Hatred and discrimination against our friends and neighbors is not a Virginia value, but it is clear that Delegate Bob Marshall hasn’t gotten the message. He just filed a bill modeled after North Carolina’s infamous HB2, the “bathroom bill” designed to ban transgender people from accessing public bathrooms.

Seriously?

There is no point to this proposed law other than discrimination against transgender people and it has no place in Virginia.

There is no point to this proposed law other than discrimination against transgender people and it has no place in Virginia. It doesn’t generate income for the state, save taxpayer money, or encourage businesses to come to Virginia. In fact, if North Carolina’s HB2 gives us any indication, it actually does the exact opposite of all of those things.

The deeply unpopular HB2 passed in North Carolina and the state faced an almost immediate backlash. People across the country have been boycotting the state–everyone from venture capitalists to sports teams and pop stars. According to Forbes, the boycotts have cost the state at least $630 million and that figure continues to rise.

Beyond the potential economic fallout from passing a similar bill in Virginia, HB1612 is an assault on our values. People who are transgender have been using the bathrooms of their chosen gender for years now and no one has noticed or cared. While members of the General Assembly have just now noticed that transgender people exist, they have been living, working, paying taxes, starting families, and yes, even using public restrooms just like everyone else since the beginning of time. There’s absolutely no indication that transgender people using public restrooms has ever caused a problem and there’s no reason to start passing hateful legislation in an ill-advised attempt to prevent one.

In a year when we are facing a $1 billion budget shortfall, does Delegate Marshall really have nothing better to do than to discriminate against the LGBT community? We don’t want Virginia to be making national headlines as the next state with a discrimination problem like North Carolina.

Stand with us and the majority of Virginians and say no to this nonsensical hatred by calling your state legislators today and asking them to vote no on HB1612.