West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed SB456, defining sex by birth and barring transgender people from single-sex spaces
On March 12, 2025, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed Senate Bill 456, the "Riley Gaines Act," into law, adding a new article to state code that defines "man" and "woman" by sex assigned at birth. The law requires bathrooms, locker rooms, domestic-violence shelters, rape crisis centers, dormitories, and correctional facilities to be designated by that birth-sex definition. The Legislature passed it by wide margins and it took effect June 9, 2025.