Dangerous anti-trans bill introduced in West Virginia House of Delegates
House Bill 3183 is possibly the most dangerous anti-trans bill introduced so far this session.
Content warning: Transphobia, mention of genocide, mention of suicide
Today was an incredibly tough day for the Queer and Trans communities in the state of West Virginia. In addition to a public hearing being announced for this Thursday at 9am on HB 2007 - which has been amended to include all gender affirming care and surgeries for minors, two new anti-trans bills were introduced.
House Bill 3176 was introduced and referred to the Education committee and then onto Judiciary. This bill would prohibit drag shows from being performed in front of minors in any public space and to prohibit drags shows in schools and libraries. This ban would cause many family-friendly Pride events to be pushed underground.
While HB 3176 is concerning, HB 3183 is far more threatening and is borderline genocidal in language. HB 3183 was introduced on the House floor and assigned to Judiciary. This entire anti-LGBTQ+ bill serves as a platform to ban anything LGBTQ+ from public spaces. It is evident that the legislators leading these attacks are determined to wipeout Queer and Trans West Virginians.
This bill would prevent public employees from having any pride items, be it a mug or photos on the desk; teachers and professors would be prohibited from hanging a pride flag in their classrooms. Breaking these rules could lead to one being suspended without pay and potentially fired under this bill. HB 3183 would also prohibit public schools from providing gender affirming mental and emotional health counseling, this would likely including transgender, nonbinary, or gender nonconforming students that are suicidal. In addition to prevent school counselors from stepping in, it would prevent counseling teams from providing these students with resources or references.
Not only would staff and faculty be prevented from assisting their students, those who volunteer at the school would also be included (PTA’s, after school clubs, etc.). HB 3183 would prevent these individuals from correctly gendering transgender students.
Within HB 3183, there is a line that would ban all gender affirming care in the state of West Virginia for those under the age of 18.
The language within these bills are hateful, filled with misinformation, and are designed to vilianize Queer and Trans West Virginians, as well as our allies.
While these bills have just been assigned to their committees, it is likely the will see agendas in February. In the meantime, we must have our allies show up for this Thursday’s hearing at 9am within House Chambers. It is important to note that this hearing was scheduled against the wishes of the majority of the Trans community, parents with transgender children, and medical providers. Allies - we need you to show up and speak out against this bill. Trans lives are on the line. If you are a trans person considering going to the Capitol and are in need of transportation funds, please fill out this form to receive transportation funds.
Most importantly, stay safe.