Self-care note: While some of the following stories celebrate and affirm LGBTQ+ people, many cover legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community, particularly trans and nonbinary 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 constraints; feel free to forward news about your state to [email protected] to consider for inclusion. Alabama - State House passes expansion of state’s “Don’t Say Gay/Trans” law. HB 130 would expand Alabama’s “Don’t Say Gay/Trans” law, which currently applies from K-5th grade, to K-8th grade. The bill would also limit pride flags in the classroom. The House approved the measure on a 74-25 vote. Contact your representatives TODAY and tell them to vote NO on HB130! California - Judge rules to keep proposed anti-trans ballot initiative name and description as written by the Attorney General. Attorney General Rob Bonta named the proposed ballot initiative “Restrict Rights of Transgender Youth”, as it would enact a statewide forced outing policy for California students, ban trans students from the bathrooms and sports teams that match their gender identity, and would ban medically necessary care of trans and non-binary youth. The group collecting signatures for the proposed ballot measure sued and wanted the initiative to be titled the “Protect Kids of California Act,” but a Superior Court judge in Sacramento ruled for the Attorney General. Louisiana - State Superintendent instructs schools to ignore Biden Administration’s new Title IX rules. Cade Brumley, Louisiana’s superintendent of education, said on a call with Louisiana educators that extending Title IX’s protections to transgender students may violate existing state law. PFLAG National supports the Biden Administration’s Title IX rules. Maine - Gov. Janet Mills signs “sanctuary bill” into law. LD227 protects trans and non-binary recipients of gender-affirming care, as well as their providers, plus abortion providers and patients from out-of-state prosecution. Maine is the 16th state to explicitly protect gender-affirming care and abortion care in state law from prosecution. New Hampshire - House committee kills anti-trans athlete ban. The 19-1 vote to kill the bill came after a trans high school athlete provided powerful testimony to the Education Committee. Pennsylvania - Parents petition to overturn school board vote to cancel talk from “30 Rock” actor Maulik Pancholy. Pancholy, who is openly gay and the author of children’s books as well as an actor, was scheduled to speak at Mountain View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, on May 22. But the Cumberland Valley School District voted unanimously on Monday to cancel his visit, citing his “lifestyle” and “activism.” Trisha Comstock, a parent in the school district, circulated a petition demanding that the board reverse their decision; the petition now has over 6,000 signatures. Tennessee - ACLU sues to block enforcement of rule preventing trans people from updating gender marker on their driver’s licenses. On July 1, 2023, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security implemented a policy that it would not change driver's license gender markers following the passage of a law in April 2023 defining a person's sex based on "immutable" physical and genetic characteristics at birth. The ACLU says that rule did not go through the appropriate procedures required for creating a new rule under state law, as well as violating several provisions of the Tennessee Constitution, including rights to privacy, freedom of speech, equal protection, and procedural due process. Texas - Attorney General Ken Paxton to drop request for transgender patients’ information from Seattle Children’s Hospital. As part of a legal settlement, the Attorney General’s office will stop seeking patient information from the hospital and the hospital will withdraw its business license in Texas. | 
