Fairness WV condemns Patrick’s Potty Police

CHARLESTON, West Virginia — The West Virginia Legislature today voted to adopt a bill introduced by Governor Patrick Morrisey that, among other things, seeks to ban transgender people from using restrooms in state-owned facilities that align with their gender identity.

Andrew Schneider, executive director of Fairness West Virginia, released the following statement:

West Virginians have been loud and clear: they don’t support Patrick’s Potty Police. They don’t want the Legislature forcing anyone, especially children, to undergo forced genital examinations just to use the restroom. The fact that our lawmakers have spent so much time debating this bill shows how out of touch the Republican supermajority is with the voters of this state.

Although the brunt of this bill focuses on bathrooms, I hope we all don’t lose sight of the many other harms this bill could cause. This bill explicitly prohibits domestic violence shelters from providing a true safe haven to transgender victims. This bill seeks to force shelters to house transgender women in the men’s shelter. And as advocates for these victims have pointed out, denying service to transgender victims could be a death sentence.

When lawmakers police who is and isn’t a woman, when they dictate what bodies are acceptable, when they decide who gets to be safe, we all lose. We have seen this before, in every era when those in power tried to control women’s bodies and silence their voices. We cannot let them divide us. We cannot let them use fear to weaken our collective power.

Our lawmakers rushed this bill through the legislative process without considering all the ways this new law could hurt people in our state. They rushed it because they care more about fighting an imaginary culture war than making groceries more affordable, helping public schools, or making our state more inclusive to all families.

We’re grateful, though, that some people in the Legislature still have some common sense and understand how asinine Patrick’s Potty Police is. All but one Democrat voted against this bill, and we appreciate their steadfast support.

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Please direct questions and interview requests to Jack Jarvis, Communications Director or jack@fairnesswv.org.

Fairness West Virginia is the statewide civil rights advocacy organization dedicated to fair treatment and civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer West Virginians. Our mission is to ensure LGBTQ+ people can be open, honest and safe at home, at work, and in the community. We are open to everyone who believes in fundamental fairness.