26-03-2025
Ordinances against discrimination in 13 West Virginia cities would be voided under Senate Bill 579
CLARKSBURG, (WBOY) — The West Virginia Senate passed a bill that would remove some local ordinances that prevent discrimination against members of the LGBTQ+ community, including in Morgantown and Fairmont.
The West Virginia Human Rights Act makes it unlawful to discriminate employment because of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, blindness or disability, but 20 cities in West Virginia have also passed local ordinances against discrimination in work and housing based on someone's sexual orientation or gender identity, known as fairness laws.
Senate Bill 579 would make those local ordinances 'void and unenforceable.'
The bill is an amendment to the Municipal Home Rule Program, which was created in 2007 to allow cities in the program to be creative in their solutions to local problems. Cities that pay to be in the program can enact ordinances that are different from the blanket statutes that apply to all municipalities in the state.
Creation of certain laws are explicitly banned from the Home Rule Program, and Senate Bill 579 would add any ordinance or resolution:
That recognizes additional classes of persons entitled to protection in addition to those classes of persons recognized by existing state statutes, and any such existing ordinances are void and unforceable.
Proposed amendment to WV Code §8-1-5a
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According to the West Virginia Department of Revenue website, as of March 2025, dozens of cities and towns were in the program, from small towns like Auburn in Ritchie County, which has fewer than 100 residents, to the state's capital city, Charleston.
Of the 20 municipalities that have fairness laws, 13 of them are also considered Home Rule Cities, meaning those ordinances would be voided.
Wheeling
Fairmont
Morgantown
Wardensville
Martinsburg
Harpers Ferry
Shepherdstown
Charles Town
Charleston
South Charleston
Huntington
Beckley
Lewisburg
The seven municipalities with non-discrimination laws that are not part of Home Rule are Bethany, Monongah, Keyser, Bolivar, Sutton, Thurmond and Athens, according to a list shared with 12 News by Fairness WV.
A coalition of municipality leaders from all 20 cities and towns with fairness laws have asked the legislature to not pass the law, saying that it removes 'a cornerstone of our democracy.'
'Overturning these protections would disregard the will of our constituents and undermine the ability of local governments to respond to the needs of their communities,' the coalition said in a letter opposing the bill.
'West Virginians believe in fairness. We believe in hard work, in standing by our neighbors, and in making sure that no one is turned away from opportunity simply for being themselves. That is why so many of our cities and towns have chosen, through democratic and thoughtful local processes, to enact these protections. To take them away now would not just undo policies—it would send a message that some people in our state matter less than others,' it continued.
In Wheeling, Morgantown, Charleston and Huntington, SB 579 could also void local laws against conversion therapy.
The bill will now be sent to the West Virginia House of Delegates.
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