Lawmakers in Virginia removed the term “homosexuality” from the state’s definition of “sexual conduct” that is used in a number of laws, including the law that requires schools to inform parents of sexually explicit materials used in classrooms.
Virginia
Virginia lawmakers redefined ‘sexual conduct’ to exclude homosexuality
The guidelines referenced the state code’s definition of sexual conduct as “actual or explicitly simulated acts of masturbation, homosexuality, sexual intercourse, or physical contact in an act of apparent sexual stimulation or gratification with a person’s clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or, if such be female, breast.”
The law drew quick criticisms from LGBTQ+ students and advocates who worried that the inclusion of the term “homosexuality” could be interpreted to include any depiction of a romantic same-sex relationship. If a gay couple held hands in a graphic novel, depicting the now-forbidden “physical contact,” would that break the law?
The law could cast “all references to people in same-sex relationships as inherently sexual,” a group of students with the organization Pride Liberation Project wrote in a letter to the Education Department last year. “We are writing to you to ask that the Department of Education develop guidelines that explicitly state that instruction about LTBQIA+ people is not inherently sexual.”
This year, a number of lawmakers introduced bills to update the definition and strike the term “homosexuality.” None of the these was successful. But in a last-minute move, Sen. Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax) said he struck a compromise to get the code changed.
Sen. William M. Stanley Jr. (R-Franklin) had written a law to require age verification on online pornography sites. The measure won bipartisan support. When it came before the Judiciary Committee that Surovell served on, the Democrat offered his support in exchange for an amendment that removed “homosexuality” from the older law. When Stanley’s bill made it out of the legislature, Youngkin signed it.
“I said to Senator Stanley, ‘if you’d like to pass your bill, you need to make the definition the same,’” Surovell said. “So, basically I stuck my bill into his bill. This is a sort of a belt and suspenders thing, and he was willing to do that if that meant I wasn’t going to put meat on his bill and kill it.”
“Defining sexual conduct as including an open display of homosexuality, to me, reflected a very sort of archaic and prejudiced view as to what homosexuality is,” Surovell said.
Stanley did not respond to a request for comment.
Narissa Rahaman, executive director of Equality Virginia, said in a statement that the organization was happy to see the move from the legislature this year.
“For many LGBTQ+ Virginians, their identity is not merely an action, but rather a core part of who they are and how they move through the world,” Rahaman said. “To solely equate homosexuality with ‘sexual conduct’ is both minimizing and antiquated.”
The law requiring parental notification of sexually explicit materials became wrapped up in a larger debate earlier this year when some school divisions used the law to drive school library book challenges.
Other states have passed similar laws that ban sexually explicit materials from classrooms or require parental notification. It’s part of a national wave of restrictions on teaching race, sex and gender and a historic surge in book challenges.
A Washington Post analysis of book challenges found that 61 percent of challenges referenced this concern about “sexual content,” and 43 percent targeted titles with LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
In Virginia, the law was the driver behind Spotsylvania Superintendent Mark Taylor’s decision to remove 14 challenged titles from the school library in March. He argued in a memo that because library books are classified as “instructional material,” the books make it difficult to comply with the state law requiring parental notification of sexually explicit material. The easiest solution, he said, would be to remove the books from the library.
“I find that none of the 14 books listed above truly needs to be included in any SCPS school library,” Taylor wrote. “This decision is crafted to achieve the least disruptive, most efficient, and most cost-effective means to ensuring our division’s compliance with division policy and state law.”
The school board then voted 4-3 in May to enact a policy that made it easier for books to be removed from the library if they contained sexually explicit material. The decision came after dozens spoke during public comment, and it drew quick criticism from the ACLU of Virginia as a stretched interpretation of the law.
“Spotsylvania’s school board is basing their heavy-handed policies on a misinterpretation of Virginia code. No school board — and especially not a single superintendent — should be able to ban books on the basis of whether they personally find them to be ‘sexually explicit,’” ACLU of Virginia Policy Director Ashna Khanna said in a statement at the time.
State Sen. Siobhan S. Dunnavant (R-Henrico), who introduced the law requiring parental notification, said in an interview that she did not intend for the law to be used as a basis for challenging library books. She said she specifically included language in the bill that passed that said the law was “not be construed as requiring or providing for the censoring of books in public elementary and secondary schools.”
“When I was writing that bill, I really thought that I’d been very clear in that,” she said. “And so it never crossed my mind that books were going to come up.”
Dunnavant was one of the lawmakers to introduce legislation to change the definition of “sexual conduct this year.” She said the move was in response to advocates who had voiced their concern about the interpretation of the inclusion of “homosexuality.”
“I’m sensitive to tolerance. I don’t ever want something to be misconstrued and really make somebody feel diminished or demeaned in any way, and so I thought it was a fair point when it was brought to me in the summer of ’22. And so when I went back in ’23, I had made a commitment to fix it,” Dunnavant said.
The rivalry matchup between Virginia Tech and Virginia is nearly 48 hours away and it is a big matchup for both teams. The Hokies and the Cavaliers are both 5-6 and needing a win to make a bowl game. The loser will be getting a headstart on 2025 instead of playing in the postseason.
At the start of the year, Virginia Tech was being talked about as one of the biggest surprise teams not just in the ACC, but in the country. This team’s biggest goals have gone away, but they still have an opportunity to reach a bowl game for the second straight season. That should still be a big deal to the program, but on the other side, the Cavaliers are trying to make a bowl game for the first time under Tony Elliott. They are going to be fired up about playing in this game and having a chance to make a bowl game, so Virginia Tech can’t take it for granted, no matter their past success vs Virginia.
So what are the keys to a win for Virginia Tech on Saturday?
Before you could even blink on Saturday night, Virginia Tech was trailing Duke 14-0 thanks to two long touchdown plays and the Blue Devils have not been a very explosive offense this season. Virginia has found a way to put points on teams like Clemson and Louisville this season and has improved since last year. The Hokies’ pass rush was non-existent on Saturday vs Duke, finishing with no sacks and being unable to disrupt Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy. They will have to be able to play better on Saturday if they want to avoid the upset.
It is still up in the air who is going to play quarterback for the Hokies on Saturday night, but whoever it is would benefit from a big game from one of the nation’s best running backs. Tuten had 84 yards on 19 carries last week, but Virginia Tech might need more than that on Saturday when the face the Cavaliers.
Our own RJ Schafer wrote this about the quarterbavck situation heading into Saturday’s game:
“Brent Pry listed both Kyron Drones and Collin Schlee as questionable ahead of the historic matchup. He added that both will practice, although very limited, and they could “just be watching” from the sidelines.
Coach Pry also added that Virginia Tech is preparing four quarterbacks to be ready to play this weekend, including Davi Belfort, a freshman quarterback from Brazil, a country which could begin to be the future of American college football.
Whoever plays this weekend is going to have to have to manage the game and not turn the ball over. I think the offense is going rely on the run game heavily this weekend due to that.
Additional Links:
Virginia Tech Football Releases Depth Chart Ahead of Matchup Against Virginia
Virginia Tech Football: PFF Grades and Snap Counts For Every Player in Saturday’s Loss to Duke
Virginia Tech Football: Updated Bowl Projections For The Hokies Heading Into Final Game
At 3-0 with marquee victories over #6 Missouri (23-10) and #21 Rutgers (26-11), as well as a second-place finish in the Keystone Open with just a handful of starters competing, Virginia Tech has swept through a tough November and is prepared for a difficult December.
The Hokies, #12 in Flo’s team tournament ratings but top 10 in various dual-meet rankings, are next scheduled for an annual trip to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Invitational, featuring 27 teams, of which 14 are among Flo’s top 25. And then it’s another trip west to Stillwater on Dec. 19 to challenge #5 Oklahoma State in a rare Thursday match.
The early key thus far for the Hokies has been the ability to win the bouts they’re supposed to win and grabbing a fair share of so-called toss-up bouts.
To wit, Tech’s #18 Sam Latona downing Missouri’s #13 Josh Edmond (4-2) at 141, or #25 Rafael Hipolito majoring the Tigers’ #32 James Conway (11-3) at 157 and #15 Jimmy Mullen stopping #20 Seth Nitzel (4-2) at heavyweight.
That trend continued at Tech’s Moss Arts Center match against #21 Rutgers when Latona used a late takedown to defeat Joey Olivieri 7-5, #4 Lennox Wolak pinned veteran Jackson Turley at 174 and #9 Andy Smith slipped past #17 John Poznanski 4-3 at 197.
Hokies coach Tony Robie only took a few regulars to the Keystone Open in Philadelphia and, led by championship efforts by #1-ranked Caleb Henson at 149 and heavyweight Hunter Catka, Tech placed second behind Lock Haven. Latona placed third at 141 and Sam Fisher did the same at 184.
Robie opted to use the Hokies’ roster as freshmen Dillon Campbell (125), Matt Henrich (157), Luke Robie (157) and Jack Bastarrika (133) competed as did redshirt juniors Jackson Spires (165) and Ty Finn (174). Spires placed second.
Who’s Ready For Change?
With legislation on the NCAA’s table affecting scholarship and roster limits — unlimited scholarships and a roster cap — as well as revenue sharing, some college wrestling programs likely have a serious dose of trepidation while others are confident they can deal with whatever happens.
Virginia Tech sits in the latter category.
“I have no concerns whatsoever about that,” Robie said earlier this month. “I think a lot of it probably will happen. It’s hard to say whether it’s good or bad for the sport; that’s not really for me to say. What I will say is you have to adjust with what the rules are and what the landscape of college athletics looks like, and that’s what we intend on doing.
“Is it good for the overall health of the sport of wrestling? The kid that’s the 35th kid on your roster? Probably not. But I think definitely there were probably some things that needed to change; the pendulum was starting to swing significantly the other way. At some point, it’ll probably start to go back to the middle.”
Robie said all anyone can do is wait for the final decisions.
“We have some contingency plans based on what we think is going to happen and we’ll move forward with our plan and try to execute it,” he said.
A Pretty Good Gig
Robie, in his eighth year as head coach, has been at Tech since 2006 and as each season passes, the commitment and enthusiasm remain the same.
“Well, you get to do what you like to do. And it’s a pretty cool thing to be able to coach wrestling for a living and be a part of a pretty good program, and work with some great people and try to affect the lives of the kids in your program,” he said.
“I think anybody would want to do that. For me, I’m not young anymore. I turned 50 … who knows how long I’m going to do it, but I’m going to give it the best I can while I’m doing it and hopefully continue to improve as a program and try to try to help these guys as much as possible. But it’s good, Virginia Tech’s a great place to work, it’s a great place to live. I’ve got a great staff and it makes my life pretty easy.”
With the game of year looming this weekend, members of the Virginia football team were made available to to the media after practice on Tuesday morning to talk about the regular season finale against Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash on Saturday night in Blacksburg. Watch the video below to hear what UVA senior safety Jonas Sanker, graduate tight ends Tyler Neville and Sackett Wood Jr., and graduate defensive tackle Jahmeer Carter had to say ahead of the Virginia Tech game:
Sanker is the team’s leader in tackles with 89 total tackles and also leads the ACC in solo stops with 60 unassisted tackles. He has racked up 8.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and an interception as part of a strong senior campaign that should earn Sanker some serious consideration for a First-Team All-ACC selection.
A transfer from Harvard, Tyler Neville is Virginia’s second-leading receiver with 35 catches for 387 yards and two touchdowns. Sackett Wood Jr., meanwhile, has recorded three receptions for 18 yards and a touchdown this season. Between the two of them, Neville and Wood have combined to appear in 83 college football games and make 48 starts.
Saturday will be the 55th game in the five-year career of Jahmeer Carter, who has started nearly every game for the last four seasons at Virginia. This season, Carter has 30 total tackles, including nine solo stops, two tackles for loss, one sack, and a pass defender. For his career, Carter is up to 131 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 7.5 tackles for loss.
Saturday night will be the first time Virginia plays at Lane Stadium in front of fans since the 2018 season, as the 2020 edition of the Commonwealth Clash was played in front of only 250 fans due to COVID-19 restrictions and then the 2022 Virginia vs. Virginia Tech game was canceled due to the shooting tragedy at UVA.
Virginia is seeking its first road victory at Virginia Tech since 1998, as the Hokies have won the last 11 Commonwealth Clash games played at Lane Stadium. Virginia Tech has won 17 of the last 18 overall games against Virginia and leads UVA 61-38-5 in the all-time series that dates back to 1895.
Both Virginia and Virginia Tech bring a 5-6 overall record into the regular season finale and both need to win the game in order to reach the six-win threshold required for bowl eligibility. There is only one other game this weekend between FBS teams who are battling for bowl eligibility (Eastern Michigan vs. Western Michigan). Virginia and Virginia Tech played each other for bowl eligibility at the end of the 2014 season.
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