West Virginia has become the latest state to prohibit trans-identified males from using sex-segregated spaces designated for women by enacting a measure seen as “common sense” by supporters while denounced by opponents as “an attempt to force trans people back into the closet.”
On Wednesday, West Virginia’s Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed the Riley Gaines Act into law. The measure is named after Riley Gaines, a prominent former female swimmer who spoke out against having to compete against and share a locker room with a trans-identified male swimmer. Gaines, who was present when Morrisey signed the legislation that bears her name, reported feeling “extreme discomfort” about having to share a locker room with the trans-identified athlete, Lia Thomas, who still has male genitalia.
In a statement announcing his approval of the measure, Morrisey declared that “Today, we sent a strong message that West Virginia stands with women.” He insisted that “West Virginia will not bow down to radical gender ideology – we are going to lead with common sense, and the Riley Gaines Act does exactly that.”
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Morrrisey’s approval of the Riley Gaines Act, also known as Senate Bill 456, follows a 32-1 vote to pass the measure by the Republican-controlled West Virginia Senate and a 90-8 vote in favor of the legislation by the Republican-controlled West Virginia House of Delegates. In both chambers, nearly all of the support for the measure came from Republicans while all opposition came from Democrats. One Senate Democrat joined Republicans in backing the bill.
The bill establishes a definition for a “male” as “an individual who naturally has, had, will have through the course of normal development, or would have but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly, or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for fertilization.” It identifies “boy” as the term used for a minor male, “man” as the term for an adult male and “father” as the term used for a male parent.
The legislation defines a “female” as “an individual who naturally has, had, will have through the course of normal development, or would have but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly, or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes ova for fertilization.” It defines “girl” as the term used for a minor female, “woman” as the term that refers to an adult female and “mother” as the word for a female parent.
The measure clarifies that “there are only two sexes, and every individual is either male or female.” It requires educational institutions including public schools and institutions of higher education as well as domestic violence shelters and prisons to ensure that “restrooms, multiple occupancy restrooms or changing rooms, and sleeping quarters” are reserved for either males or females as defined by state law.
Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Sara Beth Nolan reacted to Morrisey’s approval of Senate Bill 456 by stating “States have a duty to protect the privacy, safety, and dignity of women and girls.” She added that “Letting men intrude into girls’ spaces where they are most vulnerable—whether in a changing space, sleeping quarters, or the restroom—is an invasion of privacy, a threat to their safety, and a denial of the real biological differences between the two sexes.”
Nolan predicted that “This will help protect young girls and women across the state for generations to come.” The ACLU of West Virginia had a different view on the passage of the legislation. In a statement released Wednesday, the liberal advocacy organization condemned the measure as “an attempt to force trans people back into the closet” under “the guise of ‘defining’ men and women.”
“This bill has no enforcement mechanism, but will undoubtedly add to stigma against trans people and empower those who want to harass and intimidate them. But the Legislature’s efforts to erase trans people will ultimately fail. Trans people have always existed and there will never be a world in which they do not exist.”
West Virginia has now become the 17th state to require people to use sex-segregated spaces that align with their biological sex as opposed to their stated gender identity. Florida, Utah and Wyoming have laws in place that apply to all government-owned buildings and spaces while measures on the books in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and Ohio cover K-12 schools and at least some government-owned buildings.
Laws in place in Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia only apply to K-12 schools.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
