WASHINGTON, D.C. — As extremist lawmakers in state houses across the country continue advancing a record-breaking number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills in state legislatures, the Human Rights Campaign — the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization — is providing the below snapshot (updated weekly) to illustrate the current legislative climate for LGBTQ+ people, and the scale and scope with which the ongoing legislative assault is being waged. This weaponization of public policy has been driven by extremist groups that have a long history in working to oppress the existence and rights of LGBTQ+ people. Several of these organizations have been deemed hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center, such as the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Family Research Council.

Year-to-Date Snapshot: 2023 Anti-LGBTQ+ State Legislative Activity

• Over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures, a record;

• Over 210 bills specifically target transgender and non-binary people, also a record; and

• 34 anti-LGBTQ laws have been enacted so far this year, including:

  • Laws banning gender affirming care: 11

  • Laws requiring or allowing misgendering of transgender students: 2

  • Laws targeting drag performances: 1

  • Laws creating a license to discriminate: 2

  • Laws censoring school curriculum, including books: 2

Notable 2023 Trends & Topline Analysis

• There have been more anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in state houses this year than in each of the previous five years; and

• More than 120 bills would prevent trans youth from being able to access age-appropriate, medically-necessary, best-practice health care, in addition to more than 40 bills banning transgender students from playing school sports and more than 30 “bathroom bills,” a figure that exceeds the number bathroom bills filed in any previous year.

• Some states that have been the most proactive in advancing anti-LGBTQ+ laws include Texas, Tennessee, North Dakota, and Florida

Notable Bills Advanced in the Past Week (updated as of April 17, 2023)

• More than 120 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have passed at least one chamber this calendar year. Some notable bills that advanced this week include:
  • In Montana:

    • HB 303: would allow medical practitioners, healthcare institutions, and health care payers – including doctors, nurses, counselors, pharmacists, and insurance companies – to deny any medical services based on personal belief rather than patient need.

    • HB 361: would allow for the intentional misgendering and deadnaming of transgender and non-binary students by their peers.

  • In Texas:

    • HB 1686 (House version) and SB 14 (Senate version): would ban gender affirming care for transgender youth

  • In Missouri:

    • The Attorney General, Andrew Bailey, issued an emergency rule outlawing gender affirming care April 13; this rule is temporary but would forbid care for children and adults until January.

    • HB 419: would ban gender affirming care for transgender youth

  • In Tennessee:

    • SB 1237: would allow private schools to prohibit transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity

• The following bills have additionally been enacted into law.
  • North Dakota

    • HB 1254: bans gender affirming care for transgender youth was allowed to pass into law

    • HB 1249: bans transgender students - including kindergarteners - from playing school sports consistent with their gender identity

    • HB 1489: bans transgender college students from playing school sports consistent with their gender identity, contrary to decades of NCAA policy

    • HCR 3010: a resolution, asks public schools and state agencies to misgender transgender individuals in data collection efforts

    • HB 1139: creates an additional rule for gender markers on birth certificates that discriminates against transgender people

• The following bills are in the final stages in the legislature or on their way to the state’s governor:
  • In Arkansas:

    • HB 1468: restricts name and pronoun use

    • HB 1615: legalizes religious refusal

  • In Indiana:

    • SB 350: Bans local governments from stopping conversion therapy

    • HB 1569: bans gender affirming care for incarcerated individuals

  • SF 496 in Iowa: censors books and curriculum relating to sexual orientation or gender identity

  • SB 180 in Kansas: Applies a discriminatory definition of sex throughout Kansas law

  • In Montana

    • SB 99: Bans gender affirming care; the Governor has returned the bill to the legislature with suggestions on how to improve the bill, but is expected to sign it.

    • HB 361: Allows for the intentional misgendering and deadnaming of transgender and non-binary students by their peers

    • HB 566: removes sexual orientation and gender identity from sex ed lessons

    • HB 303 - allows medical practitioners, healthcare institutions, and health care payers – including doctors, nurses, counselors, pharmacists, and insurance companies – to deny any medical services based on personal belief rather than patient need.

  • In North Dakota:

    • HB 2247: Limits state data collection to two sexes, inherently discriminating against transgender and non-binary individuals

    • HB 1333: Bans public drag performances

    • HB 1254: Bans gender affirming care

    • HB 1297: prohibits gender marker changes on birth certificates if a person identifies as transgender

    • HB 1473: prohibits transgender people from using bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity in certain state-operated facilities

    • HB 1474: removes transgender individuals from state data collection

    • HB 1522: penalizes schools for proper pronoun accommodations for trans students

Looking Back at 2022 State Legislative Sessions

In a coordinated push led by national anti-LGBTQ+ groups, which deployed vintage discriminatory tropes, politicians in statehouses across the country introduced 315 discriminatory anti-LGBTQ+ bills in 2022 and 29 passed into law. Despite this, fewer than 10% of these efforts succeeded. The majority of the discriminatory bills – 149 bills – targeted the transgender and non-binary community, with the majority targeting children receiving the brunt of discriminatory legislation. By the end of the 2022 legislative session, a record 17 bills attacking transgender and non-binary children passed into law.

Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation took several forms, including:

• 80 bills aimed to prevent transgender youth from playing school sports consistent with their gender identity. 19 states now exclude transgender athletes in school sports.

• 42 bills to prevent transgender and non-binary youth from receiving life-saving, medically-necessary gender-affirming healthcare. 5 states now restrict access to gender-affirming care.

• 70 curriculum censorship bills tried to turn back the clock and restrict teachers from discussing LGBTQ+ issues and other marginalized communities in their classrooms. 7 passed into law.

For more information about the onslaught of state legislative bills being introduced in state houses across the country, or to request an interview with an HRC legislative expert, please contact press@hrc.org.