The State of Anti-LGBTQIA+ Legislation in 2023

Introduction

In the first half of 2023, 57 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills were passed in the United States, targeting various aspects of LGBTQIA+ lives, including gender-affirming healthcare, education, and participation in sports. This comprehensive analysis provides an overview of these legislative actions state by state, their implications for the LGBTQIA+ community, and the need for continued advocacy against discrimination.

State-by-State Analysis

• Arkansas:

• Senate Bill 43: Restricts adult-oriented performances, potentially affecting drag performances and LGBTQIA+ events.

• Senate Bill 294: Prohibits teaching subjects related to sexual orientation and gender identity in grades below the fifth.
• Senate Bill 199: Allows individuals receiving gender-affirming care as minors to sue their physicians for up to 15 years.
• House Bill 1156: Restricts bathroom use in schools, requiring students to use facilities matching their assigned sex at birth.
• Senate Bill 125: Prohibits colleges from mandating the use of specific words or pronouns.
• Senate Bill 270: Restricts transgender people from using public restrooms corresponding to their gender identity.
• House Bill 1468: Requires written parental permission before a school employee can address students by their chosen pronouns or name.

• House Bill 1615: Allows taxpayer-funded adoption and foster care agencies to reject prospective parents based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

• Florida:

• Senate Bill 266: Prohibits colleges and universities from using state or federal funds for programs advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• House Bill 1069: Restricts sex education, teaching that sex is binary and unchangeable, and allows objections to reading material depicting sex.
• Senate Bill 254: Criminalizes gender-affirming care for minors and disadvantages parents supporting gender-affirming care in child custody disputes.

• House Bill 1521: Requires individuals to use bathrooms consistent with their assigned sex at birth.

• Georgia:

• Senate Bill 140: Prohibits gender-affirming medical care for minors in the state.

• Idaho:

• Senate Bill 1100: Requires separate bathrooms and changing areas based on biological sex in schools.

• Senate Bill 1016: Exempts public works contractors from providing access to non-gendered bathroom and locker room facilities.

• House Bill 71: Prohibits gender-affirming medical care for minors and makes it a felony for parents or healthcare professionals to provide it.

• Indiana:

• Senate Bill 480: Prohibits gender-affirming care for minors.

• House Bill 1569: Requires the Department of Corrections to deny necessary medical care to incarcerated transgender people.

• House Bill 1608: Prohibits discussions of “human sexuality” in schools up to the third grade and forces educators to 'out' students requesting different pronouns or names.

• Iowa:

• Senate File 482: Prohibits transgender students from using school bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.

• Senate File 538: Bans age-appropriate, medically necessary gender-affirming healthcare for minors in Iowa.

• Kansas:

• House Bill 2238: Requires female student athletic teams to include only those assigned female at birth.

• Senate Bill 180: Bans individuals from identifying as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth.

• Senate Bill 228: Requires separate housing for men and women in certain facilities, defining females as those born with the ability to produce eggs and males as those with the ability to fertilize eggs.

• Kentucky:

• Senate Bill 145: Requires sports teams in schools to allow students to play only on teams that correspond to their sex assigned at birth.

• Senate Bill 150: Prohibits gender-affirming medical care for minors, requires school students to use bathrooms consistent with their sex assigned at birth, and prohibits school staff members from using a student's requested pronouns.

• Mississippi:

• House Bill 1125: Bans gender-affirming care and surgery for minors in the state.

• House Bill 1733: Provides tax deductions for businesses for the cost of equipment.

• Montana:

• Senate Bill 99: Prohibits gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

• House Bill 303: Allows healthcare providers to withhold services based on their ethical, moral, or religious beliefs, potentially refusing treatment to LGBTQIA+ patients.

• North Dakota:

• House Bill 1111: Limits the state's obligation to enforce health-related regulations set by international health organizations.

• House Bill 1139: Defines sex based on biological factors at birth for the purposes of birth certificates.
• House Bill 1249: Prohibits school students from playing sports as per their gender identity, including kindergarten level.
• House Bill 1489: Prohibits college students from playing sports as per their gender identity.
• House Bill 1254: Prohibits healthcare professionals from providing gender-affirming care to minors.
• House Bill 1473: Prohibits transgender people from using bathrooms and shower rooms consistent with their gender identity in correctional facilities.
• House Bill 1205: Prohibits public libraries from holding books with explicit sexual material.
• House Bill 1522: Prohibits school students from using bathrooms consistent with their gender identity and prevents schools from requiring respect for students' chosen pronouns.
• House Bill 1297: Prevents transgender people from changing the gender marker on their birth certificate.

• House Bill 1474: Requires data collection to reflect the gender assigned at birth, regardless of gender identity.

• Oklahoma:

• Senate Bill 613: Prohibits gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

• Senate Bill 404: Provides increased support and access to religious organizations, potentially including those that discriminate against LGBTQIA+ people.

• South Dakota:

• House Bill 1080: Prohibits healthcare professionals from prescribing puberty