Students at schools across Virginia walked out of class today to protest Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s recently announced policies aimed at limiting the rights of transgender students. The walkouts — planned for about 100 schools — were organized by youth-led LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Pride Liberation Project, which has been getting in good trouble since March 2021.
Youngkin’s planned policies would mostly forbid teachers from using trans students’ preferred names or pronouns, even if the kid’s parents filed a written request with school administrators — the family would have to provide a court order showing a name change, or some other legal document. And even then, teachers and staff wouldn’t have to respect the students’ preferences if they believe that such a show of basic human dignity would “violate their constitutionally protected rights.”
Read More: VA Gov Glenn Youngkin Loves ‘Parental Rights’ Except When Parents Love, Support Their Trans Kids
The bill also prohibits students from using restrooms or locker rooms that match their gender preference, and of course bans trans students from being on sports teams matching their gender, because suddenly women’s sports are the most important thing in the world to the Right. Worst of all, the law requires that trans students be outed to their parents, even if they come out in confidence to a teacher or counselor.
So yeah, the kids have plenty to protest today. Here’s a video snippet!
In a statement released after Youngkin announced the policy changes, the Pride Liberation Project said the revised policies
will only hurt students in a time when students are facing unparalleled mental health challenges, and are a cruel attempt to politicize the existence of LGBTQIA+ students for political gain
By not-quite 11 a.m., the group tweeted that more than a thousand students had already walked out of classes; bizarrely, Twitter slapped a “potentially sensitive content” warning on the photo of entirely appropriately dressed young people carrying perfectly polite protest signs.
Oh, must be the one girl in the Harvard sweatshirt with her arm around a friend’s shoulder. Hope you survived that OK, readers.
A similar warning obscures this tweeted photo of kids waving a rainbow flag at Hylton High in Prince William County as a crowd of roughly 300 walker outers look on. Oh sweet lord Jebus there is another blatant hug RIGHT THERE god help us we are suddenly corrupted with sin.
The new discriminatory policies will be shoved through after a 30-day comment period, presumably regardless of whether most members of the public support or oppose it. Public comments are open until October 26, and you probably need to be from Virginia for your comment to be considered. The site is loading extremely slowly at the moment, so that suggests there’s a lot of interest. We’re at least encouraged to see that most comment headings at the moment oppose the policy.
“I strongly oppose these policies as being mean” says it all, we think.
Once the stupid policy goes into effect, the Washington Post notes, it will almost inevitably face legal challenges:
Some opponents have said the policy violates the Virginia Human Rights Act, which protects individuals in public settings, including schools, from discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
The Post also notes that, in a recent survey of Virginia school districts, several districts in Northern Virginia have already issued statements to their communities opposing the policy, since it violates their own existing policies protecting students’ rights. Good for them! Other schools were waiting on further guidance before they bleat “baa” and uncomplainingly comply, and a few say their policies already align with Youngkin’s.
In conclusion, hooray for the kids, they may just save this damned country if we help them.
[WaPo / NBC4 Washington / Pride Liberation Project]
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