1. United States
2. W.V.
3. Letter

I am writing to you because I vehemently oppose SB 456, and you should do the same. This bill will not make anyone safer, and its pretense of protecting the women of West Virginia is hollow. As a matter of fact, it will only put West Virginians in more danger. - All residents of the state, whether cisgender or transgender, will be subject to scrutiny regarding their gender and may face violence or harassment if others deem them not feminine or masculine enough. The ability to use a bathroom in peace will be jeopardized for every single West Virginian. - Transgender individuals forced to use bathrooms that don't align with their gender will be in danger every time they do it, and face great risk of harassment and violence. - Transgender individuals will be barred from accessing desperately needed safe places in the form of domestic violence shelters. - Transgender individuals who are sent to the wrong corrections facilities will face sexual violence and trauma as a result of their gender. - Children -- including cisgender children -- will have to endure the trauma and humiliation of having their genitals scrutinized with neither they nor their family's consent. It doesn't matter if the person doing it is a healthcare provider -- this is a horrific violation of their privacy and autonomy that no loving parent would allow. In no world is any of this acceptable. The people of West Virginia deserve to live in peace. This bill will only result in fear, scrutiny, harassment, trauma, and an environment in which any deviation from the "norms" of gender expression is violently punished. For the sake of all West Virginians -- including the women and children our government claims to want to protect -- oppose this bill with everything you have.