U.S. Lawmakers Introduce a Record-Breaking Number of Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills

Record number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills

• U.S. government officials have proposed a record-breaking number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills so far this year, with 150 pieces of legislation being pre-filed, introduced, or passed in 23 states.
• In total, the American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 371 anti-LGBTQ+ bills, many of which are targeting transgender communities.
• The bills focus on a variety of targets, including but not limited to bathroom access, eligibility to play on sports teams, health care services, and gender-affirming care.

Recent anti-trans bills

• Tennessee's Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed both a drag ban bill and a gender-affirming healthcare ban for minors into law last week.
• Mississippi's Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed HB1125 into law last Tuesday, banning gender-affirming care for minors. The ban goes into effect immediately, forcibly de-transitioning all youth currently in the state. Mississippi is the sixth state to ban trans care. 
• Sen. Tyler Johnson (R-IN) proposed banning gender-affirming care as an "obligation to protect Hoosier children."
• Sen. John Kavanagh (R-AZ) sponsored Senate Bill 1040, which bans trans students from using a bathroom that doesn't correspond to their sex assigned at birth.
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been trying to bar schools from teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Alaska's civil rights agency recently deleted language promising protections for LGBTQ+ residents against discrimination, and it began refusing to investigate complaints, according to an analysis by ProPublica.
• Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) was the first to enact a gender-affirming care act of 2023. The ban does not impact trans youth previously diagnosed with gender dysphoria, but it places an indefinite ban on access to hormone therapy for future patients.
• The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah and the National Center for Lesbian Rights are planning a lawsuit. Mental health therapist Marisa McPeck-Stringham said:

“If one trans child takes their life because of this bill, the blood is on your hands, Governor.”  

Stay involved

• You can keep track of new bills by following trackers at Them and  Freedom for All Americans, two organizations working to secure protections for LGBTQ+ communities nationwide.

Contact your reps and demand they protect LGBTQ+ rights.

 —Emma Kansiz

(Photo Credit: Communist Party USA/Ted Eytan)