Dear John, 

The 2022 General Assembly (GA) session started on Wednesday, January 12th, and we are hard at work advocating for a range of key issues. Throughout this first week, many bills have been referred to their respective committees and are starting to work their way through the legislative process. Unfortunately, this GA session there are multiple anti-LGBTQ bills that we will be advocating against. These bills seek to roll back the progress that has been made toward LGBTQ protections within Virginia. Click here to Take Action and ask your legislators to stand up for LGBTQ equality this session!

Attacks on LGBTQ Nondiscrimination Protections

Delegate L. Adams and Senator Peake introduced two companion bills (HB 753 & SB 177) that intend to exempt religious organizations from the nondiscrimination provisions of the Virginia Human Rights Act. Additionally, these bills aim to allow religious organizations further exemption under the Virginia Fair Housing Law. Delegate Walker’s HB 1133 has similar intentions to change the definitions for nondiscrimination exemptions for religious organizations. These bills would create extraordinarily broad religious exemptions that would impact not just LGBTQ people, but also women, people of color, single parents, and people of minority faiths. 

Delegate Davis introduced HB 384 which would protect state and local government employees from completing tasks that are against their own beliefs, values, or conscience. It also prohibits these employees from being penalized for expressing an opinion (whether in favor or opposition) to a government policy. Such policies should not be seen as an invitation to discriminate or refuse service to LGBTQ Virginians based on individual beliefs.

Last year, Senator McClellan and Delegate Price worked to increase protections for domestic workers (i.e. those who work in a private residence such as a babysitter, caretaker, or housekeeper), including extending the Virginia Human Rights Act to employers who employ one or more domestic workers. This year, Senator Peake has introduced SB 179 which seeks to roll back these protections. This bill would exclude babysitters, nannies, caretakers, home health aides, and personal care aides from the definition of domestic worker. It also would increase the number of employees needed in order to receive protection from the Virginia Human Rights Act.

Attacks on LGBTQ Youth

After the 2020 General Assembly session, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) was tasked with creating model policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public elementary and secondary schools. These model policies used evidence-based practices to address many issues that transgender students face such as bullying and harassment, dress codes, and access to facilities. School boards across Virginia were required to adopt policies based on these models prior to the 2021-2022 school year. For the 2022 GA session, two companion bills by Delegate Wyatt (HB 988) and Senator Hackworth (SB 20) aim to remove the requirement for school boards to adopt policies that are consistent with these model policies.

Delegate Avoli is also sponsoring a bill (HB 1126) focused on schools. This bill addresses multiple areas of parental rights within public education, including giving parents the ability to access all educational materials and to opt-out their child from any assignment or activity they object to. It goes further to prohibit school boards from teaching about systemic racism. HB 1126 also requires that school boards to adopt policies that require student and employee access to facilities such as restrooms, lodging, and locker rooms that are shared with only members of the “same biological sex.”

Similarly, Senator Kiggans’s SB 766 would require elementary and secondary schools to label their athletic teams as “male”, “female”, or “co-ed” based on biological sex. The bill goes on to directly state, “male students are not permitted to participate on any school athletic team or squad designated for ‘females,’ ‘women,’ or ‘girls’.” In line with the bills above, these bills seek to further discriminate against transgender students. The Virginia High School League (VHSL) already has policies that protect transgender youth and ensure a level playing field for all students - and they are working. The existing VHSL policy proves that we can both celebrate girls’ sports and protect transgender youth from discrimination, making sure that all young people can access the lessons and opportunities that sports afford.

Protecting LGBTQ Equality

While there is an abundance of bills targeting LGBTQ Virginians, there is still hope to make progress. Senator Ebbin (SJ 5) and Delegate Sickles (HJ 57) are continuing their effort to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment (anti-marriage equality) and replace it with language affirming the right to marriage regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Amendments to the Virginia Constitution require two sessions in the General Assembly. Last year, we were able to pass the amendment language through both the House of Delegates and the Senate! We need to continue the same momentum throughout this year’s session. Then they will go onto the ballot for the general public to vote on in November 2022. Both Delegate Sickles (HB 605) and Senator Ebbin (SB 557) submitted voter referendums to start this process. We appreciate your continued support in the effort to bring Virginia in line with the Obergefell v. Hodges decision of 2015.

Delegate Willett and Delegate Filler-Corn introduced bills that address the ability for unaccompanied homeless youth to consent to medical care (HB 353) and housing services (HB 717). With a disproportionate rate of LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness, these bills would increase their ability to access medical and housing services.

The 2022 GA session is shaping up and we need your support as we continue our fight for LGBTQ Virginians. To keep up with what bills are being heard next week and how you can help transform Virginia’s legal landscape, please follow EV’s Facebook page and check out our website with our newly updated bill tracker. We look forward to keeping you updated as this year’s session progresses.