Equality Arlington Urges Arlington County to Fortify LGBTQ+ Protections in FY 2026 Budget
Dear Mr. Karantonis,
The LGBTQ+ community is under attack across the United States. The Trump administration, through executive orders and executive actions, has taken shocking and unconscionable steps to weaponize the federal government against LGBTQ+ individuals, especially transgender and nonbinary individuals. Their actions have applied pressure to businesses, nonprofits, and governments to violate laws protecting LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination and actively seek to cause them harm.
Arlington County stands as a final line of defense for LGBTQ+ residents and workers in the face of hostility from both the Trump and Youngkin administrations. Consequently, Equality Arlington urges the County Board to invest in the basic protections and services protecting LGBTQ+ residents at a time when the federal government has forsaken its commitment to executing the law and safeguarding the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. Unfortunately, we also cannot rely on leaders in Richmond to uphold the law in the face of pressure from the Trump administration. Therefore, we ask the County Board to do the following in the FY 2026 budget:
Office of Human Rights
· Ensure that the Office of Human Rights has all necessary funding to protect Arlington residents and workers from discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodation, and education on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
· Launch a campaign educating businesses and organizations that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity remains illegal under Arlington’s Human Rights Ordinance and that the county will take all necessary steps to enforce this ordinance.
· Launch a campaign aimed at ensuring LGBTQ+ residents and workers not only understand that they are protected from discrimination under Arlington’s Human Rights Ordinance and Virginia’s Human Rights Act but that they understand how to report violations and seek relief from discrimination that may occur.
Public Health Division
· Continue funding the Public Health Division’s marketing budget to ensure that LGBTQ+ individuals have information about the STI Clinic and testing services. Using the FY 2025 funds, the Public Health Division’s “Keep Your Status Clear: Test Once a Year” campaign reached 23,000 users on Instagram, X, and Grindr and resulted in 1,228 visits to the STI Clinic website. Campaigns like this are critical to ensuring that STI infection rates decrease in our community.
· Ensure that the Public Health Division has the necessary resources to ensure that Arlington residents continue to have free access to PrEP, the medication used by HIV-negative individuals to prevent HIV infection. With federal government rules mandating that PrEP be available for free expected to be rescinded, it is critical that the Public Health Division works with its community partners to ensure that the most effective HIV prevention medication remains free and available for LGBTQ+ residents and other at-risk individuals.
During this time of fiscal uncertainty and unprecedented attacks on Americans the Trump administration deems to be unworthy of civil rights, Arlington County must ensure that the most basic anti-discrimination and public health protections are fortified for LGBTQ+ residents and workers. It is critical that Arlington County ensures that the Office of Human Rights has the staff and resources to both proactively engage with the community to increase understanding of the law and be able to enforce the law when it is violated. It is also essential that the Public Health Division continue their work to ensure that STIs rates decrease among high-risk members of the community.
Sincerely,
Kellen MacBeth
President, Equality Arlington
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