Here are all the anti-trans bills that have become law in 2023

There have already been more anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced this year than there were in all of 2022. Hundreds of them are making their way through state legislatures, with the trans community being the GOP’s biggest target.

Republican state lawmakers (and some federal lawmakers) have been working round the clock to pass oppressive anti-trans bills targeting gender-affirming care, bathroom usage, drag shows, and the rights of trans students in schools. While many have been defeated, some have indeed made it to governors’ desks.

How many anti-trans bills have been enacted so far this year?

So far in 2023, 11 anti-trans bills have become law across eight states.

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The laws mostly focus on banning drag shows from anywhere a child could see them and banning gender-affirming care for youth, even though every major medical organization supports this lifesaving health care for both minors and adults.

Learn more about each law below.

Arkansas SB 43

Passed: February 27, 2023

SB 43 prohibits an “adult-oriented performance” from taking place on public property or using public funds, and also bans minors from being admitted to such shows.

The bill originally called out drag queens explicitly and sought to classify all drag performances as “adult-oriented.” The final draft was changed to avoid court challenges and removed any explicit mention of drag and gender. Instead, the final bill defined an “adult-oriented performance” as one featuring “a person who appears in a state of nudity or is seminude”; “the purposeful exposure, whether complete or partial, of: a specific anatomical area; or prosthetic gentialia or breasts; or a specific sexual activity.”

While this version no longer specifically targets the LGBTQ+ community, the ACLU of Arkansas explained that it could still be used to discriminate against drag queens, adding that its broad language could also affect mainstream performers.

“It still inherently invites abuse in enforcement,” the organization stated, “especially considering the anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from sponsors and supporters of the bill.”

Mississippi HB 1125

Passed: February 28, 2023

Known as the “Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (REAP) Act,” HB 1125 bans all types of gender-affirming care – including reversible puberty blockers – to trans people under 18.

Under the new law, healthcare workers who provide gender-affirming care to minors will have their licenses revoked. It also allows patients to sue healthcare providers up to 30 years after receiving treatment and denies state or federal funding to state organizations that provide gender-affirming care to minors.

South Dakota HB 1080

Passed: February 14, 2023

This trans health care ban forbids doctors from providing gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy, to minors. It also requires trans youth to detransition.

The procedures are only banned in the context of transitioning. That is, state lawmakers didn’t ban a set of medical procedures because they believed that the procedures were too dangerous; they only banned a class of people from getting the procedures for a specific purpose.

The law also says that any minor who’d be harmed by stopping their use of puberty blockers or HRT must systematically reduce their use and stop using these treatments entirely by December 31, 2023.

If a doctor provides any of the forbidden types of care, they can have their professional state licenses and certifications revoked. They can also be sued for civil damages up to three years after providing the care or until their minor patient reaches the age of 25. This would allow parents to sue if they disapprove of their children’s transitions.

Tennessee SB 3

Passed: March 2, 2023

This law targets drag performers, banning “male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest” from appearing “on public property” or “in a location where the adult cabaret performance could be viewed by a person who is not an adult.”

Tennessee SB 1

Passed: March 2, 2023

SB1 bans gender-affirming care for minors and requires them to detransition.

The bill outlaws treatments like puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy for people under the age of 18, forcing transgender youth to go through the puberty of their sex assigned a birth. The legislation allows for the same medications to be used by cisgender youth for other conditions. 

The bill takes effect this summer and gives trans youth until March 31, 2024 to end their current medical treatments.

Utah SB 100

Passed: February 16, 2023

This bill allows schools to out trans kids to their parents and requires parental consent for their gender identity to be affirmed at school.

Utah SB 16

Passed January 28, 2023

This bill bans gender-affirming care for minors in the state. Except in limited cases, it outlaws gender transition surgery and prohibits the use of hormone therapy.

West Virginia HB 3042

Passed March 9, 2023

Called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), this bill says West Virginia cannot “burden a person’s exercise of religion” except when it is “essential to further a compelling governmental interest.” Advocates say the law essentially gives people a license to discriminate.

Arkansas SB 199

Passed March 13, 2021

This law attempts to get around a federal court’s injunction against the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth by making it much easier for people who received gender-affirming care to sue medical practitioners for malpractice. Legal experts expect the law will make it impossible for doctors to get malpractice insurance if they practice gender-affirming care in the state.

Wyoming SF 133

Passed March 17, 2023

This law prevents trans girls in 8th through 12th grade from competing in women’s sports. It passed without the signature of Gov. Mark Gordon (R), who opposed the legislation but decided not to veto it because he did not want to “prolong these very divisive debates.”

Arkansas SB 270

Passed March 21, 2023

This law bans transgender students from using facilities associated with their gender identity and instead requires them to use those associated with their sex assigned at birth. It goes farther than other states’ versions of such bills by imposing criminal penalties on those who violate it instead of just civil penalties.

Iowa SF 538

Passed March 22, 2023

This law prohibits medical professionals from “attempting to alter the appearance of, or affirm the minor’s perception of, the minor’s gender or sex, if that appearance or perception is inconsistent with the minor’s sex” assigned at birth. In other words, it bans all gender-affirming care for minors, including reversible puberty blockers.

Iowa SF 482

Passed March 22, 2023

This law prohibits people from using school bathrooms that don’t correspond with the gender they were assigned at birth.

Georgia SB 140

Passed March 23, 2023

This law bans doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy and surgery to trans youth under the age of 18. There is an exemption for cisgender youth who want to access the same treatments and the law does not cover puberty blockers.

Idaho SB 1100

Passed March 23, 2023

This law bans transgender students from using facilities associated with their gender identity and instead requires them to use those associated with their sex assigned at birth. It allows cisgender students to sue for $5000 for each instance of sharing a facility with a trans student as well as attorney’s fees and damages for “psychological, emotional, and physical harm suffered.”

We will continue to update this list of anti-trans bills as more are passed into law. Sign up for the LGBTQ Nation newsletter to stay informed on the latest news and developments related to LGBTQ+ rights.