Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn speaks in favor of the Virginia Values Act – Photo: Equality Virginia
A Virginia House of Delegates committee has approved a version of the Virginia Values Act, a comprehensive LGBTQ nondiscrimination bill, with bipartisan support.
The bill updates the commonwealth’s human rights laws to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity — as well as other characteristics in public employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations. It would also ban discrimination by private employers with six or more employees.
The House General Laws Committee approved the act, sponsored by Mark Sickles (D-Franconia) by a 16-6 vote, with all Democrats and three Republicans representing rural areas — Delegates Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach), Will Morefield (R-North Tazewell) and William Wampler III (R-Abingdon) — voting in favor of it.
Notably, Wampler had previously voted against the bill when it passed in a subcommittee by a 5-1 vote.
The committee also approved a similar nondiscrimination bill, sponsored by Del. Mark Levine (D-Alexandria), by an identical vote of 16-6.
That second bill explicitly adds protections for LGBTQ people in public contracting, apprenticeship programs, banking, and insurance, in addition to employment, housing, and public accommodations.
The Virginia Values Act, which has the support of Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax Station) now heads to the Committee on Appropriations.
If it passes there, it will head to the full House for consideration, where it is expected to pass with the support of most Democrats, who hold a 55-45 edge in the lower chamber.
A Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), is scheduled for a committee vote on Wednesday.
“We are encouraged by the Virginia Values Act’s progress in the General Assembly,” James Parrish, the director of the Virginia Values Coalition, said in a statement. “These nondiscrimination protections are critical to ensuring that LGBTQ people have the freedom to go about their daily lives with safety, privacy, and dignity.”
“We are witnessing a wave of positive progress as LGBTQ-friendly legislation moves through the General Assembly,” Vee Lamneck, the executive director of Equality Virginia, added. “There is widespread, bipartisan support for the Virginia Values Act. We’re confident lawmakers will quickly pass this legislation to protect LGBTQ Virginians.”
A federal judge who routinely sides with conservative activists has upheld West Texas A&M University’s ban on campus drag performances, ignoring long-standing precedent and rejecting First Amendment arguments for why the prohibition should be overturned.
West Texas A&M University imposed the ban in 2023, when University President Walter Wendler barred Spectrum WT, the college's LGBTQ student organization, from hosting a campus drag show to raise money for The Trevor Project, the nation's leading LGBTQ suicide prevention organization.
Wendler blocked the show on the grounds that drag is "misogynistic" and mocks women, comparing the art form to blackface. He also maintained there is no such thing as a "harmless drag show," arguing that performers adopt exaggerated gender expressions through makeup, clothing, and prosthetics that stereotype and insult women.
A Russian man has been fined for posting a photo of the iconic rock band Queen dressed in drag on social media, with authorities accusing him of "destroying family values" and violating Russia's law banning the dissemination of so-called "LGBT propaganda."
David Gevondyan posted the offending photo -- showing members of the band dressed in women's clothing and posing by a stairwell in a femininely decorated home during the filming of the music video for the song "I Want to Break Free" -- to VKontakte (VK), Russia's equivalent of Facebook.
A new report finds that acceptance of LGBTQ people is declining across the United States, with nearly three in ten LGBTQ adults saying attitudes toward their community have worsened.
On Thursday, January 15, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation released findings from its Annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey, which drew responses from nearly 15,000 U.S. adults -- roughly two-thirds of whom identified as LGBTQ.
In addition to the survey, HRC last year launched its "American Dreams Tour," traveling to 10 cities and engaging more than 5,000 people through town halls, trainings, and community meetings with local LGBTQ leaders and activists. Those on-the-ground conversations informed the report, which aims to assess the state of LGBTQ life in the United States one year into the second Trump administration.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.