A West Virginia ‘Women’s Bill of Rights’ is an effort to suppress transgender people, critics say

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Legislation in West Virginia to limit definitions of gender would deprive women of rights and is a way for Republicans to oppress transgender people, speakers said at a public hearing Thursday.

Dozens of speakers condemned the Women’s Bill of Rights, while a handful spoke in favor during the 45-minute hearing in the House chambers at the Capitol.

The legislation says that “equal” does not mean “the same” or “identical” with regard to equality of the sexes. It would define in state statutes and official public policy that a person’s sex is determined at birth and that gender equality terms should not be substituted. It would also demonstrate that certain environments for men and women, such as athletics, locker rooms and restrooms, are not discriminatory.

Marshall University student Max Varney said the bill uses women’s rights as a cover for transphobia.

“I stand with you as a transgender person in West Virginia. I am not a threat to the public, nor is my existence offensive,” Varney said. “This bill is inhumane. It’s unfair. And it’s disgusting.

“Why can’t I be considered a person too?” Varney continued. “I’m here today to show you that transgender people in West Virginia are real. I’m real. I exist. And I deserve to be treated with humanity.”

Fairness West Virginia, the state’s only LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said the bill does nothing to support women and would, among other things, ban transgender people from using government building restrooms that align with their gender identity.

The legislation is pending in the Republican House of Representatives, which has a supermajority. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice strongly supported the bill at a rally shortly before its introduction last month. Other states have seen similar moves: Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed an executive order in August addressing the narrow definitions of sex.

Both events featured former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who criticized an NCAA decision that allowed transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to compete against her in a women’s championship race in 2022. Gaines is part of the anti-trans group Independent Women’s Voice.

The wording of the bill lacks details such as enforcement mechanisms and penalties, leaving its potential impact unclear. In other states with laws restricting how transgender people can use the restroom, officials have struggled to understand how they will be implemented.

Despite the Bill of Rights’ broad premise, the measure does not address issues such as reproductive care, abortion or affordable childcare. A lawmaker’s attempt to insert an equal pay clause was rejected when a House committee chairman ruled that it was not. relevant to the bill, which is alternatively titled: “The West Virginia Act to Define Sex-Based Terms Used in State Law to Help Protect Single-Sex Spaces and Ensure Accuracy of Public Data Collection .”

Advocate Nila Thomson said during the House Judiciary Committee public hearing that the bill “guarantees my rights to safety, privacy and protection. I am so grateful that you took the initiative to introduce this bill.”

But Mollie Kennedy, director of community outreach for the West Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, called it a “bigoted bill.”

“We don’t need a women’s rights law to know what this legislature thinks about women,” she said. “It’s horrible and insulting.”

Another bill that would ban transgender students from using the school bathroom that matches their gender identity was introduced by the House Education Committee last month. That bill was not taken up by the Judiciary Committee.

Justice, a Republican, last year signed a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors, joining more than a dozen states that have passed laws limiting or banning medically assisted treatment for transgender youth.

A lawsuit is likely.

In 2020, the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Virginia school board’s ban on transgender bathrooms was unconstitutional. West Virginia falls under the jurisdiction of the 4th Circuit.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a 12-year-old transgender girl in West Virginia to continue competing on her high school’s girls’ sports teams while a lawsuit over a state ban continues. The ban prohibits transgender athletes from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.