April 24 (UPI) — West Virginia plans to appeal a recent ruling against the state’s transgender athlete ban to the U.S. Supreme Court, the state attorney general announced Wednesday.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who is running for governor of West Virginia, told reporters Wednesday at the state Capitol in Charleston that he will ask the high court to consider BPJ vs. West Virginia State Board of Education after it declined to take the case last year.
“We will be filing, over the next month, and we’re going to make sure we time our filing to maximize the chance this case is going to be heard, and most importantly, that we will win,” Morrisey said.
“This is a significant case to bring to the Supreme Court, and it will potentially set precedent for the entire country.”
Last week, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked West Virginia’s 2021 ban on transgender students participating on sports teams that match their gender identity, because it violates federal law.
Appeals Judge Toby Heytens said the ban violated Title IX, after the American Civil Liberties Union brought the suit on behalf of eighth-grade trans teen Becky Pepper-Jackson.
“West Virginia’s transgender sports ban’s sole purpose — and its sole effect — is to prevent transgender girls from playing on girls teams,” Heytens wrote in his opinion on April 16. “Offering BPJ a ‘choice’ between not participating in sports and participating only on boys teams is no real choice at all.”
“Somehow, defying logic, the 4th Circuit majority still concluded that this law was targeted at transgender students. They are wrong,” Morrisey responded.
West Virginia became the seventh state in 2021 to pass a law, banning transgender women and girls from competing on female sports teams under the Save Women’s Sports Act. It requires public schools and colleges to base sports participation on biological sex rather than gender identity. There are currently 24 states that have similar laws in place.
Fairness West Virginia said Wednesday that Morrisey’s statements about transgender youth create a hostile environment, allowing for more bullying and discrimination.
“Transgender women are women, period,” said Jack Jarvis, communications director for Fairness in West Virginia. “If you want to support women, you need to support all women.”
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) – Several West Virginia faith leaders are calling on state senators to reject a bill that would criminalize camping on public property, saying the legislation runs counter to Christian teachings on caring for the poor.
The West Virginia Council of Churches released an open letter signed by faith leaders and congregations from across the state, urging senators not to advance House Bill 5319. The bill, sponsored by Delegates Chiarelli and Browning, passed the House of Delegates on March 2 and is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Under HB 5319, it would be unlawful for any person to camp or store personal property — including tents, sleeping bags, tarps, blankets, and similar items — on any public street, park, trail, or other public property in West Virginia.
Penalties would escalate with each violation:
The bill specifies that each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense. Exceptions include people camping in designated campgrounds, those camping lawfully under state outdoor recreation law, and people sleeping overnight in a registered and insured motor vehicle parked legally.
The open letter, organized by the West Virginia Council of Churches, is signed by member denominations representing millions of Christians statewide — including the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, the United Methodist Church’s West Virginia Conference, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Salvation Army, and more than a dozen other Christian communions.
The letter calls on senators to reject the bill, arguing that criminalizing homelessness conflicts with the Christian call to serve those in need.
“As followers of Christ, we believe in a God who created all beings and loves all creation. And in this nation full of plenty, Christians ask God to open our hearts so that when we see a person in need of a place to sleep, rather than wanting them to be disappeared into a jail cell, we look at them the way God would and ask, ‘How can I help?’”
The letter warns that HB 5319 “will create a revolving door between homelessness and jail, prevent people from getting on a path to stable housing, and make it harder for service providers and law enforcement to focus on solutions that center human dignity.”
It also argues that fines are an ineffective tool: “We cannot disappear human beings, nor expect that people experiencing homelessness have the money to pay any fine.”
Instead, the letter asks legislators to consider “that the practice of the Christian faith calls us to minister to the homeless and others in economic distress through a variety of ministries including feeding, clothing, and housing programs.”
The letter concludes by calling HB 5319 “antithetical to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ” and asking senators to “roundly reject” the bill.
Read the full open letter here.
The statewide camping ban debate has been building for more than a year. In January 2026, two nearly identical bills — Senate Bill 175 and Senate Bill 184 — were introduced in the legislature, both proposing to make camping on public property a criminal offense. Those bills were referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
HB 5319 represents the version that advanced further, clearing the House of Delegates on March 2.
The issue has deep roots at the local level. Both Morgantown and Clarksburg passed camping ordinances in late 2024. In April 2025, Morgantown voters chose to keep their camping ban in place after a referendum. But advocates have continued to raise concerns about the lack of shelter capacity — Morgantown alone had nearly 150 homeless residents but only around 50 shelter beds, with roughly 80 people still without a place to sleep even during the winter months.
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BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) – West Virginia lawmakers continued working as the Saturday midnight deadline approaches.
Senate Action
The Senate passed 12 bills, including one requiring adult content websites to use age verification to block minors. Senators also passed a bill creating a Cold Case Task Force.
House Bill 49-90, targeting gift card crimes, and House Bill 54-37, the Vape Safety Act, also passed unanimously. All four bills now go to the House for concurrence.
Delegates passed Alyssa’s Law, allowing teachers to wear mobile alert buttons that notify 9-1-1 and trigger a school lockdown in emergencies. The bill is named after a victim of the 2018 Parkland shooting.
Bill 4005, which clarifies jobs prohibited for workers under 16 — including bar work and logging — also passed. Both bills now head to Governor Patrick Morrisey’s desk.
Senate Bill 4 would require bystanders to stay at least 30 feet from first responders.
Senate Bill 75 would allow West Virginia law enforcement to cooperate with officers in bordering states. A bill from the Education Committee would allow teachers with at least 15 years of experience to become certified as school principals.
For more legislative coverage, go to our website at wdtv.com.
Copyright 2026 WDTV. All rights reserved.
The West Virginia Mountaineers (10-3) welcome the Maryland Terrapins (10-5) to Kendrick Family Ballpark Tuesday afternoon the first encounter between the two programs since 2023 and the first meeting in Morgantown since 2018. The first pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.
The Mountaineers captured their fourth consecutive series of the season after taking two of the three games from Columbia over the weekend. West Virginia sophomore Matt Ineich and senior Brodie Kresser both blasted grand slams during the series. Ineich lifted WVU in game two with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th in game two, and Kresser ignited a 16-1 rout, capping a six-run second inning in the series finale.
Gavin Kelly leads West Virginia at the plate with a .436 batting average with a Big 12 leading nine doubles. Ineich and senior Paul Schoenfeld has raked in a team-leading 16 RBI apiece, while senior Matthew Graveline has clubbed a team-high three home runs.
On the mound, West Virginia is expected to start sophomore David Hagen. The right-hander has made four appearances on the season, including one start. He last started in the home-opener against Ohio where he pitched two scoreless innings and recorded a strikeout to collect his first win of the season. He holds a 1.00 ERA with five strikeouts on the season.
After starting 3-4, Maryland is 7-1 in its last eight games. The Terrapins won two of three at UNC Wilmington in the season opening series, followed by a midweek win against Georgetown before getting swept at Louisiana. The Terps bounced back with a pair of midweek wins versus Delaware and swept a one-win Wagner team.
Junior Brayden Martin is batting a team-best .443 to go with four doubles and 12 RBI. Redshirt freshman Ryan Costello leads the Terps in home runs (9) and RBI (21) and is third in batting average at .328, while freshman Ty Kaunus has a team-high seven doubles and has .269 batting average.
Maryland is scheduled to start freshman Nic Morlang. The right-hander has four appearances on the season, including four starts. He allowed five earned runs in his appearances, coinciding with his two starts, in six innings of work. In his last two appearances in relief, He’s allowed one earned run on five hits.
West Virginia leads the all-time series 8-5, including a five-game winning streak over Maryland.
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