We’ve seen a marked rise in anti-LGBTQ+ action in state and local governments in the last year. Legislation targeting trans youth is being introduced in many states and local schools and libraries are being pressured into censoring LGBTQ+ history and stories. Visit pflag.org/protecttranskids to take action against anti-trans bills in your state today. We also encourage you to join our #ReadWithLove campaign and fight censorship by: Want to take action and not sure where to start? Please contact Patrick Cochran, Advocacy and Policy Engagement Senior Coordinator. Alabama - Health care providers debunk misinformation in trans healthcare bill. Doctors who serve the transgender community have come forward expressing concern for their patients’ mental and physical health in the wake of an Alabama bill prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors. The health care providers testified that the bill is full of misinformation about the physical and psychological impact of gender-affirming care and the kinds of gender-affirming care available to minors. Take action now: tell your legislators to vote NO on this bill. Alaska - Trans sports ban bill introduced in Alaska Senate. Like similar legislation in other states, this bill would limit the participation of transgender girls in school sports. Bill introduced in House would increase protections for LGBTQ+ people. HB17 would add gender expression and sexual identity to the protected classes covered by the Alaska Human Rights Commission, including protection from discrimination in employment, housing, and finance. Arizona - Arizona legislature introduces 13 bills that could affect trans youth. There are currently 13 different bills in the Arizona legislature that could affect trans youth, including bills prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors, preventing students from using bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity, requiring schools to out students to parents, and bills limiting the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in schools. Tell your legislators to vote NO on these bills. Republican legislators help stop three anti-transgender bills. Representative Michelle Udall blocked a bill that would have allowed parents to sue schools for letting trans youth use locker rooms corresponding to their gender identities. House Speaker Russell Bowers voted against a bill that would have required state documents to list a person’s gender as only male or female. State Senator Tyler Pace helped narrow a bill against gender-affirming care to no longer forbid puberty blockers. Colorado - Denver students stage walkout to protest nationwide anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Students from multiple middle and high schools walked out chanting “We Say Gay!” protesting the harmful so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida. Florida - Senate passes “Don’t Say Gay” bill, now on its way to Gov. DeSantis. Florida’s Senate passed the controversial so-called “Parental Rights in Education” bill, which now awaits Governor DeSantis’ signature. The bill bans discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in grades K-3 and stipulates that the topics cannot be taught in ways that are not “age-appropriate” in older grades. It also allows parents to sue schools and districts for perceived violations of the law. In light of the passage, students staged a massive walkout in protest. Stop WOKE Act passes, restricting topics employers can cover in training. Senate Bill 148 (HB7) amends the Florida Civil Rights Act to prevent employers from incorporating “divisive” topics that might make people uncomfortable, such as diversity training, into workplace training. Georgia - Bill modeled on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill introduced in Senate. The Common Humanity in Private Education Act would limit the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in private schools. It was introduced on the same day as the similar Florida bill. Idaho - Bill that would have outlawed gender-affirming treatment for minors dies in the Senate. The bill would have made gender-affirming care for minors illegal and also made it a felony to help a child travel out of state to receive gender-affirming health care. Senate Republicans killed the bill, saying that it undermines parents’ ability to make choices for their children. Iowa - Governor signs trans athlete ban bill. Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill banning transgender girls and women from participating in single-gender sports in Iowa. This applies to all school levels, including colleges and universities. The Iowa City City Council denounced the ban, condemning the law as discriminatory and “othering” against trans youth. More than 100 Iowa City students staged a walk-out in protest. Kansas - Advocates push back on trans athlete ban. The so-called Fairness in Women’s Sports Act would require all school sports teams at any school in the state to fit into one of three categories based on biological sex: males, females, or co-ed/mixed, and prohibits transgender girls from playing on female designated teams. The Senate Education Committee has heard the bill, but no actions have been taken yet. Kentucky - House panel passes ban on trans athletes. This bill would restrict transgender girls from participating in female designated school sports teams from sixth grade through college. Tell your legislators to vote NO on this bill here. Louisiana - Bill introduced in House that would deny access to gender-affirming care for minors. HB570 would prohibit procedures associated with gender-affirming care for minors, even if parents and doctors approve. It would also prohibit medical professionals from referring minors to doctors specializing in “gender transition procedures” and prohibit insurance companies from covering these procedures for anyone under 18. Massachusetts - Parentage Act aims to recognize the many ways that people form families. The bill was introduced in the Senate and is now in the House. It would legally recognize different pathways to parenthood, including children born through surrogacy, parents’ marriage, genetics, adoption, acknowledgment, adjudication, and de facto parentage. This would provide parental protections to many families that fall through the cracks under current law. Brookline students stage walkout over nationwide anti-LGBTQ legislation. Hundreds of students walked out of class to protest anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the nation, particularly in response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and Governor Abbott’s directive against gender-affirming care in Texas. State health officials push to end ban nationwide on gay and bisexual men donating blood. Top health officials signed a letter to the FDA commissioner, urging them to abolish the 90-day deferral policy for blood donations from men who have sex with other men, claiming that it is discriminatory and unnecessary. Minnesota - “Parents Bill of Rights” laws introduced in state Senate. Senate leaders chose to defer the debate over the bill that would require districts to have procedures in place to allow parents to review all instructional materials immediately and on request. Michigan - Health department taskforce will support LGBTQ+ adoptive parents. The task force follows settlements between MDHHS and private charities, which brought challenges against non-discrimination policies. It was ruled that private agencies can deny adoptions to LGBTQ+ couples, so the department intends to provide other options for LGBTQ+ fostering and adoption. Missouri - Several bills move through legislature to ban trans-athletes. These bills would restrict K-12 and college athletes to playing on sports teams that match their sex assigned at birth and labeled on their birth certificate. Tell your legislators to vote NO on this bill here. New Hampshire - State House tables bill aiming to repeal ban on so-called “conversion therapy.” A bipartisan group of legislators voted to table HB1077, which would have rolled back a 2018 ban on so-called “conversion therapy.” The bill is now unlikely to receive a vote this session. Oklahoma - House Rules Committee passes trans sports ban bill, which now goes to full House vote. Similar to other trans sports bills, this would prevent trans girls and women from playing on female sports teams in schools. Senate Education Committee passes bill to ban LGBTQ+ books, with criminal charges attached. SB1142vwould charge schools $10,000 a day for having LGBTQ books and would criminalize librarians and school officials for having any books that “make as their primary subject the study of sex, sexual preferences, sexual activity, sexual perversion, sex-based classifications, sexual identity, or gender identity or books that are of a sexual nature.” South Carolina - First hearing scheduled for trans athlete ban bill. The bill, which would restrict trans women athletes from participating in school sports, is scheduled for a hearing by the House of Representatives. Tennessee - Bill banning materials that support LGBTQ issues advances in the House. The bill would ban public schools from using curricular materials that “promote, normalize, support, or address LGBT issues or lifestyles.” Texas - Texas Children’s Hospital stops gender-affirming treatments after Gov. Abbott’s order. The largest pediatric hospital in the U.S. announced that it had stopped all gender-affirming therapies after Governor Abbott’s order to investigate gender-affirming care as child abuse. Students organize banned book clubs and distribution drives to push back against censorship. Texas students are forming banned book clubs to read books focusing on LGBTQ+ and racial issues that adults want banned. Students near Austin have also been distributing challenged novels, which they have been getting for free from a local advocacy organization. Austin officials declare the city safe and inclusive for LGBTQ+ community. Local leaders, including Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown, joined together in a statement opposing Governor Abbott’s declaration and proclaiming Austin and Travis County as a safe community for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families. Pflugerville City Council passes resolution in support of LGBTQ+ youth. In a 5-1 vote, the Pflugerville city council passed a resolution in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community against Governor Abbott’s order against gender-affirming health care for minors. Many LGBTQ+ candidates won their primaries in state and local elections. More LGBTQ+ candidates are running for office in Texas than in any previous election cycle. As many LGBTQ+ candidates won their primary races this March as ran for office in 2021. Utah - Governor says he will veto trans sports bill. Republican Governor Spencer Cox has said that he will veto a bill passed by the state Senate that would restrict transgender athletes from school sports. Vermont - Burlington High School students stage walkout over nationwide anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Faculty members joined students at Burlington High School in walking out of class and marching to City Hall to protest nationwide anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Washington - Students in Cedar Rapids stage mass walkout in protest of trans athlete ban. Students in Cedar Rapids staged a walkout to protest the state’s new law restricting transgender athletes from participating in school sports. Wyoming - Due to missed filing deadline, anti-trans sports bill fails. The bill would have placed restrictions on transgender girls and women competing in high school and college sports, but it failed to reach the House Education Committee by the deadline. | 
