ADF: Proposed VA bills undermine opportunities for women, erode civil rights
“Every Virginian deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Unfortunately, laws that elevate sexual orientation and gender identity to protected classes have a proven record of undermining both fairness and freedom for all citizens. While Virginia’s delegates claim that their new legislation would stamp out such discrimination in public accommodations, housing, and employment, these bills actually promise to harm women and girls, undercut the First Amendment, and place a special burden on people of faith.“In states and local communities across the nation, laws similar to the proposals advancing in Virginia have empowered the government to force people who willingly serve everyone to promote messages and participate in events that violate their faith or convictions. Such laws also put women and girls in real danger. In Alaska, the city of Anchorage tried to use a similar law to force a women’s shelter to allow biological men who identify as women to sleep just three feet away from victims of rape, sex trafficking, and domestic violence.
“Whether they intend to or not, Virginia lawmakers who support sexual orientation and gender identity bills are choosing to coerce uniformity of thought and speech on beliefs about marriage, sex, and gender. That’s a dangerous path, and we respectfully ask Virginia lawmakers to exercise tolerance and respect for the good-faith disagreements we hold across the commonwealth.”
Baylor testified on the following bills before the Housing/Consumer Protection Subcommittee: HB 3, HB 7, HB 21, HB 23, and HB 217.
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ABOUT Gregory S. Baylor
Gregory S. Baylor serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is the director of the Center for Religious Schools and senior counsel with the Center for Public Policy. Since joining ADF in 2009, Baylor has focused on defending and advancing the religious freedom of faith-based educational institutions through advice, education, legislative and public advocacy, and representation in disputes. He has testified about religious liberty issues three times before congressional committees. Greg earned his Juris Doctor in 1990 from Duke University School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif, with high honors, and served on the editorial board of the Duke Law Journal. He received his bachelor’s degree in Honors English in 1987 from Dartmouth College. Following graduation from law school, he served as law clerk to the Hon. Jerry E. Smith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. He practiced labor and employment law at two large international law firms for three years before joining the staff of Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom, where he served for 15 years prior to joining ADF.