Virginia parents could face a felony or misdemeanor charge if they do not affirm their child’s sexual orientation and gender identity, according to a state lawmaker with plans to introduce the legislation in Virginia's upcoming legislative session.
Right now, parents’ rights and LGBTQ protections are a big focus in Virginia.
Thousands of students in Virginia have walked out of class protesting Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s newly proposed model policies on the treatment of transgender students at school.
Trans rights are human rights,” a group of students in Annandale, Virginia chanted.
But, Gov. Youngkin argues school districts and school administrators shouldn’t keep parents in the dark about their child’s sexual orientation and gender identities.
“These same progressives in Fairfax County actually believe they should lock parents out of their children’s lives,” Youngkin said at a “parents matter” rally during the beginning of the school year. “They think parents have no right to know what your child is discussing with their teacher or counselor.”
In response to Youngkin’s proposed model policy on the treatment of transgender students at Virginia schools, Democratic Virginia Delegate Elizabeth Guzman plans to take legislative actions.
“The day that Gov. Youngkin wanted to implement this policy, I immediately texted the policy lead of that committee and said, this is how we're going to push back,” Guzman told 7News.
Guzman is a social worker and she’s planning on reintroducing a bill in Richmond that she said would help protect LGBTQ children from their parents and guardians who are not affirming of their child’s sexual orientation and gender identity.
Her bill would expand the state’s definition of child abuse and neglect to include parents who do not affirm their child’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
“If the child shares with those mandated reporters, what they are going through, we are talking about not only physical abuse or mental abuse, what the job of that mandated reporter is to inform Child Protective Services (CPS),” Guzman told 7News. “And then that's how everybody gets involved. There's also an investigation in place that is not only from a social worker but there's also a police investigation before we make the decision that there is going to be a CPS charge.”
“What could the penalties be if the investigation concludes that a parent is not affirming of their LGBTQ child? What could the consequences be?” 7News Reporter Nick Minock asked Guzman on Thursday.
“Well, we first have to complete an investigation,” Guzman answered. “It could be a felony, it could be a misdemeanor, but we know that CPS charge could harm your employment, could harm their education, because nowadays many people do a CPS database search before offering employment.”
“What would you tell your Republican colleagues who say this is criminalizing parents? What would you tell them?” Minock asked Guzman.
“No, it's not. It's educating parents because the law tells you the do's and don’ts,” Guzman answered. “So this law is telling you do not abuse your children because they are LGBTQ.”
“Do you think this infringes on free speech or religious freedom at all?” Minock asked Guzman. “There might be some people of different faiths whether it's the Muslim faith or Catholic faith, who because of their religious beliefs, they don't believe in affirmation of LGBTQ issues when it comes to their children. What do you tell those parents who might be learning about this bill who don’t feel like they want to necessarily affirm what their children are feeling when it comes to their sexual orientation or gender identity?”
“I've been asked that question by knocking on doors,” Guzman answered. “The Bible says to accept everyone for who they are. So that's what I tell them when they asked me that question, and that's what I will continue to tell people. You know, we all have a commitment to God. And for those believers out there, we know that there's life after life, and there is going to be a conversation between that person and God and that's what we're after --- to go by what the Bible says. It is not my job to judge anyone. It is my job to help people.”
“I think that it’s extremely important that we show that as a community we are ready to accept each other for who they are and whom they love,” Guzman told 7News. “And this is not a bill that will agitate parents because we haven’t seen any parents to come against it.”
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports House Minority Leader Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, said Friday that Del. Guzman's proposal would be "dead on arrival" in the next General Assembly session if it is introduced.
Since the announcement of this proposed bill, there have been a lot of comments and reactions from local and national leaders about how this could impact parents.
The spokeswoman for Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin released this statement:
“It’s clear that the goal of Democrat lawmakers in Virginia is to criminalize parents who are trying to be involved in their children’s lives. Children belong to families not to the state and Virginians can count on Governor Youngkin to continue empowering parents in the Commonwealth.”
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares shared this statement with 7News:
“The far-left doesn’t seem to understand that Virginia parents want to be involved in their children’s lives. This is just another attempt to replace the role of parents with the government. Families have the right to raise children, not the state. This seems to be another entry for the Woke Olympics. As your Attorney General, I’ll always protect the constitutional rights of parents.”
The Virginia GOP tweeted and called the proposed bill a "radical scheme" and is asking folks to spread awareness.
"PARENTS @vademocrats and @guzman4virginia want to set the POLICE on you and charge you with a FELONY if you refuse to give your kids puberty blockers and irreversible sex change surgery," they tweeted Friday.
Texas senator Ted Cruz also tweeted, "Utterly horrifying. These zealots think they are your children’s parents, and they’ll put you in jail if you disagree" in reaction to Guzman's proposed legislation.
Other leaders such as Tennesse senator Marsha Blackburn, former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Texas congressman Chip Roy shared their strong reaction.
Since the release of 7News' report, Del. Guzman released a statement via Twitter regarding her full interview about the proposed legislation.
Below is the full interview 7News conducted with Delegate Elizabeth Guzman: