Virginia lawmakers reject bill regulating use of bathrooms

A Republican-led House subcommittee has rejected a bill that would require people to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with the gender listed on their birth certificates.

The bill known as Physical Privacy Act was struck down by the seven-member House of Delegates subcommittee on Thursday with a voice vote and no debate.

Del. Robert Marshall, the bill's sponsor, railed at his Republican colleagues for voting against the measure. "You campaign one way and come down here and kill things silently," he said, according to the Virginian-Pilot.

The legislation would have required people to use bathrooms according to the gender on their original birth certificates, but it was later amended after the House General Laws subcommittee proposed to strike the word "original" from the measure. This would have allowed those who have changed their birth certificates to reflect their sex-reassignment surgery or therapy to use bathrooms according to their gender identity.

"If someone goes through the process of changing their sex - I don't think it's very smart because such people have very high rates of self-harm. That's documented, not from me. But if they go through that, fine. Let them use that bathroom," said Marshall.

He maintained that the purpose of the bill was to protect women and girls from men who pretend to be transgender in order to gain access to locker rooms and bathrooms.

The subcommittee members went on with the meeting after the vote and were not immediately available to comment. "They don't even want to defend their oath. That's disgusting," Marshall said.

He demanded that the lawmakers who voted against the measure to go on record "so the Virginians know what you're doing."

Marshall did not expect the bill to be signed into law under Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who vowed to veto it when it reaches his desk. However, he hoped to pressure Republican leaders to let the legislation get to the floor of the House.

The measure bears similarities to North Carolina's HB 2, which received a widespread public backlash when it was passed last March. Businesses such as Paypal and Deutsche Bank withdrew plans to expand to North Carolina while sporting leagues such as the NCAA and NBA canceled scheduled championship games after HB 2 was signed into law.

Marshall, who expressed plans to reintroduce another version of the legislation, noted that while HB 2 applies to private businesses, his bill only applies to schools and government buildings.