Virginia
Danica Roem condemns Zooey Zephyr censure
Transgender Mont. lawmaker filed lawsuit on Monday
Virginia state Del. Danica Roem (D-Manassas) on Monday condemned the censure of Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr after she criticized her fellow lawmakers over their support of an anti-transgender bill.
“Censuring Rep. Zephyr is by all evidence an arbitrary and capricious abuse of power by a Republican supermajority whose ‘Freedom Caucus’ members on April 18 — without condemnation or censure for breaking decorum — also insisted on disrespecting her by ‘deliberately’ (as noted by the AP on April 19) misgendering her because they refuse to acknowledge the identities of their trans constituents, let alone their colleague,” Roem told the Washington Blade in a statement.
Roem in 2018 became the first openly transgender person seated in a state legislature in the U.S. Roem the following year became the first out trans state legislator to win re-election in the country.
Montana Republicans last week banned Zephyr, a trans woman who represents House District in the Montana House of Representatives, from the chamber floor after she criticized them over their support of a bill that bans gender-affirming health care for children.
Republican Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte on April 28 signed the measure, even though his nonbinary child had urged him to veto it. Zephyr on Monday filed a lawsuit that challenges her censure.
“Given the precedent established and repeatedly re-established, there is no justification for depriving the people of District 100 their equal representation in the state House,” Roem told the Blade. “Their representative’s full rights and privileges of the floor should be reinstated immediately.”
Manassas Democrat running for state Senate
Roem last May announced she is running to represent Senate District 30, which includes western Prince William County and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Robert Ruffolo, one of the Republicans who hopes to challenge Roem, has made a series of anti-trans comments on his Twitter account. These include asking a Twitter user who said “trans women are natural women” and “trans women are biological women” whether they are saying “God made a mistake by creating you as a male?”
“We know what we’re up against in this race,” Roem told the Blade on April 23 during an interview before the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund’s National Champagne Brunch that took place at the JW Marriott Hotel in D.C. “We know it is absolutely going to get personal, as well as its going to get on policy. We know that there’s going to be a lot at stake.”
Democrats currently have a 22-18 majority in the Virginia Senate, and they blocked the 12 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced during the 2023 legislative session.
“That is the only thing keeping Virginia from being in the same league as West Virginia, as Kentucky, as you’re about to see in North Carolina now that they got their supermajority, as you’re seeing in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma,” said Roem. “It gets worse, right? Arkansas, another one. Missouri, geez their attorney general is now trying to block trans care for adults.”
“The only thing that’s keeping us from that is that four seat majority,” she added.
Lieutenant Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who presides over the state Senate, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin are both Republicans. Roem told the Blade the governor this cycle is going to try and flip the “state legislature of a Democratic-voting state.”
The Senate Health Subcommittee earlier this year killed state Sen. Amanda Chase (R-Colonial Heights)’s bill that would have banned transition-related health care for trans youth.
Roem in 2020 introduced a bill that bans Virginia health care providers from discriminating against their patients based on their gender identity. Then-Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, signed the measure into law. Roem noted to the Blade that Chase’s measure would have repealed the statute.
“I’m not saying that we were in imminent danger of that bill,” said Roem, referring to Chase’s bill. “If they (Republicans) have majorities in both chambers and they have this governor, that bill passes. That bill might be introduced by a different member, but that bill passes.”
Virginia
Pride Liberation Project announces additional Va. school board protests
Student-led group challenging Trump-Vance administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies
Following their recent protests at school board meetings in Virginia to challenge the Trump-Vance administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies, a student-led rights group on Wednesday outlined plans to continue their actions.
The Pride Liberation Project released a statement in early March announcing their “March Month of Action” after their first round of protests. The Pride Liberation Project on Wednesday issued another press release that provided additional details.
“Queer students will rally at local school board meetings across Virginia, as they call for education leaders to reject the Trump-Musk’s administration escalating attacks against queer people.” said Conifer Selintung on behalf of the Pride Liberation Project. “Since taking office, the Trump-Musk administration has ignored the real issues facing our schools — like declining reading scores and the mental health crisis — and tried to bully queer students into the closet. Alongside other hateful attacks, they’ve attacked nondiscrimination protections, banned gender-affirming care, and whitewashed history.”
The Pride Liberation Project press release also included a statement from Moth, an LGBTQ student at McLean High School.
“I want to be able to go to school as myself, just like any other student,” said Moth. “To do that, I need my school board to stand up to bullies.”
The Pride Liberation Project has also released a schedule of rallies it plans to hold this month.
The first rally took place at the Prince William County School Board meeting in Manassas on Wednesday. A second event took place at the Roanoke County School Board meeting on Thursday.
Additional rallies are scheduled to take place in Rockingham and York Counties on March 24, Loudoun County on March 25, and Fairfax County on March 27.
Virginia
Va. county board of supervisors votes to defund library
Samuels Public Library faced calls to remove LGBTQ-themed books
The Warren County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-1 in favor of defunding the Samuels Public Library in Front Royal after some residents complained about certain books in the library.
“The library is a nonprofit overseen by a board of trustees, but it counts on the county for about 70 percent of its operating budget.” NBC Washington reported. “The board has been trying to gain more control over the library after some residents complained about certain books in the collection.”
The Winchester Star in 2023 reported a wide-array of books with queer themes have been targeted by those who wish to remove stories about LGBTQ families and people. They have sought to ban children who frequent the library, which is more than 200 years old, from reading them.
Some of the books targeted were “Over the Shop” by JonArno Lawson, “Pride Colors” by Robin Stevenson, “Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle” by Nina LaCour, “Plenty of Hugs” by Fran Manushkin, “I Love You Because I Love You,” by Muon Thi Van, and “Bathe the Cat” by Alice B. McGinty.
“Samuels Public Library serves more than 41,000 people in the County of Warren.” according to the library’s website. “In the last fiscal year, the Library had more than 127,000 visitors, over 400,000 checkouts, and hosted 542 programs that saw 19,194 attendees.”
Virginia
Pride Liberation Project to protest school board meetings across Va.
Student-led group to highlight White House’s anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, policies
Virginia’s largest student-led LGBTQ rights group on Monday announced it will protest school board meetings across the state in response to the rise in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from the Trump-Vance administration
“Since taking office, the Trump-Musk administration has unleashed a barrage of attacks against LGBTQIA+ students,” said Conifer Selintung of the Pride Liberation Project in a statement. “They have attacked discrimination protections in Title IX, targeted transgender athletes, attempted to strip funding for life-saving gender affirming care, and tried to whitewash history. The Trump-Musk administration’s obsession with queer young people is already impacting our lives. Defying medical consensus, multiple hospitals suspended gender affirming care last month.”
The Pride Liberation Project press release included statements from students across Virginia.
“These executive orders are attacking our communities instead of focusing on the real issues in our schools,” said Red O’Brien, a Virginia Beach junior who is planning to rally at their school board meeting.
“I’m an adult–it’s crazy and invasive that legislators can stop me from getting lifesaving healthcare,” said Everest Clauberg, a Virginia Commonwealth University student who receives gender-affirming care from VCU Endocrinology.
VCU Children’s Hospital of Richmond on Feb. 25 announced it would resume gender-affirming care for existing patients as deemed appropriate.
The Pride Liberation Project in recent years has organized more than 90 student-led protests across Virginia.
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