In the lead up to the West Virginia primary, Republican candidates for governor have been engaging in a competition to demonstrate their opposition to transgender rights. Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Chris Miller, and Moore Capito have been running TV ads accusing each other of having sympathies towards transgender individuals while promoting their own efforts to restrict LGBTQ rights. The ACLU of West Virginia has criticized these campaigns for demonizing vulnerable populations for political gain rather than offering solutions.
Morrisey’s campaign website highlights his advocacy against biological males participating in women’s sports and his support for the West Virginia Save Women’s Sports Act of 2021. This legislation mandates that athletes compete based on their biological sex as indicated on their original birth certificate. Morrisey plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the constitutionality of this law after it was overturned by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April. The ACLU of West Virginia has condemned the state’s extensive resources being used to prevent a girl from participating in her middle school track team.
A super PAC supporting Morrisey released an ad targeting Chris Miller, claiming he ignored pro-transgender events while serving on the board at Marshall University. Miller, who owns an auto dealership group, vows to protect children from what he calls the radical transgender agenda if elected governor. Capito, a former member of West Virginia’s House of Delegates, has also taken a strong stance against transgender rights, advocating to ban transgender surgeries on minors and puberty blockers. The increased anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in West Virginia has led to the filing of lawsuits by Republican-led states to block the Biden administration’s new Title IX regulations protecting transgender students from discrimination.
The ACLU has observed a rise in anti-LGBTQ bills in West Virginia, with 29 such bills being tracked. While not all of these bills may become law, the organization notes that they all have a harmful impact on LGBTQ individuals. The West Virginia legislature passed one bill banning transgender individuals from changing their sex on their driver’s license, signed into law by Republican Governor Jim Justice. Justice is now running for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Democratic Senator Joe Manchin’s retirement. The uptick in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric among Republican candidates and legislators in West Virginia has drawn attention to the ongoing battle over LGBTQ rights in the state.
