Equality Arlington Announces 2026 VA General Assembly Legislative Priorities
Dear Senator Ebbin, Senator Favola, Delegate Hope, Delegate Lopez, and Delegate McClure,
Thank you for supporting SJR3 and HJR3 to allow Virginia voters the opportunity this November to repeal the gay marriage ban in the Virginia Constitution and enshrine within it an affirmative right to marry without regard to sex, gender, or race. This is an important step to ensure constitutional protection for marriage equality for Virginia families.
At a time when Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and extended (LGBTQ+) community members face escalating attacks from the Federal government, we urge the Arlington General Assembly Delegation to do more to protect our rights and needs. These include:
Protecting access to gender-affirming healthcare
Protecting LGBTQ+ foster youth from discrimination
Protecting transgender students from discrimination and bullying at school
Restoring funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs
Preventing state agencies, like the Board of Health and local school districts, from harming transgender youth and adults
Equality Arlington, a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of the LGBTQ+ community in Arlington, Virginia, has identified legislation proposed during the 2026 Virginia General Assembly session that supports the health, safety, and rights of LGBTQ+ residents and legislation that would do great harm to these residents.
Accordingly, we strongly encourage you to SUPPORT the following bills:
HB38—Rozia Henson (D)—Requires that mental health awareness training completed by school employees addresses the needs of youth populations that are at a high risk of experiencing mental health challenges and disorders including youth who identify as LGBTQ+.
HB48—David Reid (D)—Requires the Department of Health to convene a work group to develop a statewide strategic plan to reduce suicides among at-risk populations including LGBTQ+ individuals.
HB53—Joshua Cole (D)—Adjusts the definition of bullying in public education to specify that a power imbalance between the aggressor and victim includes an imbalance on the basis of actual or perceived membership of the victim in a group that is protected from discrimination in the Virginia Human Rights Act.
HB614—Sam Rasoul (D)—Requires the Standards of Learning for history and social science to include the contributions of historically marginalized communities including LGBTQ+.
HB975—Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D)—Lowers the food-to-beverage ratio for certain mixed beverage restaurants to meeting or exceeding 30% food-to-beverage sales and any other licensees to meeting or exceeding 45%.
HB1161—Kathy Tran (D)—Prohibits Virginia and its political subdivisions from sharing individuals’ personal information with the federal government except as required by law, judicial action, or contract.
HB1245—Rozia Henson (D)—Allows Virginia Health Care Fund monies to be spent on expanding health care services for populations protected by the Virginia Human Rights Act.
SB19—Mamie Locke (D)—Revises the meaning of instructional material that contains sexually explicit content to exclude public school library books or materials unless used directly in instruction.
Taken together, these bills would move equality forward and improve the lives of LGBTQ+ residents in Arlington and across the Commonwealth of Virginia. We urge you to vote in support of these bills.
Conversely, there continue to be legislative attacks on members of the LGBTQ+ community in the Virginia General Assembly. Proponents of hate against the LGBTQ+ community are implementing a strategy of packaging anti-LGBTQ+ bills as “common sense” to trick Democrats into voting in favor. We implore you to carefully read any bills that come across this way.
Accordingly, we strongly encourage you to OPPOSE the following bills:
HB158—Tim Griffin (R)—Defines parental support for a child’s gender transition as child abuse or neglect.
HB532—Karen Hamilton (R)—Requires public schools to forcibly out transgender, nonbinary, or gender questioning students to parents and requires parental consent for supportive counseling.
HB721—Eric Zehr (R)—Requires public schools to allow parents to opt their children out of any instruction or content related to the LGBTQ+ community.
HB1242—Delores Oates (R)— Bans transgender athletes from participating on a K-12 or higher education team or sport that is expressly designated for females.
These bills are fundamentally dangerous and harmful to the LGBTQ+ community, especially for the transgender community which has borne the brunt of discriminatory attacks from these proponents of hate. We adamantly recommend that you oppose these bills to protect the health and safety of LGBTQ+ residents.
At a moment when LGBTQ+ individuals are under increasing attack, the Arlington General Assembly delegation has an opportunity to send a clear message that we are a welcoming and open Commonwealth that rejects hate and discrimination. We appreciate your past and current support of our community and we call on you to once more stand up for all LGBTQ+ residents by supporting the bills listed above that support us and opposing those that seek to harm and relegate us to second-class citizenship.
We hope we can continue to count on you as champions of policies that support our thriving LGBTQ+ community. If we can be of assistance moving forward, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Sincerely,
Kellen MacBeth
President, Equality Arlington
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