Panelists:

• Senator Adam Ebbin
• Delegate Mark Sickles
• Delegate Mark Levine
• Vee Lamneck, Executive Director of Equality Virginia
• James Parrish, Director of the Virginia Values Coalition
• Sadie Meadows, Field Organizer for Equality Virginia
• Thalia Hernandez, Program Director for Equality Virginia

 Resources:

• House Bill 1049
• Senate Bill 868 (the Virginia Values Act)
• House Bill 1663 (the Virginia Values Act)

Highlights:

• Virginia is now the first state in the South to ban discrimination against LGBTQ people in housing, employment, and public spaces. This legislation changes the lives of LGBTQ Virginians and sets a precedent across the South and the country.
• Senator Adam Ebbin highlighted that Virginia was one of only five states that previously didn’t have any state law banning discrimination in public spaces and also lacked robust employment protections, even for women, people of color, and disabled people. He ended by discussing the importance of voting in this year’s victories and making sure your legislators hear from you!
• Delegate Mark Sickles explained that his bill was slower to move through the General Assembly, and some religious and business groups mobilized to propose amendments that would water down the bill’s enforcement. Ultimately, since SB 868 had already passed both chambers, HB 1663 was shelved rather than see it pass with damaging amendments.
• Vee Lamneck explained that EV has spent decades approaching its work through changing hearts and minds by showing widespread and diverse support as well as through personal storytelling from faith leaders, families, allies, employers, and LGBTQ community members. Moving forward, EV will work to safeguard our new legal protections and work to build a Virginia where discrimination doesn’t happen in the first place.
• Sadie Meadows discussed how she engaged volunteers and advocates to show support for non-discrimination protections statewide. This included collecting thousands of postcards to the Speaker of the House, letter writing campaigns, weekly phone banks, coordinating in-person testimony at the General Assembly, and driving people to speak with their legislators at five different Crowd the Capitol events.
• Thalia Hernandez outlined how EV's programs built understanding of the trans community and mobilized trans and non-binary Virginians to share their stories and advocate for policy change. These efforts included seven “Ask a Trans Person” panel discussions and a dozen presentations by EV’s Trans Speakers Bureau in the months leading up to the 2020 General Assembly session.
• James Parrish explained that the Virginia Values Coalition’s steering committee includes EV, Freedom for All Americans, the Human Rights Campaign, and the National Center for Transgender Equality. Additionally, over 50 community organizations and nonprofits joined the Coalition alongside hundreds of faith leaders, businesses, and individuals. These partnerships allowed for weekly advocacy events, robust field organizing operations, and constant media coverage for the Virginia Values Act.
• Delegate Mark Levine explained that while the Virginia Values Act created and deepened protections in housing, employment, and public spaces, his House Bill 1049 broadly added sexual orientation and gender identity to almost every section in the Virginia Code that protects against discrimination, such as in banking, insurance, apprenticeships, and even the Virginia Space Authority. He mentioned more must be done to ensure adoption agencies and organizations with a public contract don’t discriminate against LGBTQ Virginians.