LGBTQ+ rights are at the center of the existing social discourse in the United States, with some state legislatures implementing serious restrictions on people’s rights to things like gender-affirming care or inclusive education in schools. This week has no lack of congressional issues that affect LGBTQ+ – and particularly transgender – people’s lives.
Here are the recent developments with laws both protecting and harming the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals.
- In Georgia, Republican lawmakers amended a mental health bill with provisions similar to recently failed anti-transgender bills. These include limitations on childhood transitioning, physical education, and book selection restrictions. (Georgia Recorder)
- Fourteen individuals testified against Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed rules for transgender care. These rules may impose further regulations on care in hospitals, as well as adding data collection procedures for all transgender people in the state. (Ohio Capital Journal)
- A proposed bill in Minnesota, Senate File 3502, may help establish the state as secure for LGBTQ+ people. The bill would allocate over $1 million in funds to the PFund Foundation, a group that supports LGBTQ+ organizations. (Inforum)
- Alabama Republicans passed a bill restricting diversity discussions in schools alongside restroom restrictions. Senate Bill 129 combines both of these measures into serious restrictions and is heading to the governor’s office. (LGBTQ Nation)
- A gender-affirming treatment ban for juveniles in Kansas, S.B. 233, has a proposed parental provision but with a caveat. Physicians would only be allowed to continue care for adolescents if they create a plan to gradually transition juveniles off the drugs by the end of the year. (State Affairs)
- Louisiana is debating whether to pass a bill that would ban transgender individuals from using the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity. House Bill 608, the “Women’s Safety and Protection Act,” will restrict not just schools but also jails and private violence shelters. (Nola)
- New Hampshire’s House voted in favor of restrictions on transgender participation in sports. House Bill 1205, entitled the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” may be headed to the Senate, where it will likely pass. (The Hill)
- A group of transgender plaintiffs in Oklahoma asked the 10th Circuit to reverse a previous ruling that dismissed their challenge to the state’s birth certificate restrictions. Their counsel argues that it restricts their freedom of speech and makes them more susceptible to discrimination. (Courthouse News)
- LGBTQ+ activists and New York Attorney General Letitia James are pushing back against a proposed Manhattan school district resolution that would limit transgender girls in sports activities. The resolution would form a committee to assess the future of transgender girls participating in women’s sports in schools. (LGBTQ Nation)
- Bills that eliminate legal recognition of transgender people are advancing throughout the South. The “Women’s Bill of Rights,” drafted by the gender-critical group Women’s Liberation Front, is making progress in states like Louisiana and Mississippi. (The Advocate)
- Idaho lawmakers will vote on a bill that would restrict public funds from being used for gender-affirming care. House Bill 668 would affect people like state workers with health insurance and those on Medicaid. (Associated Press)
