Equality Arlington Expresses Concern about School Board Candidate James “Vell” Rives
Equality Arlington is concerned by 2024 Arlington School Board candidate, James “Vell” Rives’s, anti-LGBTQ+ policy positions. Rives’s statements in support of policies that would forcibly out students to their families, allow school staff to bully students by refusing to use their correct pronouns or names, and other harmful positions promote a worldview that seeks to minimize and disappear transgender students.
Equality Arlington Grades 2024 County Board General Election Candidates
Equality Arlington sent the four candidates running for County Board in the November 2024 General Election a questionnaire with questions about issues impacting the LGBTQ+ community in Arlington, Virginia. Equality Arlington graded the candidates on how well their responses demonstrate an understanding of the needs of the LGBTQ+ community and how their proposed actions or inaction would impact the LGBTQ+ community.
Equality Arlington Applauds Arlington County’s Formation of an LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee
Equality Arlington, an LGBTQ+ advocacy nonprofit, applauds Arlington County Manager, Mark Schwartz, for forming an LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee to provide information and guidance to county leadership on the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. Equality Arlington has been working with the County Manager’s office for months to shape the structure of the committee and ensure that it represents the diversity of the county’s LGBTQ+ residents and workers.
Equality Arlington Calls on Arlington School Board to Support LGBTQ+ Students
Equality Arlington has been working with Arlington Public Schools since October 2023 to ensure that their new Strategic Plan addresses gaps in wellbeing and safety for LGBTQ+ students in our schools. We call on the Arlington School Board to adopt the Strategic Plan with the Superintendent's proposed LGBTQ+ student performance objective at their June 20th meeting.
Equality Arlington calls on Governor Youngkin to sign HB 536 and HB 224 to Combat Bullying, Sexual Harassment, and Depression for Virginia Students
We urge Governor Youngkin to sign House Bill (HB) 536 and HB 224 to protect Virginia’s LGBTQ+ students. LGBT youth experience higher rates of bullying, harassment, mental health challenges, and increased health complications associated with these challenges compared to their straight peers. Both bills will protect the health and wellbeing of Virginia children.
2024 Democratic Primary County Board Candidates Respond to Equality Arlington Questionnaire
Equality Arlington sent the 5 candidates running in the 2024 Democratic Primary for Arlington County Board a questionnaire about their stances on the needs of the LGBTQ+ community and related policy issues. Equality Arlington will not be endorsing any candidate this cycle but we think it is important that the community is aware of the candidates’ responses and take these into account when casting their vote.
Equality Arlington Applauds Arlington County’s Inclusion of Marketing Funding for Public Health to Address LGBTQ+ Sexual Health Needs in 2025 Budget
Equality Arlington, an LGBTQ+ advocacy nonprofit, applauds the Arlington County Board for adding marketing funding for Public Health programs, including the Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Clinic and AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), as we advocated for in our March 21st letter. The $25,000 funding allocation creates a new marketing budget for the Public Health Division.
Equality Arlington Calls on Arlington County to Better Serve LGBTQ+ Community
Equality Arlington has been engaging with LGBTQ+ Arlingtonians since 2022 to identify the ways in which Arlington County is adequately serving the queer community and ways in which it can improve. While Arlington County is generally a friendly and accepting community, Equality Arlington has observed many overarching gaps in the county’s services for LGBTQ+ residents and calls on the county to address them.
Equality Arlington calls on Governor Youngkin to sign HB174 to protect marriage equality and prevent discrimination
Virginia has a troubled history of denying marriage licenses to marginalized residents including residents of color and LGBTQ+ residents. This bill is a historic opportunity to enshrine in law what the U.S. Supreme Court and Virginia courts have already found in Loving v. Virginia (1967), Bostic v. Schaefer (2014), and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015): that all people, regardless of the color of their skin or the gender of the person they love, are free to celebrate their love through state-sanctioned marriage.
Equality Arlington Applauds VHC Health’s Inclusion of LGBTQ+ Health Needs in 2023 Community Health Needs Assessment!
Equality Arlington applauds VHC Health for including the needs of LGBTQ+ residents in its 2023 Community Health Needs Assessment. For the first time since VHC Health began publishing Community Health Needs Assessments in 2014, they have acknowledged the gaps in healthcare services for LGBTQ+ residents and are committing to work to address them.
Equality Arlington Announces 2024 VA General Assembly Legislative Priorities
Equality Arlington called on the Arlington General Assembly delegation to support 8 bills proposed during the 2024 Virginia General Assembly session that support the health, safety, and rights of LGBTQ+ residents and oppose 6 bills that would do great harm to these residents.
Equality Arlington Condemns Virginia Department of Education’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Model Policies
The Virginia Department of Education’s “Model Policies On Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools'' released this week are an illegal and dangerous attack on LGBTQ+ students. The adoption of these model policies by local school boards will make students less safe, less supported, and continue the Youngkin Administration’s attempts to make our schools and our commonwealth a hostile environment for LGBTQ+ residents.