Senators advanced legislation called the “Women’s Bill of Rights” that would codify definitions of man and woman, and they advanced another bill called “The Restoring Sanity Act” that would, among many policies, would allow educators to ignore students’ pronoun preferences.
The Women’s Bill of Rights, Senate Bill 601, advanced Monday afternoon from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The bill mostly works by defining “female” and “male,” “men” and “women” and “girls” and “boys” and saying those terms should be used wherever state law applies.
A sliver of the bill also provides assurances that the state and local governments may provide single-sex spaces like restrooms and locker rooms.
The bill has received criticism that, despite its title, it provides no particular rights for women and is instead a tool to use against transgender people.
As the bill passed through the House, delegates amended it to include provisions removing an exception in the criminal code for spouses accused of of inappropriate sexual contact. The Senate today passed a standalone bill removing the “marital exception” — and so the Senate version of the “Women’s Bill of Rights” does not include the provision.
Gov. Jim Justice advocated for passage of the “Women’s Bill of Rights” along with Riley Gaines, a former competitive swimmer who is now active in political issues. “Women are women, and women are really important, and it’s not fair,” Justice said then.
On Monday afternoon, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard from May Mailman, director of the national Independent Women’s Law Center, which has supported the policies.
“This does not create any new rights, establish any new regimes. This provides definitions,” she said, “so that in West Virginia where you see the word ‘woman,’ you see the word ‘girl,’ you know that means biological female.
“That is important to protect women’s spaces, including for adults. For example, if there is a women’s prison that is in West Virginia law, it shouldn’t matter that you are an adult, you should not as a female prisoner have to explain the relevance of your sex in order to have a sex-protected space.”
Earlier, the Senate Finance Committee discussed and advanced SB 870, called the “Restoring Sanity Act.”
It’s an omnibus with a lot of moving parts. The bill also has been assigned for review by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Many aspects place restrictions on the use of diversity, equality and inclusion standards. In higher education, inclusion offices and officers would be prohibited. That section would bar “any effort to promote or promulgate trainings, programming, or activities designed or implemented with reference to race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”
A section of the bill is called the “Anti-Racism Act of 2024” and mandates that state educators may not require instruction that “one race, ethnic group, or biological sex is morally or intellectually superior to another race, ethnic group, or biological sex for any inherent or innate reason.”
Additional prohibitions include requiring instruction that “an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of the individual’s race, ethnicity, or biological sex.”
Not prohibited would be discussion of theories surrounding those concepts if competing ideas are discussed too. And not prohibited would be discussion of the ways race, ethnicity or biological sex have affected historical or current events. People who determine a violation of the prohibitions may file complaints.
Another section of the “Restoring Sanity Act” deals with pronouns. That section specifies that educators do not have to use a student’s preferred pronoun if it’s not consistent with the student’s biological sex. The legislation indicates educators would not be civilly liable or subject to employment actions if they ignore the pronoun a student wants.
Members of the Senate Education Committee heard an explanation of the “Restoring Sanity Act,” but no one testified and there was no discussion of its virtues or deficiencies.