A Virginia House subcommittee is hearing a number of LGBT-related bills today. Watch live above.
Writes John Riley at MetroWeekly:
A Virginia House subcommittee will hear five bills related to LGBT rights on Thursday, including a measure to restrict transgender people’s ability to access restrooms or changing facilities consistent with their gender identity.
The measure — Rep. Bob Marshall’s HB 1612 — is being pushed for by social conservatives, including the Virginia First Foundation.
It mirrors North Carolina’s controversial HB 2 law, except it goes even further, requiring people to use the bathroom of the gender that matches their assigned sex at birth as listed on their “original birth certificate,” even if they have undergone gender confirmation surgery.
Riley adds:
A second bill being considered is HB 2011, another Marshall effort that would make it part of Virginia law that denying someone access to facilities in government buildings or schools based on their gender identity would not be considered discrimination…A third measure, HB 2025, seeks to allow a “person” (defined broadly to include businesses, organizations or other entities) to refuse to solemnize a marriage, such as one involving a same-sex couple, to which they have a religious objection.
Also on the docket are two bills that would advance LGBT rights. Unfortunately, they’re likely to be tabled to the GOP control of the committee. Read about them here.
Here’s Marshall talking about the bills in a press conference earlier this week:
