Tracking the record number of bills restricting the rights of LGBTQ people in 2023

Republicans in conservative states are pushing against the rights of LGBTQ people — especially transgender youth — in ways this country has never experienced before.

Legislation seeking to restrict the rights of young LGBTQ people — such as banning gender-affirming treatment for youth or outlawing drag performances — has dramatically impacted the lives of LGBTQ youth and their families.

Following last year’s more than 220 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced across the country, a poll by The Trevor Project found 71% of LGBTQ youth — and 86% trans and nonbinary youth — said they were negatively impacted by the flurry of proposals to restrict their rights.

As of May 2, more than 540 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in statehouses across the country, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Over 220 of those specifically restrict the rights of transgender and nonbinary people.

Among the hundreds of bills introduced this year, a record number prevent youth from accessing gender-affirming care despite opposition from nearly all major medical associations in the U.S. In March, President Joe Biden referred to such bans as “hateful and extreme state laws that target transgender kids and their families” being advanced by “MAGA extremists.”

Several bills restricting trans and non-binary people from going to bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity or participating in school activities like sports have also been introduced across the country this year. Measures to restrict education about queer and trans issues have also inundated public schools and libraries.

Here’s a list of what has been proposed, enacted or vetoed in 2023 — as well as a few bright legislative spots for LGBTQ equality.

Last updated May 2.

Georgia

• SB 140, which bans most gender-affirming care for people under 18, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on March 23. Kemp said he was signing the legislation “to ensure we protect the health and wellbeing of Georgia’s children” a week after a letter signed by more than 500 Georgia doctors said such legislation could lead to tragic consequences for trans youth in the state.

Idaho

• HB 71, which criminalizes gender-affirming care for youth, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Brad Little on April 4.

Indiana

• HB 1569, which bars the state’s department of corrections from providing gender-affirming care for incarcerated trans people, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb on April 20.
• SB 480, which prohibits families and doctors from providing gender-affirming care for youth, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb on April 5.

Iowa

Kansas

• SB 180 would bar trans kids and adults from using restrooms and locker rooms in public facilities — such as schools, state prisons, and domestic violence shelters — and legally define male and female based on a person’s reproductive anatomy at birth. It was vetoed by the Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on April 20, but overridden by a two-thirds majority in the House on April 27.

Kentucky

• SB 150 is a sweeping anti-trans measure that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming medical care to trans youth; bans trans students from using the bathrooms that match their gender identity; bans classroom discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation; allows schools to misgender students; and could force teachers to out trans and nonbinary students to their parents. Slammed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky as the “cruelest piece of anti-trans legislation in the nation,” SB 150 was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear on May 24. The veto was overridden by Republican lawmakers five days later.

Mississippi

• HB 1125, which penalizes parents and doctors who “aid and abet” transgender youth seeking gender-affirming care and allows doctors to be sued by their former patients within a 30-year statute of limitations, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves on Feb. 28.

Montana

• SB 99, which bans gender-affirming care for minors, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte on April 24. The bill, slammed by critics as “draconian,” also restricts social transitioning — a process that typically involves a change in first names, pronouns, hairstyle and clothing to reflect a person’s gender identity. House Rep. Zooey Zephyr, who’s trans, was silenced by her Republican colleagues after saying those who vote in favor of the legislation would “have blood on [their] hands.”

North Dakota

• HB 1473, which bars trans kids and adults from using restrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum on April 26. The bill was one of 10 anti-LGBTQ bills advanced by lawmakers on April 4. That was “the most anti-LGBTQ+ bills to pass a single legislative chamber in one day in modern history,” according to the Human Rights Campaign. Their only goal is to push LGBTQ people “back into the closet,” the group added.
• HB 1254, which makes it a crime to provide gender-affirming care for transgender youth, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum on April 21.
• HB 1249, which bans K-12 transgender students from playing school sports consistent with their gender identity, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum on April 11.
• HB 1489, which bans transgender college students from playing school sports consistent with their gender identity, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum on April 11.
• HB 1139, which creates an additional rule for gender markers on birth certificates that discriminates against transgender people, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum on April 11.

Oklahoma

• SB 613, which makes providing gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth a felony — threatening medical providers who do so with up to a decade in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 — was signed into law by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt on May 1. Treatments include the use of puberty-blocking hormones, which is “fully reversible,” and surgical procedures, which are “exceedingly rare and based on the specific medical needs of the teen.”

South Dakota

• HB 1080, which limits gender-affirming care for youth, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Kristi Noem on Feb. 3.

Tennessee

• SB 1, which prohibits gender-affirming care for minors, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Bill Lee on March 2. On April 26, the Biden administration filed a lawsuit seeking to block the ban, saying it saying it “denies necessary medical care to youth based solely on who they are.”
• SB 3, commonly referred to as the “Tennessee drag ban,’ — the first restriction on drag performances in the nation — was signed into law by Republican Gov. Bill Lee on March 2 and it was set to take effect on April 1. The law was challenged in court by a Memphis-based LGBTQ theater group, Friends of George’s. On March 31, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Parker issued a temporary restraining order saying the state failed to make a compelling argument as to why the new law is needed in Tennessee. On April 6, the Trump-appointed judge extended the order through May 26.
• SB 1237, which allows private schools to ban transgender students from participating in the school’s athletic activities, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Bill Lee on April 28. The bill is the state’s fourth anti-trans sports law and its 15th anti-LGBTQ law since 2015, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

Utah

• SB 16, which limits gender-affirming care for youth, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox on Jan. 30.

West Virginia

• HB 2007, which limits gender-affirming care for minors, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Jim Justice on March 29.
• HB 3042, which allows allows discrimination against others, including LGBTQ people, on the grounds of religious freedom, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Jim Justice on March 29.

Arkansas

• HB 1468, which prohibits employees from addressing students by pronouns “inconsistent” with the student’s sex assigned at birth without parental consent, passed the House on March 27 and the Senate on April 5.

Florida

• SB 254, which would penalize providers who give gender-affirming care to trans youth and allow the state to take temporary “physical custody” of transgender youth receiving gender-affirming care, passed the Senate on April 4 and the House on April 19.
• SB 1438, which includes vague language that can be used to restrict drag shows and performances — even though the state already has laws in place that prohibit exposing minors to shows considered sexually explicit or harmful — passed the Senate on March 30 and the Senate on April 19. Passage of the bill brought hundreds of protesters to Tallahassee on April 24 for a march and rally on the steps of the Florida State Capitol.

Indiana

Iowa

• SB 496, which would ban classroom discussions about LGBTQ issues in grades K-6 and would also require schools to forcibly out transgender students, passed the Senate on April 19 and the House on April 20.

Montana

• SB 99, which would ban gender-affirming care for minors, passed the House and Senate in late March and it was sent to Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte for his consideration on April 21. House Rep. Zooey Zephyr, who’s trans, was silenced by her Republican colleagues after saying those who vote in favor of the legislation would “have blood on [their] hands.”

North Dakota

• HB 1297, which would prohibit gender marker changes on birth certificates, passed the Senate on April 3 and the House on April 25.

Tennessee

• HB 239 / SB 1440, which would create a legal definition of the term “sex” that would exclude LGBTQ people from state non-discrimination laws, passed the Senate on March 13 and the House on April 21. Dubbed the “LGBTQ+ Erasure Act” by critics, the could cost the state around $2 billion in federal funding.

Alabama

• HB 261, which would ban transgender college and university students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity, passed the House on April 18.

Florida

• HB 1521, which would prohibit gender-inclusive restrooms and changing facilities in schools, private businesses, public shelters, healthcare facilities, and jails passed the House on April 19.

Iowa

• SF 146, which would restrict books and class discussion about gender identity and sexual orientation in grades K-6 passed the Senate on March 22.

Missouri

• HB 183, which would ban transgender students from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity — slammed by the Human Rights Campaign as “another shameful attack on trans youth” — passed the House on April 18.

North Carolina

• HB 574, which would prohibit transgender girls and women from participating in female sports teams in middle school, high school and college, passed the House on April 19. A companion Senate bill, SB 631, passed the upper chamber on April 21. A reconciled final version of one of the bills will soon likely to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk.

Texas

• SB 1029, which would end nearly end gender-affirming care of transgender people of all ages, passed the Senate on April 26.

Kansas

• SB 26, which would ban trans youth from receiving gender-affirming care, was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on April 20. Republican lawmakers, who were able to successfully override Kelly’s veto on an anti-trans sports ban, failed to get enough votes to overturn the governor’s veto on the gender-affirming care ban. “These bills would hurt our ability to continue breaking economic records and landing new business deals,” Kelly wrote when announcing she would veto four anti-trans bills on April 20. “I’m focused on the economy. Anyone care to join me?”

North Dakota

• SB 2231, which would prohibit teachers and school staff from referring to students and colleagues by pronouns that don’t match the sex they were assigned at birth, was vetoed by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum on March 31. His veto was overridden by the Senate but later sustained in the House.

Florida

Missouri

• A rule that dramatically restricts gender-affirming care for both trans youth and adults in the state was issued by Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey on April 14. The first-of-its-kind “emergency rule” would require trans people in the state to exhibit three years of a “medically documented, long-lasting, persistent and intense pattern of gender dysphoria” and receive at least 15 hourly sessions with a therapist over 18 months before they could access such care. On May 1, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo issued a temporary restraining order barring enforcement of the rule until at least May 15.

Colorado

• SB23-188, which protects people from states with restrictive laws on gender-affirming care and reproductive healthcare, was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jared Pollis on April 14.

Minnesota

• HF 16, which bans LGBTQ “conversion therapy” was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz on April 27.

Pennsylvania

• HB 300, also known as the Fairness Act, would amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to add explicit protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. The bill advanced in the House on April 24.

Vermont

• Legislation that would legally protect doctors who provide gender-affirming care to trans people in the state, as well as patients who receive it, passed both the House and the Senate with veto-proof majorities on April 29. S. 37 and H. 89, commonly referred to as “shield bills,” would also protect patients receiving reproductive care. Republican Gov. Phil Scott is expected to sign both bills into law.