'I pledged to root out DEI and eliminate the woke virus in West Virginia, and today, we’re following through on that promise,' said WV Governor Patrick Morrisey.
(LifeSiteNews) –– Republican West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey has taken an axe to left-wing programs in the state.
“I pledged to root out DEI and eliminate the woke virus in West Virginia, and today, we’re following through on that promise,” Morrisey declared last week.
By signing SB 474 and SB 299 on May 7 outside the Summers County Memorial Building, Morrisey officially eliminated a flurry of liberal causes.
According to Morrisey’s website, SB 474 “eliminates diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, trainings, activities, offices, and officers from the executive branch, primary and secondary schools, and institutions of higher education of the state and requires higher education institutions to reallocate any unexpended funds that would have been used on diversity, equity, and inclusion projects.”
SB 299, meanwhile, “prohibits physicians, physicians assistants, and advanced practice registered nurses from providing gender reassignment surgery or gender altering medication to a person under 18 years of age, and prohibits telehealth service providers from prescribing or dispensing gender altering medication to a person who is under 18 years of age.”
Morrisey, a Catholic, won his bid for the governorship last fall by capturing 62 percent of the vote after having served as the state’s attorney general since 2013. The state’s 4 (formerly 5) electoral college votes have been awarded to the Republican presidential candidate since 2000.
Earlier this month, Morrisey signed a bill requiring the phrase “In God We Trust” to be displayed in public schools across the state.
“Our students will learn that here in West Virginia we do value God, family, and country,” Morrissey said, adding that “our faith in God has propelled America through 250 years of success, and by God, we’re not gonna stop now.”
Long-serving Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin was succeeded by Republican Jim Justice in the fall of 2024. The state is considered reliably Republican.
