In a long-running regional conflict over LGBTQ+ rights, a legal settlement reached in Florida, legislative action in Arkansas, and a lawsuit filed in Georgia this week caused a stir.
Many Republican officials have tried to restrict those rights over the past three decades, including enforcing rules governing the rooms and sports trans kids’ access to restrooms.
More young folks identifying as LGBTQ+ have a trend as a result of the traditional opposition.
About 1 in 13 U.S. people identify as LGBTQ+, including less than 1 in 100 of the transgender people, according to Gallup surveys conducted this week based on phone conversations with more than 12,000 Americans. However, a larger percentage of the youngest parents identified as LGBTQ+, or more than one-fifth of those born between 1997 and 2005.
The conversations’ central legal and legislative problems are still tense.
Some things to know about this year’s burst of improvements.
Florida Agrees Kids, Professors Can Say ‘Gay’
The state of Florida settled a legal dispute over its 2022 law, which had been dubbed “Don’t Say Gay,” in response to criticism.
The legislation is still in place under the agreement, but some of the limitations that resulted may be lifted.
The deal clarifies, for instance, that students and teachers are allowed to explore LGBTQ+ problems. In contrast, schools don’t had to replace library books that feature LGBTQ+ characters, end anti-abuse programs that address harassment of LGBTQ+ people, judge laureate speeches in which the speaker talks about their gender identity or sexual orientation, or force teachers to reduce rainbow flags from classroom windows.
One of the highest-profile among dozens of steps taken in Republican-controlled claims over the past few years to try to limit what can be taught about LGBTQ+ problems and the rights of LGBTQ+ people was Florida’s laws prohibiting the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity, which the state’s Republican governor and former national primary member Ron DeSantis promoted.
A few other states have likewise tightened their educational resources in this way.
State Push Allow Only Sex At Birth On Drivers Licenses
Arkansas this week stopped allowing residents to use “X” rather than “F” or “M” to designate their sex on driver’s licenses and official identifications.
On Thursday, a mostly Democrat committee endorsed the walk, though some Democrat politicians objected. The entire panel must review the measure before it becomes effective.
A judge in Kansas earlier this year removed the government’s plan of forbidding transgender people from changing the sex list on their driver’s licenses to something other than their sex at birth.
The legislation was the inspiration for a 2023 rule that recognized people’s legal gender identities based solely on their biology at birth. By overriding the Democrat Governor’s filibuster, legislators passed the legislation. Laura Kelly’s administration had recently made it possible to alter the sexual designation on drivers and birth certificates.
On behalf of transgender users, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas announced on Thursday that it would appeal the most recent decision.
Lawmakers Are Arrangements On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors.
Legislators in Kansas are attempting to do what the majority of the Republican-controlled states have already done: outlaw gender-affirming treatment for minors.
This year, the Kansas House approved a ban on hormones, gender-affirming operation, and puberty blockers for those under 18; these are all seldom used. Senate Republicans pushed back a voting that had been scheduled for Thursday to give room for tweaking the legislation in order to get two-thirds of the chamber’s voting.
If they can accomplish it, it may put the government in place to bypass a governor’s expected veto. Kelly.
Under the act, physicians who violate the restrictions may lose their licenses.
In recent years, at least 23 states have passed laws prohibiting gender-affirming treatment for minors. In Arkansas, one of those rules was overturned by a judge. While their validity is being considered, courts have put the editions for Idaho and Montana on hold.
A measure that would help lawsuits against anyone who transports a small to another state for gender-affirming treatment without a parent’s consent is being heard on Wednesday.
The bill, which was intended to be a measure protecting children’s rights, resembles an Idaho abortion legislation that was passed last year and after put on hold by a court while its constitutionality is being considered.
One of the Tennessee proposals that LGBTQ+ rights advocates are concerned about is the decision to outlaw helping minors go for medical treatment. A bill may prohibit companies from creating their own guidelines for bathroom access, which transgender people claim is a possible target. One rule may make it illegal for the state to require stepchildren or foster parents to consent to a child’s gender identity or sexual preference. Another may need educators to show the school’s management and child’s parents of any demand to recognize the student’s gender identity.
None of these recommendations have been submitted to the Republican governor. Bill Lee’s office for his name.
Idaho Sees Ban on Medicaid Money for Gender-Accepting Treatment
A bill that would prevent the use of public funds for gender-affirming attention was introduced by an Idaho state Senate committee on Thursday.
The state employees’ health insurance plan and Medicaid would also be subject to the ban. It has already been approved by the House and will likely face a final decision in the Senate the following month.
The issue of paying for gender-affirming attention has been a significant one in Idaho. A transgender prison inmate claimed she was unfairly denied gender-affirming procedure in a complaint filed by the state in 2022. In a split lawsuit, claimants accuse the state’s Medicaid system of moving too slowly to review such clinics.
According to the action development project’s advocacy and data program, nine states forbid Medicaid funding for gender-affirming health care for people of all ages.
College Athletes Sue Over A Transgender Woman’s Compete.
In U.S. District Court in Atlanta on Thursday, more than a dozen current and former women’s college athletes filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, alleging that it violated their rights by allowing transgender women to play in women’s sports.
Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who tied for fifth place in the Division I 200 meter freestyle championship with University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, is the highest-profile plaintiff in the case. Thomas, who is transgender, also won the 500 freestyle and finished eighth in the 100 that year.
Gaines has remained a significant opponent of allowing transgender women to compete in women’s events.
She and others claim in their legal case that the NCAA broke the federal Title IX education equity law. By imposing complete bans on transgender women in sports, a proposed federal rule would reverse the situation.
Although some of those measures have been put on hold by courts, at least 25 states have put restrictions on transgender women and girls competing.
Associated Press reporters Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
