From Voters of Tomorrow Press Release:
Virginia Chapter of Voters of Tomorrow strongly condemns Governor Youngkin’s proposal to strip protections for LGBTQ+ students and praises the Pride Liberation Project’s student-led walkouts across Commonwealth
Organization encourages members and all concerned citizens to submit comments in opposition to Youngkin’s immoral and illegal proposal on trans and non-binary students
ARLINGTON, VA — Late on Friday, September 16th, in an attempt to avoid public scrutiny,
Governor Youngkin released an ugly and misguided anti-trans Department of Education model policy proposal for Virginia public schools.
If accepted in their current form, Youngkin’s model policies would strip critical and life-saving protections for LGBTQ+ students in Virginia. The proposal would require teachers and staff to, against the student’s wishes, tell parents if their children come out as LGBTQ+ or even ask questions about sexual identity. This would happen even in cases where students are seeking counseling for abusive at-home environments. The proposal would prohibit teachers, administrators, and staff from using students’ affirming names and pronouns and taking actions to help support their students and their mental health. Youngkin’s policies also force the students into a bathroom and sports policy that do not adhere to their true gender identity. Overall, these policies make life more difficult for trans students, unnecessarily making them potential targets for bullying, abuse, and violence.
It is important to know that the proposed guidance is a DRAFT and subject to public comment prior to approval. The 30-day comment period closes October 26th. Please follow this link and tell Gov. Youngkin that you are OPPOSED to these anti-trans policies –
https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/entercomment.cfm?GdocForumID=1953
The Virginia Chapter of Voters of Tomorrow strongly supports the work of the Pride Liberation Project and encourages all our members to join the student-led walkouts across the Commonwealth. We also agree with those who are arguing that these proposed policies violate both State and Federal law. With that in mind, we support State legislative leaders like State Senator Scott Surovell and Delegate Danica Roem who have already promised, if necessary, to take the Youngkin Administration to court.
“Considering what these policies would really do in terms of stigmatizing and harming our fellow classmates, Youngkin’s description of the proposal using words like privacy, dignity, and respect – and cloaking it all in the phrase ‘parental rights’ is perfectly Orwellian,” stated Aaron Lopez, the State Co-President of Voters of Tomorrow. “Bullying children and our fellow students for political gain is immoral and ugly. The Governor and his enablers should be ashamed.”
“We greatly appreciate the many school systems in Virginia that have, in response to the Governor’s proposal, acted to affirm support for their LGBTQ+ students,” said Elijah Lee, the other State Co-President of Voters of Tomorrow. “They must reject these model policies that simply create a hostile and potentially dangerous school environment for trans and non-binary students. We call on all of Virginia’s school systems to treat all students with dignity and respect.”
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The Virginia Chapter of Voters of Tomorrow is a pro-democracy organization encouraging young people to become civically engaged. With its parent organization, it carries out research to fully understand Gen Z’s position on a range of issues, then uses this data to guide their public and behind-the-scenes advocacy campaigns. Additionally, they develop and promote initiatives to encourage Gen Z to vote for pro-democracy candidates.
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