Latest news with #SenateBill579
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-LGBTQ legislation casts uncertain future for Fairmont's Human Rights Commission
FAIRMONT — The mood at the Fairmont Human Rights Commission is somber these days. The commission spent the bulk of its March meeting Wednesday discussing bills from the state legislature that target trans and queer individuals by prohibiting municipalities by passing ordinances that protect LGBTQ identity. 'I'm really disheartened that the legislature is focused on people's body parts and who you love and not on the citizens of West Virginia,' Vice Chair Donna Blood said. 'The important things, for instance, the muddy water in southern West Virginia. They just loosened the regulations for water purity. What's that about? That's not helping anyone.' Andrew Schneider, executive director of Fairness West Virginia, delivered a report to the commission about the legislature's activities. Schneider said Senate Bill 154 would require teachers to out transgender students to their parents, even if it means outing the child to hostile parents who might harm their child. Schneider also characterized the bill as a don't-say-gay bill as well. It would prohibit LGBTQ curriculum in schools, and would get teachers in trouble merely for bringing up in class anything related to LGBTQ identity. Schneider said Senate Bill 299 as well, which bans gender affirming care. Schneider said both bills have moved out of the senate into the House of Delegates, where they await to be taken up by a committee. Schneider expects that to happen. Fairmont City Councilmember Rebecca Moran asked if Senate Bill 579, which prohibits municipalities from passing ordinances that go beyond the scope of state code and targets gender identity protections, would affect the Human Rights Commission. She wanted to know if the bill would impact ordinances that were approved by voters and weren't simply passed by council. Schneider said most likely the Human Rights Commission would continue to exist, but would overrule the 2018 ordinance passed by voters which firmly established the commission and added gender identity to the list of protected classes. Blood said she doesn't know if they will continue being a commission only because it has no teeth. The commission has no enforcement power, and serves as an education organization and provides advice to city council. The city itself does not enforce any anti-discrimination statutes on private entities. HRC Chair Cyndy Straight agreed the current legislative environment creates a lot of uncertainty for the future of their work. She said Republicans in the state legislature are following President Donald Trump's lead, who has made the eradication of DEI programs a centerpiece of his agenda. However, even if the local control bill passes, the commission's mission may not change. 'Fundamentally it doesn't really change our purpose,' James Spadafore said. 'We may not be able to explicitly say part of anti-discrimination is the LGBTQ community, but we are promoting non-discrimination and equality of opportunity for everyone. Unless we are specifically forbidden to do so, I don't think it changes our mission at all.' Moran called SB 579 legislative overreach. She said residents made their desires clear when they voted for the commission in 2018, the language protecting gender identity was part of the ordinance when the public voted on it. Public hearings were overwhelmingly in favor of the commission and the updates made to the ordinance in 2022. She pointed out a lot of fear mongering previously used to sway people against the commission hasn't come to pass. Moran is a big supporter of local government, it's the arm of government that's most responsive to citizens since it's at an accessible level where people live their daily lives. 'We live in a democratic society,' Moran said. 'This is what our country was founded on, and if we're going to fight for that, we have to be OK with the outcome of an election, even if that's not what we individually may have wanted. You can't circumvent that by going to the next higher level up and try to change things from up there.' The group is busy planning its Pride event for 2025. She said Fairmont has been supportive of the event. Moran said Fairmont has spoken, and all are welcome here. She expects the community and most residents who live here will continue to act in such a way. But the threat of those bills passing remains high. 'You know that saying, mountaineers are always free?' Straight said. 'Yeah? Not so much, huh?'
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
West Virginia lawmakers vote to overturn local protections for LGBTQ+ people
The Republican-dominated state senate in West Virginia overwhelmingly passed a bill that would strip some local protections for LGBTQ+ people and other classes of marginalized people, local NBC affiliate WBOY reports. The bill passed by a vote of 25 to 8. The West Virginia Human Rights Act outlaws employment discrimination based on a person's age, ancestry, color, national origin, race, religion, blindness, or disability, but not a person's sexual or gender identity. Senate Bill 579 (SB579) would revise the rules for local communities paying to participate in the Municipal Home Rule Program, which was passed in 2007 and allows participating municipalities to tailor local laws and ordinances to better serve their communities. Under SB579, the municipalities participating in the Municipal Home Rule Program would be prevented from passing 'an ordinance, act, resolution, rule, or regulation' 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 [sic].' Presently, 13 municipalities participating in the Municipal Home Rule Program have passed protections that would be voided by the bill: Beckley. Charles Town, Charleston, Fairmont, Harpers Ferry, Huntington, Lewisburg, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Shepherdstown, South Charleston, Wardensville, and Wheeling. Local activists sounded the warning about the communities impacted by the proposed bill. "This isn't just politics… it's people's rights, safety, and livelihoods on the line,' the local activist group Friendlier City Project in Wheeler posted to social media. 'Now, the bill moves to the House. We must act NOW.' The former mayor of Wheeling told WBOY his town gave careful consideration and wide support to their local protections. 'Back in 2016, when I first got elected mayor, we passed that ordinance. So, you know, we had, you know, multiple public input,' Glenn Eliott said. 'We had a town hall out at the White Palace where we had 400 people show up. We gave it six months of deliberation and we passed it 7 to 0 after careful, thoughtful input from everybody.' The bill is now before West Virginia's House Judiciary Committee.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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 What foods will go away under West Virginia's food dye ban? 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State Senate discrimination ordinance bill threatens local control for W.Va. cities
FAIRMONT — A bill passed by the West Virginia Senate may invalidate the ability of Fairmont residents to protect vulnerable groups from discrimination through City ordinance and popular election. 'This bill addressing discrimination ordinances is one example of local control being targeted by legislation, whether that's the intention of the legislation or not,' City Manager Travis Blosser said. 'It's hard to justify passing a one-size-fits-all, statewide bill when municipalities and their residents have already spoken their minds through local processes.' Senate Bill 579 prohibits municipalities participating in the home rule program from establishing nondiscrimination ordinances that include additional protected class beyond what state law already covers. It also opens the door to LGBTQ+ conversion therapy in municipalities that have banned the practice. State Sen. Brian Helton, R-09, is lead sponsor on the bill, which now sits in the House of Representatives, where it waits for discussion. Helton argued during floor debate that a patchwork of varying local ordinances creates uncertainty for individuals and businesses. He said centralizing anti-discrimination laws in the state would allow for more efficient and consistent enforcement through dedicated agencies like the Human Rights Commission of West Virginia. He singled out Morgantown's ban on conversion therapy as well, arguing the ordinance threatens the licenses of mental health and medical professionals who offer the practice and framed the issue from the standpoint of parental rights. 'By moving forward and allowing these ordinances to continue, not only are we creating tons of overreach into lots of areas of our state government,' Helton said. 'We're conflicting with our business community. We're not providing a clear framework of legal issues when we deal with anti-discrimination laws.' Helton also said the bill would remove any local ordinances that contradict President Donald Trump's national agenda. Under Article 175 of Fairmont City Code, the city includes a declaration of Civil Rights for gender identity. The article also establishes the Human Rights Commission. City code tasks the commission with working to bring about mutual understanding and respect among all people, and safeguard the rights of all people to be free from all forms of discrimination. The Fairmont Human Rights Commission has no ability to pass ordinances of its own, but can only recommend policies to City Council, which not only can choose if it wants to bring them to a vote, but also if it will adopt a recommendation or not. The city also requires its contractors to execute a non-discrimination in the workplace affidavit, which includes protections for gender identity. The city also has rules protecting its employees from discrimination, gender identity included. A cursory review of city code related to discrimination reveals no ordinances intruding on decisions between parents and doctors, nor any penalties for practicing conversion therapy in Fairmont. The Human Rights Commission has no enforcement power, and City Ordinances regarding discrimination only apply to City Employees, not private business. The state Human Rights Commission has enforcement power, but does not list gender identity as a protected group. In Morgantown, the ordinance in question doesn't mention penalties such as losing a medical license for practicing conversion therapy. Within the professional mental health field, conversion therapy is discredited. The National Alliance on Mental Illness states no one should be subject to practices that can cause or worsen mental health symptoms and supports banning conversion therapy. The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry finds no evidence to support conversion therapy. Stanford Medicine found conversion practices are linked to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide. Both of Marion County's state senators voted against the bill. Sen. Mike Oliverio, R-Morgantown, argued the residents of Fairmont and Morgantown engaged in the public process to pass the ordinances SB 579 targets. 'I think about the actions of those city council members who conducted committee meetings of the whole, public hearings, readings, votes,' Oliverio said. 'Where they solicited the input from their constituents, who are my constituents as well, and reached the conclusion that the right thing to do was adopt these ordinances and resolutions.' Oliverio added he doesn't always agree with the actions of Morgantown, but that he respects their ability to take those actions. Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Fairmont, questioned Helton on his premises. Garcia pointed out local ordinances already can't supercede state law. He also said the legislature was trying to cast diversity, equity and inclusion as dirty words forbidden from the public tongue. He also pointed out the legislature has been in the habit of passing laws for situations that simply don't happen. 'When these ordinances are passed, people come and say, we want these protections,' Garcia said. 'That is legitimate.' Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke County, was one of several Republicans who also spoke out against the bill. He had a singular word for it. 'This is dumb,' he said. He pointed out with all the problems the state has, with foster care, child protective services, educational outcomes and others, this is what the legislature is focusing on. 'Why is it dumb?' Weld said. 'Where is the problem that we're trying to address? I haven't heard of any.' Blosser said Fairmont has a robust process for petitioning against an ordinance and sending contentious matters to the ballot. The Human Rights Commission had to go through that process to be established. 'In the end, Fairmont voted, and the HRC was established,' Blosser said. 'We have to be wary of that kind of local control taking a back seat.'
