In the 2023 West Virginia legislative session, which ended last weekend, the troglodytes tried to (1) force rape and incest victims to bear babies, (2) pass a "religious freedom" law to let Christians voice hate for gays, (3) force all public schools to display "In God We Trust," (4) forbid doctors to treat transgender youths for their condition, (5) let schools teach "intelligent design" to counteract evolution, (6) give tax money to church-backed anti-abortion clinics, and (7) let college students carry pistols on campus.

Statehouse correspondent Phil Kabler summed up:

"Our legislators act like they are hell-bent on turning West Virginia into a fundamentalist Christian theocracy.

Last summer, soon after Roe v. Wade was overturned, legislators enacted a near-total ban on abortion, not based on the findings of medical science, not because a majority of West Virginians demanded the ban, but because of a fundamentalist Christian belief that abortion is sinful.

Many legislators sought a total ban on abortion, eliminating exceptions for rape and incest, which would have effectively required crime victims to carry unwanted pregnancies to term. Indeed, a bill this session to eliminate those exceptions had 13 cosponsors in the Senate."

In the end, though, the absurd attempts to eliminate the state income tax ended up being among the least bad things to happen in West Virginia while its lawmakers were in Charleston. When the state legislature is in session, stupidity and bigotry reign supreme. Lawmakers mocked mask requirements and wore mesh masks that looked like jockstraps. Every member of the legislature was offered the COVID vaccine - and about 30 percent of them were just like, "Nah, I'm good." One of the people who declined the vaccine was Delegate Brandon Steele, who managed to contract COVID twice (TWICE!) during the 60-day legislative session.

And naturally, West Virginia's celebration of willful ignorance does not begin or end with covidiots and mask freedom fighters. The state's lawmakers took care to pass as many bills as possible hurting people who live within WV's borders.

The state that has been hit hardest by the opioid epidemic, and which is already in the midst of one of the worst HIV outbreaks in the country, decided to criminalize needle exchange programs that follow the CDC's best practices for harm reduction. Trans kids have been banned from participating in sports that match their gender identities. The legislature exempted gun and ammo manufacturers from state sales and use taxes, opened up concealed carry permits to out-of-state residents, passed a bill saying the state can't close gun stores or shooting ranges during states of emergency, and banned the state from enforcing federal gun laws.

[...] Hilarious rebukes of Jim Justice aside, this entire session was a demonstration of the very reasons people leave. Elected officials regard and treat their constituents with open contempt. The only part of the Bill of Rights they believe in is the Second Amendment. And if you happen to be a woman, not white, not Christian, or a member of the LGBTQ community, well, good luck. Don't forget that all of the horror of West Virginia's 2021 legislative session is in addition to all of the other ways the state has been trying to go back to the stone age. West Virginia has discrimination against women and people who can get pregnant literally written into the state constitution, no statewide protections for LGBTQ people, some of the laxest gun laws in the country, and a wannabe supervillain attorney general who helped incite the January 6 insurrection. It is kind of incredible to see the people who are the actual reason no one wants to live in West Virginia pontificate on how to attract more people.

That being said, the politics here have done a number on me. I cannot stand the idiocy, hatred, lack of compassion, and pseudo-Christian fascism that has taken root in our statehouse. I never cared about local politics until all of a sudden some jerkoff I went to High School with votes away my family's right to reproductive healthcare. The fuck! So, to answer your question more specifically, the politics of this state need to change. If anything drives me away from my beloved home, it will be the political environment. I'm of the opinion that we are spiraling toward another civil war and I don't want to be in WV when that war breaks out because I know I'll be on the losing side.

I fear for family and friends who aren't "alt-right and white". I fear for my family and friends who are LGBTQ+. I fear for not only my children's future, but all women's futures in WV.

It is simply unsafe here. From abortion restrictions to further marginalization of trans people; it's not safe to have children or raise them. Heck, even straight people are scared to drink the water. It's leave or die for many.

A massive shift in politics and an increase in opportunities (employment and entertainment). Specifically, I don't feel welcome in the state as they continue to prove and attempt to pass legislation to push me out of it (Member of the LGBTQ+ community) and there just isn't much to do and hard to find like minded people.

It's unfortunate, but now I must leave. I am Hispanic and gay, and frankly, I was better accepted socially before a lot of recent political divides. It seems our government constantly is shooting us in the foot; think mountaintop removal, excessively regressive social politics, etc. I really do love so much about it here, but it's getting inhospitable, and watching the government legislate my rights away is getting tiresome. That, and I have virtually zero job opportunities as a history major, which is in part my choice but nonetheless a determining factor.