Morrisey’s gender definition bill draws opposition from domestic violence shelters serving WV women

by Amelia Ferrell Knisely, West Virginia Watch
February 25, 2025

At the request of Gov. Patrick Morrisey, the West Virginia House of Delegates is considering a bill that aims to keep transgender individuals from accessing women’s bathrooms, locker rooms and other spaces. The measure would also define sex-based terms of female and male using biological sex.

The bill is a priority for Morrisey, who while attorney general fought the participation of transgender athletes in school sports.

“One of the purposes of the bill [is] to try and protect safe, single sex spaces and places where women have historically had privacy,” said Curtis R. A. Capehart, the governor’s director of policy, who spoke to the House Judiciary Committee members Monday.

The bill, House Bill 2006, doesn’t come with criminal penalties for schools, higher education institutions or domestic violence centers that are impacted by the women’s space restrictions.

The West Virginia Coalition of Domestic Violence opposes the measure, saying “it denies individual freedoms under the guise of protecting women and is counter to our survivor centered and empowerment values.” 

“Most of the women seeking shelter have been abused by their intimate partners, not men dressing up as women to gain access to vulnerable survivors,” the coalition said in a press release. “Protection for women and girls is best provided by recognizing that most forms of violence are perpetrated against them within their homes.”

Julie Britton, who oversees a domestic violence shelter through the YWCA Charleston Resolve Family Abuse Program, said that restricting the ability to serve transgender women seeking shelter would be “a death sentence” for those individuals. 

“There are no alternative facilities, and if we are not available, the only other option would be a homeless shelter or the streets,” she told lawmakers. “I don’t know if we’re worried about women’s safety putting trans women out on the street.”

Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, questioned how the measure could move forward legally — particularly the focus on restricting transgender individuals access to bathrooms — following a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of a transgender male, Gavin Grimm, who sought access to a public school bathroom.

The bill says enforcement couldn’t violate the Supreme Court ruling; Capehart said the Morrisey administration believes the Grimm case could be overruled. 

In response, Fluharty said, “One of the first pieces of legislation coming from the governor’s office is bathrooms. And I’m trying to understand the policy consideration here and why this is such an important piece of legislation from the governor’s office.”

The bill is similar to a piece of legislation, known as the “Women’s Bill of Rights,” that lawmakers considered last year at the request of former Gov. Jim Justice. The high-profile measure failed to make it to the governor’s desk on the final night of the 2024 session as lawmakers dealt with budget negotiations. 

Nearly down-to-wire budget negotiations on the last day of session meant the House of Delegates ran out of time to vote on the measure. 

Public input on measure questioned 

The House changed its bill vetting process this year, ending the long-standing rule of requiring public hearings for bills when they are requested. Members of the public are allowed to testify on bills when they are being considered in committees through an invitation by the committee’s chair or vice chair.

Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, raised concerns that the Judiciary Committee agenda, which included what he said was a high profile bill about gender, wasn’t posted with 24-hours notice despite Republican leaders saying they would to allow public input.

“We were told we’re gonna get 24 hours notice so that for bills with great public interest, because there were no longer any public hearings, they would be able to know that they could get in the room to testify or submit with testimony. That did not happen to this bill,” Hansen said.

Judiciary Committee Chair Del. J.B. Akers said that he did not confirm Capeherat was able to attend the meeting until Sunday evening.

“The 24-hour notice is an aspirational rule,” said Akers, R-Kanawha. “I had the agenda posted last night, within less than about half an hour, confirming that Mr. Capehart would be the witness to appear today.”

Akers rejected a motion from Hansen to postpone bill consideration for one day to potentially allow additional public input. 

West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.

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