTQ people can thrive. We can’t wait to see you soon! In Solidarity,
All of us at Equality Virginia | 
