The new year may only be a couple of weeks away, but that hasn’t stopped state legislatures from pushing through their remaining anti-LGBTQ+ proposed bills and legislation. This week in Ohio, lawmakers passed HB 68, also known as the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, which would deny gender-affirming care from transgender youth and ban trans student athletes from participating in sports. The bill now awaits Gov. Mike DeWine’s signature.
2023 has been a harrowing year for LGBTQ+ rights, with a record number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills being introduced at the state level, according to the Human Rights Campaign. According to Trans Legislation Tracker, nearly 600 anti-trans bills alone have been proposed, 85 of which have passed like Alabama’s HB261, which bans trans athletes from competing at the college level and North Carolina’s H808, which bans gender-affirming care for trans minors.
In June, the HRC president Kelley Robinson, declared a national state of emergency for the LGBTQ+ community, calling out political action groups and lawmakers. “These laws are fueled by an anti-LGBTQ+ Republican establishment — and coordinated, well-funded extremist groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom, Heritage Foundation and the Family Policy Alliance — insistent on trying to control our families and lives.”
While a number of bills have passed or are still in the advancing stage, many have failed. Of the 508 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that the American Civil Liberties Union has been tracking this year, 227 were defeated or died before making it to a final vote. Missouri’s SB 693, an anti-drag bill, died early on in the legislative process, while an ban on gender-affirming care in Wisconsin was passed by the state Senate but vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers in December.
A look ahead to 2024 may include carry-over bills that did not make it to final votes in 2023. Also a renewed effort by state lawmakers to continue the trend in the new year. In Missouri, Republican lawmakers in the state have already pre-filed 20 anti-LGBTQ+ bills. HB 1405 “prohibits any school employee or independent contractor from using a pronoun for a student that does not align with such student’s biological sex as indicated on the student’s birth.” HB 1650 is a renewed effort to pass an anti-drag law that was unsuccessful in 2023.
While support for LGBTQ+ people, same-sex marriage and nondiscrimination policies is at an all-time high, Americans are divided about issues like parental rights, LGBTQ+ inclusion in classrooms and gender affirming care.
To learn more about what anti-LGBTQ+ bills are being proposed or making it through the legislation process in your state, check out Movement Advancement Program, ACLU and Trans Legislation Tracker.
For readers looking for guidance on pushing back on these bills, check out Prosperity Now’s “How Do I Advocate for Policy Change?”