Virginia Legislature Okays LGBTQ Anti-Bias Law
State becomes fi rst in South to approve gender identity, sexual orientation protections
BY MATT TRACY
State lawmakers in Virginia
have approved legislation
implementing
comprehensive LGBTQ
non-discrimination protections,
putting the state on the brink of
becoming the fi rst in the South to
add sexual orientation and gender
identity as protected classes under
the law.
Both houses of the Virginia
General Assembly passed the bill,
called the Virginia Values Act,
which covers employment, public
accommodations, and housing.
The addition of public accommodation
protections — the fi rst time
any public accommodations are
covered for any class in the state
— will also be extended to other
classes, including race, age, sex,
religion, pregnancy, or veteran status,
underscoring the far-reaching
impact of the legislation.
The bill now faces minor procedural
hurdles before it is delivered
to Democratic Governor Ralph
Northam, who is expected to sign
it.
The legislation cleared the State
Senate multiple times in years
past, but it repeatedly died in the
House of Delegates at the hands of
anti-LGBTQ legislators. That hurdle
was fi nally cleared this time
around thanks to Democrats gaining
control of both houses of the
State Legislature in the November
elections last year.
“Change has come,” tweeted
➤ MILITARY BAN, from p.14
question boils down to whether
the ban is an expression of ideology,
pure and simple, or rather
is based on objective facts. Only
discovery of internal communications
and sources allegedly relied
upon in formulating the policy can
reveal the answer to the degree
necessary to constitute proof in
a court. But the DOJ keeps stalling.
Pechman issued an order late
last year compelling certain disclosure
Danica Roem (left), an out trans Virginia lawmaker, said “change has come” to her state after both
houses of the General Assembly approved a comprehensive LGBTQ nondiscrimination measure.
Danica Roem, an out transgender
member of the House of Delegates
who was fi rst elected in 2017. “Welcome
to Virginia.”
Virginia Senate Majority Leader
Dick Saslaw also celebrated
the bill’s passage and thanked
the Virginia Values Coalition — a
statewide group working to protect
LGBTQ rights in Virginia —
for leading the fi ght to gain basic
queer rights in the state.
“The passage of the Virginia Values
Act ensures that LGBTQ Virginians
by a date specifi ed in December.
Rather than comply, the
Justice Department moved for
“clarifi cation” of part of her order
and a “stay pending appeal.” Every
discovery appeal to the Ninth
Circuit, which has shown no sympathy
for the government’s position,
nevertheless builds in several
more months of delay.
Pechman is having none of it:
Her February 7 order provides
some “clarifi cation” – which sounds
from her description in this opinion
as the DOJ not really needing
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/ TED EYTAN
have comprehensive protections
in employment, housing,
and public spaces,” Saslaw wrote
in a tweet.
Reverend Jasmine Beach-Ferrara,
who serves as the executive director
of the Campaign for Southern
Equality, a group focusing on
advancing queer causes in the
South, hopes the bill’s passage will
mark the beginning of a new era
for LGBTQ rights in states across
that region.
“The Virginia Values Act sends
a powerful message that no one
clarifi cation after the December 10
conference she held with the parties,
which she quotes from the
transcript by the court reporter.
And she denies the stay.
“Because Plaintiffs have overcome
the deliberate process privilege
for these documents and
this dispute has been pending for
nearly two years, the Court will
not issue a stay for an unspecifi ed
amount of time while Defendants
decide whether to appeal,” she
wrote. “This is an ongoing process
and until the process is complete it
POLITICS
should face discrimination because
of who they are or who they
love, and it charts a hopeful pathway
forward for all LGBTQ Southerners,”
Beach-Ferrara said in a
written statement.
Alphonso David, who spent years
working behind the scenes on LGBTQ
rights legislation during his
time as counsel to New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo, praised the
endurance of those who remained
steadfast in their pursuit of equality
for years prior to the bill successfully
passing both chambers.
“Today, history was made in Virginia,
and LGBTQ Virginians are
one step closer to being protected
from discrimination,” David said
in a written statement. “This day
would not have been possible without
the years and years of tireless
work from advocates across the
commonwealth, or the voters in
Virginia that fi lled the halls of the
General Assembly with pro-equality
champions who fulfi lled their
promises.”
The rejuvenated Democraticcontrolled
Virginia General Assembly
is also moving forward with
other LGBTQ rights legislation.
A ban on conversion therapy for
minors cleared the House of Delegates
by a wide 66-27 margin and
is now on deck in the State Senate,
while upper house recently approved
a bill allowing individuals
to change the gender marker on
their birth certifi cate. The bill will
eventually face a vote in the House
of Delegates.
is wasteful to appeal one segment
at a time.”
She also pointed out that the
government missed a 14-day deadline
if it wanted her to reconsider
her prior discovery order. She ordered
the government to produce
all the documents covered by the
order by February 14.
Ryan Karnoski and co-plaintiffs
are represented by Lambda Legal
and the Modern Military Association,
a group serving LGBTQ service
members, veterans, and their
families.
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