Text of VA SJR 49 (2024)

24104692D SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 49 Offered January 19, 2024 Recognizing the rights of women by affirming that for purposes of the laws of the Commonwealth, a person's sex is defined as his or her biological sex, either male or female, at birth. ---------- Patron-- Mulchi ---------- Referred to Committee on Education and Health ---------- WHEREAS, males and females possess unique and immutable biological differences that manifest prior to birth and increase as they age and experience puberty; and WHEREAS, biological differences between the sexes mean that only females are able to get pregnant, give birth, and breastfeed children; and WHEREAS, biological differences between the sexes leave females more physically vulnerable than males to specific forms of violence, including sexual violence; and WHEREAS, females have historically suffered from discrimination in education, athletics, and employment; and WHEREAS, biological differences between the sexes are enduring and may, in some circumstances, warrant the creation of separate social, educational, athletic, or other spaces in order to ensure safety or to allow members of each sex to succeed and thrive; and WHEREAS, inconsistencies in court rulings and policy initiatives with respect to the definitions of "sex," "male," "female," "man," and "woman" have led to the endangerment of single-sex spaces and resources, thereby necessitating clarification of certain terms; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly recognize the rights of women by affirming that for purposes of the laws of the Commonwealth, a person's sex is defined as his or her biological sex, either male or female, at birth; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That for purposes of the laws of the Commonwealth, a female is an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova; a male is an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That for purposes of the laws of the Commonwealth, the terms "woman" and "girl" refer to human females, and the terms "man" and "boy" refer to human males; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That for purposes of the laws of the Commonwealth, the word "mother" is defined as a parent of the female sex, and the word "father" is defined as a parent of the male sex; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That when it comes to sex, "equal" does not mean "same" or "identical"; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That policies and laws that distinguish between the sexes are subject to intermediate constitutional scrutiny, which forbids unfair discrimination against similarly situated males and females but allows the law to distinguish between the sexes where such distinctions are substantially related to important governmental objectives; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That any public school or school division and any state or local agency, department, office, or other entity of the Commonwealth that collects vital statistics for the purpose of complying with antidiscrimination laws or for the purpose of gathering accurate public health, crime, economic, or other data shall identify each individual who is part of the collected data set as either male or female at birth; and, be it RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit a copy of this resolution to the Women's Liberation Front, Independent Women's Voice, and Independent Women's Law Center in order that the members of these organizations may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.