TOPLINE TAKEAWAYS:

• 41 states are currently in session as of March 8

• So far, HRC is tracking about 780+ bills:

  • 190+ HRC supports

  • 430+ HRC opposes

  • Five anti-LGBTQ+ bills have passed into law (Ohio: HB 68, Tennessee: HB 0878, Utah: HB 261 & Utah: HB 257, Wyoming: SF 9)

  • Three pro-equality bills have passed into law (Maine: LD 279, California: SB 339 & New Mexico: S.J.M 2)

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN AMERICA:

More than two months into the 2024 session, we are beginning to see the tide turn on anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Over the past several weeks, anti-LGBTQ+ bills in states across the country have stalled out:

• In Florida, only one of the more than 20 anti-LGBTQ+ bills filed this session made it to the governor’s desk.

• In West Virginia, bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community, including proposed restrictions on health care for transgender West Virginians and an LGBTQ+ Erasure Act that would strip away dozens of legal protections and rights for LGBTQ+ people, stalled as time ran out on the legislative session.

• In Arizona, a proposed ballot measure aimed at making schools more hostile to LGBTQ+ students and their allies was defeated.

Still, LGBTQ+ Americans remain in a state of emergency. On Thursday, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed SF9 into law. The new law requires parental permission before a student can participate in any training, classes, or courses that address sexual orientation or gender identity. School staff can also be forced to out LGBTQ+ students before they are ready.

The work of freeing LGBTQ+ people from the grips of hateful policy is far from over. And the harm that has been and will be inflicted will leave lasting scars. But from polls to election results, the American people have been clear: anti-LGBTQ+ attacks are a losing political strategy. And, as the nation barrels toward the most important election of our lifetimes, the tide may have begun to turn in the people’s favor.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING THIS WEEK:

Dozens of anti-LGBTQ+ bills are poised to move in Tennessee, the state that already has the largest volume of anti-LGBTQ+ laws on the books. The bills attack everything from access to healthcare for LGBTQ+ Tennesseans to bans on bathroom access for transgender people and assaults on nondiscrimination policies.

OTHER THINGS WE’RE WATCHING:

• Arizona: Last week, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed HB2183, a forced outing bill that would require healthcare entities to provide parents access to minors’ medical records, including for services that do not require parental approval, such as emergency mental health treatment. SB1166, a student forced outing bill that also allows teachers to intentionally misgender students , and SB1182, a bill restricting access to school shower rooms for transgender students, were assigned to the House Education Committee following Senate passage last week. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary committee passed SB1628, an LGBTQ+ Erasure Act that would also allow government buildings to discriminate against transgender people in spaces like bathrooms or locker rooms, and require schools to gather data based on sex assigned at birth.

• Missouri: Last Thursday, the House passed HB1518, a religious refusal bill that would allow student organizations that are political, ideological or religious in nature to accept university funding while discriminating against other students.

• New Hampshire: On Thursday, HB1660, a bill stating that medical assistance provided under the state Medicaid plan shall not include any form of gender reassignment surgery for a person under 18 years of age, passed the House. It will be headed next to committee on the Senate side.

• Tennessee: HB2816, was referred to the House Health Committee last week. This bill would require that all clinics in the state providing gender-affirming care also provide detransition care, and would require that all insurance policies in Tennessee that provide coverage for gender-affirming care also provide coverage for detransition care. Additionally, it would prohibit municipalities from prohibiting conversion therapy, and would require an onerous and unnecessary reporting system for providers of gender-affirming care that would create an overwhelming amount of paperwork and violate the privacy of patients. This week, we anticipate movement in the House Criminal Justice Committee on HB1949, a bill that continues Tennessee's tradition of expanding criminal offenses in private places in a way that isn't overtly LGBTQ+ but is likely to be used to harass or intimidate transgender people in restrooms or locker rooms.

• Wyoming: On Wednesday, the Wyoming House passed SF99, which would prohibit doctors or other health providers from providing gender-affirming care, including hormone blockers, to patients under the age of 18, on penalty of professional discipline (losing their license). The bill has been sent to the governor’s desk for consideration.

THE LAST WORD:

“Despite years of relentless attacks and dehumanizing rhetoric, LGBTQ+ people and our allies have never given up the fight for Florida. And we are shifting the momentum. People across the state showed up by the thousands to speak out and push back against anti-LGBTQ+ bills; and they are to thank for pushing back the tide of hateful and discriminatory policy. The fight to free Florida from the grip of Governor DeSantis’ devastating and extreme agenda of government censorship and intrusion into people’s lives is far from over. And the devastation he and his allies have caused will last long after these politicians are gone. But the tide is turning. Perhaps the anti-LGBTQ+ fever in Tallahassee is beginning to break. The people will prevail.”

HRC Vice President, National Campaigns Geoff Wetrosky in the Los Angeles Blade

To follow HRC’s state legislation work on Twitter, visit here. For Instagram, visit here.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

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