Virginia
Conservative group’s anti-transgender ad targets Spanberger
Restoration of America PAC attacks Va. gubernatorial candidate
A new ad paints Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger “as extreme as it gets” because of her stance on transgender rights.
Restoration of America PAC, a collection of conservative groups, funded the 30-second spot. It claims that Spanberger supports allowing “boys to play girls sports and shower in girls locker rooms … naked,” “horrifying gender mutilation reversal,” and “irreversible sterilization of children.”
The ad then argues Spanberger “refuses to answer questions about this because she knows how evil it is.”
When asked if she would support a bill that would allow trans women to use bathrooms and to play on sports teams consistent with their gender identity, Spanberger told WSET in Roanoke last month that she would “support a bill that would put clear provisions in place that provide a lot of local ability for input.”
Spanberger is running against Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican “morally opposed” to marriage equality, to succeed Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Equality Virginia Advocates, an organization that works alongside Equality Virginia, aims to advance equality for LGBTQ Virginians through advocacy and public policy. Executive Director Narissa Rahaman described the ad as “poorly recycled scapegoating” pulled from the “Trump 2024 playbook.”
“We need leaders focused on combating the everyday challenges facing Virginians across the commonwealth, not manufacturing culture war issues to encourage discrimination against our friends, families, and neighbors who happen to be transgender,” Rahaman said.
Rahaman added Equality Virginia PAC’s recent data shows 71 percent of the Earle-Sears campaign’s digital ad spending has been dedicated to ads against trans youth.
Earle-Sears has previously aired ads that claim Spanberger is for “they/them, not us,” echoing messaging the Trump-Vance campaign used to target former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race.
“The Virginia GOP is wasting millions villainizing a small part of the population while ignoring the real issues facing Virginians: unaffordable housing, rampant inflation, and federal job cuts,” Rahaman said.
Laurel Powell, communications director at the Human Rights Campaign, noted conservative groups have spent more than $230,000 on anti-trans ads in Virginia. She described the anti-trans advertisements as “dangerous, blatant lies created to exploit misinformation about the trans community.”
“Republicans are desperately trying to distract from their ongoing failure on issues facing Virginians — like the Republican-led government shutdown, the fallout from the disastrous tariff wars, and thousands of people being booted from their jobs to feed Donald Trump’s lust for political vengeance,” Powell said. “While they make life harder and more dangerous for transgender people, all Virginians are being robbed of the leadership they need and deserve.”
A Christian Newport University poll notes Virginia’s likely voters are focused on threats to democracy, inflation or cost of living, healthcare, and immigration as key issues for the upcoming election. The poll found likely voters said Spanberger would do a better job than Earle-Sears in handling trans-specific policy by 13 points.
Spanberger cosponsored and voted for the Equality Act three times, which would ban discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation in federal law. Earle-Sears, for her part, has previously misgendered state Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas) — the first openly trans statewide lawmaker in Virginia — during a floor debate and has made inaccurate claims about trans people at school board meetings.
Spanberger currently leads Earle-Sears by a 47.5-45.1 percent margin, according to a poll from Trafalgar Group, although the lead is within the poll’s 2.9 percent margin of error. Election Day is on Nov. 4.
A gay man was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Saamel and Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate Sanchez-McCray, 42, was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray shot to death inside a home in Petersburg.
Sanchez-McCray’s brother, Jamal Mitchell Diamond, in a public statement the Washington Blade received from Equality Virginia and GLAAD, said Sanchez-McCray was not transgender as initial reports indicated.
“Our family has always embraced the fullness of who he was. He used the names Saamel, Shyyell, and Mable interchangeably, and we honor all of them. There is no division within our family regarding how he is being represented — only a shared commitment to preserving his truth with love and respect,” said Diamond.
“He was also deeply committed to community work through Nationz Foundation, where he worked and completed multiple state-certified programs to support marginalized communities,” added Diamond. “That work meant a great deal to him.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
Virginia
Va. lawmakers consider partial restoration of Ryan White funds
State Department of Health in 2025 cut $20 million from Part B program
The Virginia General Assembly is considering the partial restoration of HIV funding that the state’s Department of Health cut last year.
The Department of Health in 2025 cut $20 million — or 67 percent of total funding — from the Ryan White Part B program.
The funding cuts started with the Trump-Vance administration passing budget cuts to federal HIV screening and protection programs. Rebate issues between the Virginia Department of Health and the company that provides HIV medications began.
Advocates say the funding cuts have disproportionately impacted lower-income people.
The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, a federal program started in 1990, provides medical services, public education, and essential services. Part B offers 21 services, seven of which remained funded after the budget cuts.
Equality Virginia notes “in 2025, a 67 percent reduction severely destabilized HIV services across the commonwealth.”
Virginia lawmakers have approved two bills — House Bill 30 and Senate Bill 30 — that would partially restore the funding. The Ryan White cuts remain a concern among community members.
Both chambers of the General Assembly must review their proposed changes before lawmakers can adopt the bills.
“While these amendments aren’t a full restoration of what community-based organizations lost, this marks a critical step toward stabilizing care for thousands of Virginians living with HIV,” said Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman. “Equality Virginia plans to continue their contact with lawmakers and delegates through the conference and up until the passing of the budget.”
“We appreciate lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who recognized the urgency of this moment and will work to ensure funding remains in the final version signed by the governor,” added Rahaman.
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