NORFOLK, Va. — Senate Democrats are pushing back saying the removal of vital information for the Commonwealth’s LGBTQ+ community will cause great harm.
“Virginia should be a leader in being pro-equality,” said Sen. Mamie Locke.
“This is about basic mental health for our young people,” said Sen. Aaron Rouse.
According to reports from the Virginia Mercury and the Washington Post last week, links to LGBTQ+ resources on the Virginia Department of Health’s website disappeared.
A spokesperson for Governor Glenn Youngkin’s office says, "Government should not facilitate anonymous conversations between adults and children without a parent’s approval."
Though, some lawmakers take issue with eliminating the materials including one resource offering an online support chat for teens.
“It’s bad enough that he would support banning books that he’s afraid of but it’s unconscionable to ban such things as suicide hotline information,” Sen. Adam Ebbin said.
Their concern is the well-being of young people. LGBTQ+ advocates said access to these forums is critical to their survival.
“Forty-five percent of queer youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, according to Trevor Project's 2022 national survey on LGBTQ+ youth mental health," said Jamie Nolan, the co-executive director of Side By Side. "59% amongst our black and brown transgender and non-binary youth.”
Virginia Senate Democrats are calling on the Youngkin administration to re-think this move.
“And understand that all parents and all students deserve better and they deserve support here,” Locke said.
State representatives say the Commonwealth is moving away from the progress to create safe spaces in Virginia. They say one way to fight back is at the ballot box.
They’re asking Virginians to join the fight by electing pro-equality leaders in the upcoming election cycle.
"This is to help them navigate the hard times that they're living in," Rouse said. "We need to send a message to our community, to the LGBTQIA+, to our youth that we’re not trying to erase them. That we are here to support them.”