Tell Gov. Morrisey to protect trans youth in WV
The 2025 legislative session is finally over, and this was the most challenging session for LGBTQ+ rights that I’ve ever seen. Dozens of anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced this year, and unfortunately, several of them were passed by lawmakers.
But our work isn’t quite over yet. Two bills, Senate Bill 154 and Senate Bill 299, passed in the final days of the session, which means they’re still awaiting a signature from the Governor before they can become law.
SB 154 will force teachers to out their transgender students — even if a teacher has reason to believe the student could face mistreatment or neglect because of their identity. SB 299 cuts off all gender-affirming care for trans teenagers across the state, which multiple health care providers said could seriously increase the risk of suicide.
We’re asking you to help us again. We need to get Gov. Patrick Morrisey to veto both of these bills. Reach out to his office ASAP and let him know he should veto SB 154 and SB 299. You can use our tool below to email him in less than a minute, then call his office at 304-558-2000.
Another bill that was adopted, Senate Bill 456, seeks to ban transgender people from using the restroom that aligns with their gender identity in all state-owned facilities. Gov. Morrisey has already signed that bill into law, and it will go into effect on June 9. In the coming weeks, we’ll have more updates on what this means for our community and how we’re going to continue fighting back.
But there was at least one bright spot this legislative session.
Republicans in the Senate voted to overturn local fairness laws that have been adopted by 20 communities across our state. These local fairness laws ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in three key areas of life: employment, housing, and public accommodations. Thankfully, that bill died in the House, which means our local fairness laws are SAFE.
I need to take a minute to thank each and every one of our supporters. Despite the difficult odds, thousands of your across the state took action to stand up for our community, and for that I am eternally grateful. This year, our supporters used our action alerts to send nearly 43,000 emails to legislators.
No matter how you took action — whether you called, emailed, wrote a letter, or even just spread the word on social media — please know that your efforts matter. We see you, we hear you, and we join you in hoping for a Legislature that truly tackles the problems facing our state instead of inventing problems out of thin air to get angry about.
And I know that, in the end, we will win. Because the principles of fairness, dignity for all, and the freedom to be whoever you are — those principles will always win out. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but a brighter future is on the horizon for West Virginia if only we can continue organizing and taking action.
Thank you.
Yours in Fairness,
Andrew Schneider
Executive Director
