LGBTQIA+2S Movements & the Law

At least 150 bills have been filed by Republican lawmakers across the United States that target transgender people, with at least seven states enacting bans on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth. Other bills have targeted drag performers, doctors and trans adults seeking transition-related care. For more on growing conservative attacks on transgender people and the LGBTQ+ community, we speak to Chase Strangio, deputy director for trans justice with the ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project, who says the backlash “at its core has always been about pushing trans people out of public life and eradicating transness.”

Many lawmakers continue to threaten the livelihoods of transgender people and their families. In states across the country, policymakers are targeting transgender young people with bills that prevent student-athletes from participating in the sports they love. Transgender youth want the opportunity to play sports for the same reason other young people do: to be a part of a team where they feel like they belong. Discriminatory efforts like these can make trans youth feel unwelcome on their teams, in their sports, and in their communities.

Politicians have never needed precise laws to brutally police who can and cannot exist freely in public.

Bans on youth participation in sports that aligns with their gender identity.

View a list of legislation, organized alphabetically by state, in the below chart. Click on the bill to read more information about it, including sponsors, latest action, and its status.

In the last few years states have advanced a record number of bills that attack LGBTQ rights, especially transgender youth. The ACLU is tracking these attacks and working with our national network of affiliates to support LGBTQ people everywhere.