It’s already been a record year for legislation targeting LGBTQ rights.
This year is already shaping up to be a tough one for transgender Americans. State lawmakers across the country have introduced a number of bills targeting almost every aspect of their very existence, from gender-affirming care to bathroom access.
Since the start of 2023, more than 480 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in most states across the country, and at least 150 of these measures target trans people, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Unfortunately, this troubling trend is nothing new. The current wave of anti-trans legislation can be traced back to 2016, when North Carolina introduced its “bathroom bill,” which limited the restrooms transgender people could use. It was repealed a year later, but its failure didn’t stop four more states — including, most recently, Arkansas — from passing similar laws. While these kinds of measures increased over the next two years, 2021 marked a watershed moment, setting the stage for the discrimination we’ve seen since. That year alone, 131 bills (mostly targeting trans student-athletes and health care access) were introduced across 34 states.
“I don’t know how to describe to somebody that isn’t going through it how it feels to have the anxiety of waking up every morning, not knowing whether your state is going to attack your right to exist,” Alyssa MacKenzie, a trans advocate in Florida, told The Washington Post last year.
So where do things stand now? Here’s a look at the current onslaught of legislation targeting the trans community and what’s being done about it.
Where are trans rights under attack?
To put it in perspective: Since this year started, we’ve seen more anti-LGBTQ bills introduced at the state level than in the past five years combined.
Driven by largely conservative lawmakers, among the most consequential of these bills are health care bans: More than 20 states, including Iowa and Georgia, have limited care for trans youth, including hormone-replacement treatments. More recently, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he plans to sign Senate Bill 14, which would ban transgender minors from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapies. If the bill takes effect, it could be especially damaging because the Lone Star State is home to one of the biggest trans communities in the country.
While proponents of these restrictions characterize gender-affirming care as harmful, leading medical associations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics have deemed gender-affirming procedures as medically necessary and even potentially life-saving.
Other measures — such as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill — target trans youth by banning the very mention of sexual orientation from prekindergarten through eighth grade. Instead, schools will be required to teach “that sex is determined by biology and reproductive function at birth.” At least 25 other proposals have been introduced across 14 states that include provisions allowing teachers or fellow students not to honor the name and pronouns that align with a student’s gender identity, and more than a dozen states have “parental rights” measures that require schools to alert parents of gender identity changes.
Some worry this forced outing could create an unsafe environment for transgender kids, whether at home or in the classroom. “Your child is a whole human,” Idaho parent Kris Huntting, who has a trans son, told the AP. “If they want you to know this thing about their existence, they’ll tell you.”
Adult trans athletes and performers aren’t insulated from these attacks, either: Track and field officially banned transgender athletes from international competition, and last week Tennessee became the first state to explicitly ban drag shows in public spaces, with other states likely to follow.
But it’s important to note that isn’t a standalone issue. The same conservative groups fighting to limit transgender rights are also working to further restrict reproductive rights after the landmark abortion law Roe v. Wade was struck down last year.
“Although many people talk about reproductive health as a ‘women’s issue,’ many LGBTQ people — including lesbian and bisexual women, transgender men, two-spirit, intersex, nonbinary and gender non-conforming individuals — can get pregnant, use birth control, have abortions, carry pregnancies, and become parents,” the nonprofit National LGBTQ Task Force states.
What’s being done to keep transgender people safe?
At least 19 states, including Connecticut, have created “refuge” laws to help protect trans people coming from places where gender-affirming care is outlawed. Meanwhile, others, like Colorado and Washington, have passed laws that explicitly require insurance carriers to cover gender-affirming care treatments and procedures, such as laser hair removal and voice therapy. Then there are states like Virginia and New York, which have enacted anti-discrimination laws protecting trans people from housing and employment discrimination.
Even in states where LGBTQ rights are under attack, lawmakers are getting creative by using the filibuster to prevent anti-trans laws from going into effect. For instance, Nebraska hasn’t passed a single bill this year because state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh has used this political procedure to stage an unlimited debate in protest of an anti-trans bill that would ban gender-affirming surgery for transgender youth under 19.
“If this legislature collectively decides that legislating hate against children is our priority, then I am going to make it painful — painful for everyone,” Cavanaugh said last month. “Because if you want to inflict pain upon our children, I am going to inflict pain upon this body.”
Still, many trans advocates don’t expect this deluge of attacks to stop anytime soon, especially as the 2024 race heats up. After all, these measures have already been used as a rallying cry for Republicans. Dave Carney, a senior adviser for Abbott’s 2022 reelection campaign, called restrictions of trans youth “a 75, 80 percent winner” for him, according to The Washington Post.
Though many more steps need to be taken, President Joe Biden has repeatedly pledged to take steps to protect transgender Americans — and he made it one of his priorities from day one. In his first joint address to Congress, he sent a strong message of support to the transgender community: “To all transgender Americans watching at home, especially the young people. You’re so brave. I want you to know your president has your back.”
