Take Action

Alabamans:

Alabama lawmakers are debating two discriminatory bills this week – and we need you to tell your representatives to vote NO now! The State Senate is considering HB130 – a “Don’t Say Gay/Trans” bill – and HB111 – a sex redefinition or “erasure” bill. These bills dehumanize and discriminate against LGBTQ+ Alabamans, especially trans Alabamans, and directly puts them in harm's way by opening them up to discrimination in public spaces, including bathrooms. Contact your Senators TODAY and tell them to vote NO on HB111 and HB130!

Kansans:

Tell your representatives to protect trans kids and UPHOLD Gov. Kelly’s veto! Governor Kelly vetoed SB233, a harmful bill that would ban medically necessary care for trans and nonbinary youth in Kansas. The House and Senate will soon take one last vote on this harmful bill in an attempt to override the Governor’s veto. Contact your legislators immediately and urge them to UPHOLD the Governor’s veto and STOP SB233!

Louisianans:

Call your representatives and tell them to vote NO on the bathroom ban! HB608 passed the House this week. We need to make sure this harmful bill goes no further. Call your Senator TODAY and tell them to vote NO on HB608!

Ohioans:

Call your representatives and tell them to vote NO on the bathroom ban! HB183 passed out of committee this week. We need to make sure this harmful bill goes no further. Tell your representative TODAY to vote NO on HB183!

South Carolinians:

Your legislators need to hear your voice on H 4624! This bill would ban medical care for trans youth under 18, block Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care for ALL South Carolinians, and force teachers to out their trans students. Contact your legislator TODAY and tell them to VOTE NO on this harmful bill!

Tennesseans:

Help our friends at the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) fight back against anti-LGBTQ+ bills. Take action with TEP!

Virginians:

Please join Equality Virginia, GLSEN, and The Trevor Project in urging Governor Youngkin to sign HB 536 and HB 224, essential pieces of legislation aimed at safeguarding the well-being of students across Virginia.

State Matters

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.

Court Matters

Supreme Court hears case concerning Idaho’s near-total ban on abortions. The Solicitor General, representing the Biden Administration, argued Idaho’s ban unlawfully conflicts with a federal law ensuring certain standards for emergency medical care for patients, including pregnant women.

President Biden nominates Danna Jackson to judgeship for U.S. District Court of Montana. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first indigenous person to serve as a federal judge in Montana.

Federal Matters

Biden Administration releases 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. The National Strategy outlines recommendations for addressing gaps and meeting the needs of at-risk populations, including LGBTQI+ people, who are highlighted throughout the strategy. The strategy is accompanied by the first-ever Federal Action Plan, which identifies 200 actions to be initiated and evaluated over the next three years. The Strategy is available on the HHS website as is the Action Plan.

Biden administration releases final HIPAA Privacy Rule. The final rule prohibits healthcare providers from disclosing patient information, including that of LGBTQ+ people, for state investigations into reproductive healthcare that is legal where it’s provided. The unpublished version of the rule can be viewed in the Federal Register.

Global Matters

Dominica - High Court overturns ban on consensual same-sex relations. The court ruled the ban on same-sex sexual activity breached the right to liberty, freedom of expression and protection of personal privacy.

Iraq - Parliament postpones vote bill penalizing same-sex sexual relations. A vote on the bill was listed as the second item on the legislature’s agenda before it was postponed. Some speculated the vote was postponed to avoid controversy ahead of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s White House meeting with President Joe Biden.

Mexico - Senate passes bill to ban so-called “conversion therapy.” The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 77-4, with 15 abstentions. The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Mexico’s congress, passed the bill last month.

Media Matters

 

PFLAG National, PFLAG Chapters, Athlete Ally and others send letter to NCAA Board of Governors to urge trans inclusion in sports. Current rules allow transgender athletes, including women, to compete, so long as they adhere to the guidelines stipulated by their international sport governing bodies, however, the NCAA is expected to debate changing its policy around trans athletes. Earlier this month, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), voted to bar all transgender women from women’s sports. Read the letter to the NCAA here.

 

PFLAG National
(202) 467-8180 | [email protected]

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