Friend –

In a little more than a week, the State Assembly has voted to pass three bills that would roll back the rights and freedoms of trans youth in Wisconsin, the state Senate passed a trans youth healthcare ban, and today representatives are holding a public hearing on a bill which endangers the safety of trans people held in jail and prisons.

Make no mistake: This is a full-fledged, relentless attack on the lives and dignity of trans Wisconsinites – one that requires our voices and collective action to stop. Here is a summary of each of the bills making their way through the statehouse. We encourage you to send your elected officials a message, and call on them to vote these measures down.

Trans youth healthcare bans (Assembly Bill 465/ Senate Bill 480): This legislation, passed through both the Assembly and Senate, proposes a ban on best-practice medical care for transgender youth experiencing gender dysphoria – subverting the rights of trans youth, their providers and parents, while outlawing medically necessary and evidence-based treatment proven to save lives and improve mental health outcomes. Fortunately, the governor has pledged to veto bills that harm trans youth.

Trans youth sports bans (Assembly Bills 377 & 378/ Senate Bills 377 & 378): This legislation, passed by the Assembly and heard by the Senate, seeks to exclude K-12 and collegiate student-athletes from joining sports teams that are consistent with their gender identity. Participation in sports generally positively impacts students across the gender spectrum, as the opportunity to play sports is correlated with better grades, higher educational and career aspirations, and improved self-esteem. Tell the state senate to vote "no" on trans sports bans.

Anti-Trans incarceration bill (Assembly Bill 447): This legislation, scheduled for a hearing today, would require placements for incarcerated people in Wisconsin jails and prisons to be determined on the basis of assigned sex at birth and require any strip searches of incarcerated people to be conducted by a person who is "the same sex" as the incarcerated person. This would effectively preclude trans, intersex and nonbinary incarcerated people from being placed in facilities that align with their authentic gender identity, a violation of constitutional rights and federal law that puts LGBTQIA people in greater danger. Find your legislator and their contact information.

Thanks for sticking with us,

ACLU of Wisconsin