MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – “My life has already been threatened,” Quinn Reid, a non-binary photography student at West Virginia University, said.
In May 2021, Reid said they were verbally attacked and stalked by the sister of an individual they were dating at the time. Reid did not file a police report out of fear their case would not be taken seriously.
“I'm pretty sure they just moved on with their life as I've tried to,” Reid said. “But I haven't transitioned because of that or even tried to get on hormone therapy. It took me, like, 4 years to even try that again.”
Reid, who is originally from Raleigh County, said they were harassed and threatened because of their gender identity. Reid said a law that recently went into effect could make their experience more common in West Virginia.
The West Virginia Legislature passed Senate Bill 154 in April, and it took effect on July 11. It’s intended to prohibit public schools from providing instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity. The law also bars school employees from giving parents false or misleading information about a student’s gender identity or intention to transition.
Trans activists in the state say they are fearful that the law and others like it may lead to more stories just like Reid’s.
Senate Bill 154
Under the law, school staff must report any student requests for gender-related accommodations, such as different pronouns or names, to administrators, who are then required to inform the student’s parents or guardians. Violations may result in disciplinary action, dismissal, or legal enforcement by the state attorney general.
The law, originally proposed in the Senate by Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, has been divisive – with concerns surrounding how it may affect LGBTQ+ youth.
However, Grady and fellow supporters of the law said that the parents’ right to be informed about all aspects of their child's life is the law’s primary purpose.
“As a parent of three young kids, I take my constitutional rights of making decisions for those children very seriously," Grady said during a Senate hearing on the law in April. “I have a right, and every single parent has a constitutional right, to direct the upbringing of my kids, make medical and mental health decisions for them, and enjoy privacy within our family. And a school employee should not be able to make that type of medical decision for my children — or anybody else’s children.”
Grady said because of her status as a parent and teacher, she has an acute understanding of the prominence of the apparent issue in West Virginian schools. Grady teaches fourth-graders at Leon Elementary School.
Sen. Eric Tarr, a Republican from Putnam County and fellow sponsor of the bill, said that the law is meant to put the safety and health of children back in the hands of their parents.
West Virginia Sen. Eric Tarr questions speakers at the interim Education Committee
meeting in September. Tarr was a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 154. Credit: Faithlyn Graham
“A right to privacy at a child level is a misnomer. I have every right to know what's going on with my child,” Tarr said. “There is absolutely nothing, unless I was abusing that child personally, that should be disclosed to me in regards to my child.
R i sk of becoming unhoused
Those opposed to the law, however, feel that privacy around gender identity can be vital to the safety of LGBTQ+ children who may face abuse in non-accepting homes.
Reid shared how their journey of gender non-conformity affected how their family treated them.
“Whenever I came out, I got kicked out,” Reid said. “When I started pushing back against my parents saying ‘I want you to start calling me Quinn, They/Them’ all that, I got kicked out, and that was even by a more accepting family.”
The Williams Institute School of Law at UCLA, found that 20 percent of those in the LGBTQ community experienced homelessness before the age of 18. Upward of 40 percent of youths who are unhoused identify as LGBTQ.
Erin Shelton is the project coordinator and director of the Rainbow House, a shelter for the unhoused population in West Virginia specifically aiming to provide temporary housing to those within the LGBTQ+ and anyone who may be a part of a vulnerable community.
“Our mission is just to give LGBTQ folks experiencing homelessness a safe place to land and get back on their feet in an affirming environment,” Shelton said.
She said they fear that Senate Bill 154 and other anti-LGBTQ+ legislation will only exacerbate existing issues within the community.
A set of bunkbed's in the Rainbow House in Morgantown, W.Va.. The shelter has 24 beds, which Shelton said are always completely filled. Credit: Courtesy of Erin Shelton.
“I think that the bill has the potential to increase LGBTQ homelessness in West Virginia,” Shelton said. “We see a lot of queer kids who are kicked out of their homes because of their sexuality or gender identity, and that’s how they become homeless. And with this bill, youth under the age of 18 who are still in the school system run the risk of their parents finding out about their gender identity or plans to transition, and that a lot of times ends up in them getting kicked out, being ostracized from their families, and having nowhere to go.”
Suicide risk
Those opposed to the law cite the potential increase of suicide and suicidal ideation among LGBTQ+ youth with laws like Senate Bill 154 continuing to pass. In research published by The Trevor Project, anti-transgender legislation across the nation has increased suicide attempts among transgender youth by as much as 72 percent.
Sam Green, Trans Justice Organizer of the West Virginia ACLU, worries about how this legislation may impact the growing suicide rates.
“The biggest thing I always think of is suicide risk,” Green said. “It takes a really heavy toll on youth to see that the state Legislature wants to attack a community that they are a part of.”
However, Tarr said the suicide statistic as an additional reason that the outing of trans children will decrease this potential risk.
“To me, that’s abusive, especially when you have those same healthcare professionals come in and say the reason they need to do it is because the child is suicidal,” Tarr said. “So, there's certainly mental health issues around this that need to be addressed and if a child is having those types of challenges, the parent needs to know it.”
Tarr is raising the concern that parents could be left out of critical decisions regarding their child’s care.
While medical professionals emphasize that parental consent is required for gender-affirming treatment, the perception that such care could happen without parental knowledge has fueled ongoing debate. For some parents, this reflects a broader worry about transparency and their role in guiding their child’s well-being.
Impact on the trans community and schools
Trans individuals in the state are begging lawmakers to stop the vilification of the trans community.
“We’re not seen as human,” Reid said. “They’re villainizing them to make it easier to not see them as people. When first and foremost, we’re all just human.”
Despite its controversy, SB 154 was passed into law in July after receiving majority approval in both the West Virginia House and Senate.
Two months into its implementation by school boards across the state, teachers have already received training on the implementation of the law.
Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Monongalia, was the only senator to vote against the law. He said he’s worried about the strain this law will have on school faculty. “ I’ve heard from people back in my district, on the first day of teacher training and again on the first day of school, about how uncomfortable this new law is making teachers and students,” Garcia said. “It’s putting them through unnecessary trauma and forcing teachers to focus on protecting themselves and their jobs for fear of getting fired.”
Caleb Price, a social studies teacher at Robert Seabird High School in Harrison County, said that at the beginning of the school year, teachers sat down for a conversation about the law.
“My concern with this bill has always been that it's going to create a situation where kids don't feel as safe in school anymore or don't feel as seen,” he said.