2020 Legislative Summary Part 5: Religious Freedom
While it’s impossible to say which of the many critical issues The Family Foundation tackled this year was the most significant, it’s safe to say that one of them proved to be the most intense – the battle over religious liberty verses the radical LGBTQ agenda.
It was so intense, in fact, that in pushing back against it, we made a game-time decision to do something we’d never done before. Right in the middle of the turbulent 61-day Session, we created a 2020 Mid-Session Report Card on Religious Freedom to highlight the dangerous threats to religious liberty and draw more public attention to how legislators were voting on the dozens of “SOGI” bills flying through committees at alarming rates with almost no notice or discussion. Not only did it get people’s attention, as many were shocked by the low scores of many legislators and the radical nature of the bills, but it actually prompted a sizeable shift in legislators’ response to these bills while greatly aiding our efforts to shed light on some of the bills’ most problematic parts.
We knew by the end of election night on November 5th, 2019 that we would be facing an onslaught from the sexual revolutionaries in 2020 like never before, but the shear volume and breadth of the legislative initiatives to enshrine the ideologies of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” (SOGI) into Virginia laws, regulations, local ordinances, and school policies is difficult to even comprehend, much less explain. Somewhere around 50 separate bills were submitted to directly advance the LGBTQ agenda. And all in one fell swoop, they got nearly everything they ever dreamed up.
Of course, just as we warned the new legislative majority again and again, all of this will inevitably set up endless legal clashes with anyone – but especially people of deep religious faith – who refuse to deny the reality, necessity, and goodness of natural marriage and sexuality, whether in their religious doctrines, conduct, or speech. Each of these new SOGI laws represents a direct assault on organizations and people of faith who maintain orthodox views on some of the most basic social issues, and they guarantee that targeted lawsuits are soon coming against Christian/Jewish/Muslim churches, schools, and business owners.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE BILLS PASSED THIS YEAR THAT POSE THE GREATEST THREATS TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM:
Making Any Distinctions Based Upon SOGI Illegal, and Targeting Religious Organizations – SB 868 (D-Ebbin) is the main SOGI omnibus bill that incorporates “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as specially protected statuses into virtually every part of our law, including in public accommodations, public and private employment, housing, and many other areas. It also creates new civil and government-initiated causes of action to sue people claimed to be in violation. And it adds draconian and far-reaching powers to the Attorney General to prosecute and fine anyone in relation to any claims of such discrimination. Perhaps most significantly, it lacks critical exemptions for religious organizations such as churches, schools, and nonprofit ministries. Read more about it here. Additionally, HB 1049 (D-Levine) specifically targets all faith-based organizations who contract with the state by adding SOGI in contracting terms, and it adds SOGI provisions to around 80 sections of the Code.
Prohibition on Talk Therapy By Licensed Professionals for Children Experiencing Unwanted Same-Sex Attraction or Gender Dysphoria – HB 386 (D-Hope) and SB 245 (D- Surovell) prevent parents from seeking counseling for their child who may be struggling with their sexual identity or experiencing unwanted same-sex attractions, by prohibiting licensed counselors and therapists from helping them in this way. Any licensed health professional who merely engages in talk therapy with a young person to help them lessen or overcome unwanted sexual desires could be stripped of their license, jeopardizing their careers and livelihood. At the same time, these bills expressly allow licensed professionals to provide “acceptance, support, and understanding” to a minor undergoing “gender transition” or exploring unnatural sexual desires! Click HERE to read more. HB 966 (R-Walker), which sought to protect the fundamental right of a practitioner or patient to engage in talk therapy voluntarily while allowing for regulatory limits on certain non-speech conduct in therapy with minors, was defeated in a subcommittee.
Mandated “Transgender” Policies in Every Public School – HB 145 (D-Simon) and SB 161 (D-Boysko) require the Department of Education to develop model polices concerning the treatment of “transgender” students in elementary and secondary schools, which includes bathrooms and locker room use, dress codes, pronoun use, and sex-specific school activities. It then requires every single school district to adopt policies that go at least as far as the Department’s model policies, and specifically allows them to go even further. These bills present a clear threat to the privacy, security and conscience rights of every student, teacher, and administrator in Virginia’s public schools, not to mention a direct challenge to the values of so many parents across the state.
Mandated Health Coverage for “Transgender” Services – HB 1429 (D-Roem) requires any health carrier (most employers) to pay for “transgender” health related treatments in their health plans, including “gender reassignment surgeries.” The health carrier also cannot impose any additional costs for that coverage to any person, and the services would be available even to children. It also defines "gender identity" as “an individual's internal sense of gender, which may be male, female, neither, or a combination of male and female.” There is no religious exemption, even for religious organizations. Read more about it here.
Sex Changes on Official Birth Certificate By Request – HB 1041 (D-Simon) and SB 657 (D-Boysko) allows anyone to legally “change” their birth sex on their official birth certificate by doing nothing more than make a simple request to the State Registrar using a form, along with a simple doctor’s note. The bill specifically says the Registrar shall not require any evidence or documentation of any medical procedure. This will pose a new level of challenges for religious entities in issues involving biological sex distinctions.
Authorizing Every Local Government to Pass SOGI Ordinances – HB 696 (D-Roem) allows every locality in Virginia to also pass SOGI policies in virtually every part of society, creating even more opportunities to target people of faith.
Required Training for All State Employees on SOGI “Cultural Competency” – HB 581 (D-Guzman) requires the Dept. of Human Resource Management to develop an online training module addressing “diversity and cultural competency” in SOGI and other protected statuses, and mandates all state employees to take the indoctrination training.
GOOD NEWS – THESE ATTACKS ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FAILED:
Attempt to Repeal Conscience Protection for Christian Adoption Agencies – HB 1051 (D-Levine) sought to repeal Virginia's longstanding conscience rights protection for religious child placement and adoption agencies. After holding a second hearing on the bills to present additional data, and major mobilization of affected agencies, it failed to report out of the subcommittee when no Delegate would “second” the motion to pass it! Click HERE to read more.
Attempt to Redefine “Child Abuse” Related to SOGI – HB 580 (D-Guzman) sought to add to the definition of “abused or neglected child” a child whose parent “allows to be created or inflicted upon such child a physical or mental injury on the basis of the child's gender identity or sexual orientation.” This bill was designed to take children away from parents who would not affirm an “LGBTQ” status for their child. After a miraculous series of events, at the request tabled at the request of the patron.
TAKE A LOOK BACK AT SOME OF OUR PREVIOUS ALERTS FROM THE SESSION RELATED TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM:
LATEST: LGBT Advocates Kill Their Own Bill to Avoid Possibility of Religious Protections!
Senate Approves Some Protections for Churches!
Our Last Best Chance to Protect Churches and Religious Schools
Employers Forced to Pay for Transgender Surgeries!
UPDATE on Religious Freedom: STILL FIGHTING, Keep PRAYING!
UPDATE On Religious Liberty: Pastors Packed the Room, Hearing Pushed to Tomorrow!
Shocking Honesty: VA Democrats Really Are Targeting Churches
Bill Targeting Faith-Based Counselors up Tomorrow!
URGENT Action Alert: Status of Bills Attacking Religious Freedom
Action Alert: Religious Liberty Still Under Attack!
Action Alert: Forcing “Transgender” Policies On Every VA Public School
EMERGENCY Alert: This Bill Will Destroy Churches and Religious Schools!
THIS IS PART 5 (OF 5) OF A MULTI-PART GENERAL ASSEMBLY RECAP BLOG SERIES.
Read Part 1 on Life
Read Part 2 on Parental Rights and Education Choice
Read Part 3 on Gambling and Marijuana
Read Part 4 on the State Budget and New Taxes
