Warning: While some of the following stories describe legislative actions to celebrate and affirm LGBTQ+ people, many cover legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community, particularly trans and non-binary youth. Please be kind to yourself and use your discretion while reading this section. Advisory: State news is representative but not exhaustive due to space constraint; feel free to forward news about your state to [email protected] to consider for inclusion. Alabama - LGBTQ+ Alabamians rally against anti-trans legislation. Hundreds of people marched to the state house in Montgomery on May 16th to protest five different bills that will harm the queer community in the state. Florida - St. Cloud cancels Pride in aftermath of threats and anti-LGBTQ+ laws. In an announcement on May 19th the organizers of ‘PRIDE in St. Cloud’ said it would be unsafe to hold the event in light of threats made to the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and the state law restricting drag performances. NAACP issues travel advisory for Florida. The President & CEO of the organization, Derrick Johnson, made the announcement on May 20th in response to the actions of Governor Ron DeSantis, including blocking AP courses on African American studies and banning “critical race theory” in public schools, following the earlier advisory issued by Equality Florida.. Louisiana - Ban on gender-affirming care defeated. HB 648 was stopped in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee after the committee voted to kill the bill. The legislation would have banned medically necessary care for trans youth in the state. Massachusetts - LGBTQ+ youth program helps teens from unaccepting environments. The program is called Summer of Sass and seeks to help LGBTQ+ 18- to 20-year-olds get space from the harassment they may face back home in less accepting areas of the country. The program is based out of a dedicated house in Provincetown. Montana - State becomes first to ban drag performers from reading to children in schools and libraries. HB 359 bars any event “hosted by a drag queen or drag king who reads children’s books and engages in other learning activities with minor children present.” The bill was signed into law on May 22nd by Gov. Greg Gianforte. Nebraska - Governor signs abortion restriction, gender-affirming care ban. On May 22nd, Governor Jim Pillen signed Legislative Bill 574 which limits abortion access to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and bars trans people under 19 from accessing medically necessary care. New Jersey- Hanover adopts policy to ‘out’ LGBTQ+ students to parents. The Hanover Township School District has adopted a new policy that teachers and staff must notify parents of any circumstances that would allegedly impact their child’s mental health, including sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. The state Attorney General office has filed a civil rights complaint against the school district and hopes to block the policy from ever being implemented. North Carolina - LGBTQ+-friendly congregation singled out by anti-LGBTQ+ protesters, forced to temporarily stop services. The First Congregational Church in Laurel Park was picketed by out-of-state activists for being inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community. Texas - Advocates decry ‘don’t say gay’ regulation added to education bill being considered. HB 890, which initially was focused on parental rights in curriculum decisions, now has a provision that bans trans students from expressing that they are trans in a school setting. The bill also now bans “instruction, guidance, activities, or programming regarding sexual orientation or gender identity to students enrolled in prekindergarten through 12th grade.” State poised to ban gender-affirming care for minors. SB 14, which would prevent youth from accessing medically necessary care, was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk on May 24th who said that he will sign the bill into law. | 
