HB2, a bill that has consumed the state of North Carolina for months and scared away businesses, sporting events, concerts, and more. In the first week of the new year Republican Del. Bob Marshall introduced legislation of a similar nature, HB1612. Generally speaking, HB1612 which is otherwise known as the Physical Privacy Act, would prohibit individuals from using a bathroom of the opposite sex in government-owned buildings. This means that transgender people in the state would have to use restroom facilities that correspond with their "original birth certificate" as the bill also defines sex as the gender marker listed on one’s birth certificate. The bill also contains a provision that would compel a government-owned facility to pay civil damages to anyone who is found to have suffered physical or emotional distress because someone used a sex-segregated facility based on their gender identity.

But it doesn't stop there. The bill goes on to require public school principals to notify parents within 24 hours if a child requests to be recognized as a member of the opposite sex. The problem with this is that schools are supposed to be safe places and children are supposed to be able to trust their teacher. There are students that come from terrible homes that have to feel safe and that they can tell their teacher what is going on so that they can get help. This law treats these kids like they have a disease by requiring the principals to out the student to his or hers parents and violates their trust. In addition to this, these children may come from intolerant homes where they would not be accepted once outed and would be subject to abuse or even be forced out of their home.

A similar bill filed last year died in committee, and Gov. Terry McAuliffe vowed to veto such types of legislation. Thankfully, on January 20th, the bill died as it was tabled in the General Assembly following an unrecorded vote by members of the House General Laws Subcommittee.

I wish I could say that it all stops here but it doesn't. Virginia is not the only state where laws of this nature have been introduced. Legislators in Texas, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky have already introduced bills that would bring HB 2-style measures to their districts. And it doesn't stop here for Virginia.

Del. Marshall has said that he will seek to reintroduce another version of HB 1612, which went through a number of changes before being debated, in future legislative sessions. The final version of the bill allowed trans people to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity if they had changed their birth certificate accordingly. However, Virginia does not currently allow trans people to update their birth certificates to be consistent with their gender identity, although groups like National Center for Transgender Equality and Equality Virginia have lobbied the state to amend those policies.