Still fighting for equality

Virginia was one of twenty-eight states that did not protect LGBTQ citizens’ rights in schools or places where they work prior to the passing of three landmark new bills, House Bill 145, Senate Bill 161, and House Bill 696. 

Multiple cases had been documented locally where people who identify with the LGBTQ community were fired because of their orientation or gender association.

In February, The Virginian Pilot reported that Tracey Swinarsky, a resident of Virginia Beach, was fired from a local music store because some customers were uncomfortable with her as a transgender worker. This kind of situation left members of the LGBTQ community feeling unwelcome in some workplaces and fearful for their jobs in others..

The good news is that on March 5, Governor Ralph Northam signed all three bills protecting LGBTQ rights in schools, places of employment, and housing.

“It’s very exciting to see a new Virginia from the one that I first moved to in the seventies,” said French teacher and the sponsor of the Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA), John Mueller. “It represents a Virginia that is much more inclusive.”

Recently, Virginia also became the first southern state to ban conversion therapy for minors. Conversion therapy is the practice of trying to change an person’s sexual orientation from the LGBTQ spectrum to heterosexual using psychological or religious interventions. 

Laws like these are demonstrating the radical changes that are being made in our state to unify people of all kinds.

“It’s a big step,” said President of the GSA, freshman Oliver Demorest. “The LGBTQIA+ needed a win, especially something this big. I definitely think this will bring lots of hope to our community and it will help people feel more comfortable with their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.”

Although huge changes are being made, there is still a lot that needs to be done before everyone of all gender and sexual orientations will feel comfortable, especially adolescents.

“I think that a lot of teens already have internalized homophobia put in place by their families, so it’s cool that we can’t be ‘changed,’ but even without official conversion therapy there is still forceful conversion therapy within households,” said Demorest. “We aren’t always going to feel comfortable because honestly, that’s not realistic. I think that our community in Virginia needs to be able to come together to reach out further to educate people on resources that are available.”

Though we still have room for improvement, Mueller thinks the state is headed in the right direction.

“Look at who has been elected to the Virginia house recently,” said Mueller. “We have the first transgender woman in the country to be elected to a state wide office. So that itself is quite a remarkable feat.”

Virginia still has a ways to go before its citizens are truly equal, but these new bills have become a beacon of light for the LGBTQ community and give hope for the future.