This year, the trans community across the U.S. faced an onslaught of violent state legislation, a coordinated attack against trans and LGBTQ+ rights. 27 states have proposed legislation this year banning trans youth from sports. Ten states have already implemented them (them). Below are the latest updates on anti-trans bills in key states across the U.S. with specific action items you can take. Note: You can take action in these states even if you don’t live there. You should also support trans and LGBTQ+ rights locally wherever you live. Transphobia is not a red state problem; it’s pervasive oppression we all urgently need to dismantle through the organizations we support and the way we unlearn cissexism in our day-to-day lives. This is not an exhaustive list and is updating day-by-day. Be sure to research what’s happening where you live. Here’s a state-by-state tracker provided by Trans Formation Project.
TEXAS
The war against trans people in Texas is particularly nasty. Legislators introduced 47 bills attacking trans rights this year, 3 times the number of the next leading state (19th News). And just this month, Attorney General Ken Paxton offered a “legal opinion” that providing medical care to treat adolescents with gender dysphoria could be “child abuse.” Governor Greg Abbott instructed the Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate cases of gender-affirming care as child abuse. As a result, the ACLU is suing the state (The New Republic) while healthcare centers pause programming for gender-affirming care for their patients (Houston Chronicle).
TAKE ACTION
- Sign the letter of support for healthcare for trans youth
- Share the LGBTQIA+ Student Rights Toolkit.
- Donate to local organizations offering direct support: TENT has an emergency relief fund, Organización Latina de Trans en Texas is offering community and legal support, DFW Trans Kids and Families provides health support, and Fiesta Youth provides youth programming.
TENNESSEE
This week, the state legislature will consider a bill that allows K-12 teachers and staff to violate students’ pronouns if “ the preferred pronoun is not consistent with the student’s biological sex” (Tennesseean). The state banned trans women and girls from participating in sports last year and is considering SB 1216/HB 800, which aims to ban any discussion of LGBTQ topics in textbooks, instruction materials, or supplemental instruction materials (ACLU).
TAKE ACTION
- Urge lawmakers to vote NO on SB 1216/HB 800.
- Donate to local organizations, including the Trans Empowerment Project, which provides direct aid to transgender people, the Tennessee Equality Project, which focuses on political advocacy, and My Sistah House, which provides emergency housing for LGBTQ+ people in Memphis.
ALABAMA
On March 2nd, the Alabama House committee passed legislation that denies and criminalizes gender-affirming medical care to trans people and makes the provision of transition-related healthcare to minors a felony (ACLU). The latter is one of the harshest punishments for those delivering gender-affirming care. The state committee also approved a “bathroom bill” prohibiting students in K-12 schools from using a bathroom or locker room that is different from the biological sex on their birth certificate (AL.com). Read trans youth in Alabama’s perspectives on these attacks (NPR).
TAKE ACTION
- Send a message to Alabama reps asking them to vote ‘NO’ on HB 266/SB 184.
- Donate to local organizations like Magic City Acceptance Center, a Birmingham-based community center for LGBTQ+ people, The Knights and Orchids Society, which provides affirming STD/STI testing, reproductive care, and Trans-Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) care, and TAKE Birmingham, a peer support group for trans women of color.
IOWA
Last Thursday, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law prohibiting transgender women and girls from participating in girls’ high school sports and women’s college athletics. A dozen more bills have been proposed over the past year (them). The state is the first to roll back protections that were already established by law (HRC).
TAKE ACTION
- Donate to local organizations, including Iowa Safe Schools, which provides resources and advocates for educational equity for LGBTQ+ students, One Iowa, which fights for equity for LGBTQ+ Iowa residents, and The Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund.
ARIZONA
In a glimmer of good news, many anti-trans bills in Arizona were stalled, killed, or amended by Republican lawmakers last week, temporarily protecting trans people from restrictions on using bathrooms and pausing attacks against nonbinary gender markers on identification documents. Despite these efforts, it’s expected that most of these bills will eventually pass the House and Senate and be signed into law by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. The state has filed 17 anti-LGBTQ+ bills, including 12 anti-trans bills, this year — more than almost any other state in the country (19th News).
TAKE ACTION
- Donate to local organizations including one•n•ten, which provides social support for LGBTQ+ Arizona youth, and Equality Arizona, which advocates for LGBTQ+ Arizonans through better politics and policy.
FLORIDA
Last week, the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill (HB 1557) passed the Senate. It is expected to be signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis. The bill, if enacted, will prevent teachers from talking about LGBTQ+ issues and threaten existing protections for LGBTQ+ students (HRC). The state already implemented legislation banning trans girls from playing on public school teams intended for student-athletes cisgender girls last summer (NPR).
TAKE ACTION
- Donate to local organizations, including TransSocial, a nonprofit providing safe and affirming resources for the Florida Trans and LGBQIA+ community, Arianna’s Center, which offers direct support and services for marginalized Trans people, and TransAction at Equality Florida.
IDAHO
Last week, the Idaho House of Representatives approved legislation that makes it a felony for a doctor to provide age-appropriate, medically-necessary, best practice gender-affirming care for transgender children. If passed, the bill could become one of the most extreme new anti-trans bills in the country (them). The state was the first to ban trans women and girls from participating in sports.
TAKE ACTION
- Sign the petition to tell lawmakers that all Idaho youth deserve access to medical care.
- Donate to local organizations, including The Community Center (TCC), a community center for LGBTQ+ youth and adults, and Add the Words, an advocacy and mutual aid initiative to promote equity for all Idahoans.
UTAH
In surprising news, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox stated he will veto an anti-trans sports bill that passed the Utah House and Senate (Xtra). The state is likely to become the first to reject an anti-trans sports bill approved by its legislature. Three other proposed bills are currently stalled or have failed entirely.
TAKE ACTION
- Donate to local organizations, like advocacy group Transgender Education Advocates of Utah, Utah Pride Center, and The Salt Lake Community Bail Fund.
SOUTH DAKOTA
In February, Republican Governor Kristi Noem was the first governor to sign anti-transgender legislation into law in 2022. The South Dakota House also passed HB 1005, a bill that would prohibit trans students from using school restrooms consistent with their gender identity (HRC). Read how a trans student pretended to break her arm just to use the bathroom (them).
TAKE ACTION
- Donate to the Transformation Project Advocacy Network, which advocates for the wellbeing of transgender South Dakotans, Two Spirit Nation, which advocates for the Indigenous spectrum of LGBTQ2S+ warriors and healers, and the Black Hills Center for Equality.
KENTUCKY
On Wednesday, March 9, the Kentucky House Committee passed legislation SB83 which blocks trans girls and women from sixth grade to college from participating in school sports that match their gender identity (ACLU Kentucky). It still has to pass the House before reaching Gov. Andy Beshear for final determination. SB83 is one of two trans-athlete bans in the state that harms trans kids and young adults who simply just want to play. HB23, which is expected to be voted in the House on Monday, March 14, bars trans boys and men from school sports participation. If passed, both bills will work alongside the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s, the state’s high school athletics organization, rules that already blocks trans students from participating in sports teams that align with their gender (KHSAA).
TAKE ACTION
- Donate to organizations like Kentucky Health Justice Network and Kentucky’s Fairness Campaign that are fighting to protect trans rights and provide access to gender-affirming services.
- Contact Kentucky House representatives and demand that they oppose the passage of SB83 and HB23.
- Follow the Trans Health Bill Tracker, which provides updates on current legislation affecting the rights of trans people in Kentucky.
