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, more than 30 anti-trans bills have become law.
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| Date Passed | State | Bill | Issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 28, 2023 | Utah | SB 16 | Healthcare |
| Feb. 16, 2023 | Utah | SB 100 | Schools & Education |
| Feb. 27, 2023 | Arkansas | SB 43 | Free Speech & Expression |
| Feb. 28, 2023 | Mississippi | HB 1125 | Healthcare |
| Feb. 13, 2023 | South Dakota | HB 1080 | Healthcare |
| March 2, 2023 | Tennessee | SB 3 | Free Speech & Expression |
| March 2, 2023 | Tennessee | SB 1 | Healthcare |
| March 9, 2023 | West Virginia | HB 3042 | Civil Rights |
| March 13, 2023 | Arkansas | SB 199 | Healthcare |
| March 14, 2023 | Arkansas | SB 294 | Schools & Education |
| March 17, 2023 | Wyoming | SF 133 | School sports |
| March 21, 2023 | Arkansas | HB 1156 | Bathroom restrictions |
| March 22, 2023 | Iowa | SF 538 | Healthcare |
| March 22, 2023 | Iowa | SF 482 | Bathroom restrictions |
| March 23, 2023 | Georgia | SB 140 | Healthcare |
| March 23, 2023 | Idaho | SB 1100 | Bathroom restrictions |
| March 23, 2023 | Utah | SB 93 | ID |
| March 26, 2023 | West Virginia | HB 2007 | Healthcare |
| March 28, 2023 | Idaho | SB 1016 | Bathroom restrictions |
| March 29, 2023 | Kentucky | SB 150 | Healthcare & Schools & Education |
| April 4, 2023 | Idaho | HB 71 | Healthcare |
| April 5, 2023 | Kansas | HB 2238 | School Sports |
| April 5, 2023 | Indiana | SB 480 | Healthcare |
| April 11, 2023 | North Dakota | HB 1249 | School sports (K-12) |
| April 11, 2023 | North Dakota | HB 1489 | School sports (college) |
| April 27,2023 | Kansas | SB 180 | Bathroom restrictions & ID |
| April 28, 2023 | Montana | SB 99 | Healthcare |
| May 1, 2023 | Oklahoma | SB 613 | Healthcare |
| May 9, 2023 | North Dakota | HB 1522 | Education |
| May 17, 2023 | Florida | SB 254 | Healthcare |
| May 17, 2023 | Florida | HB 1069 | Education |
| May 17, 2023 | Florida | HB 1438 | Drag ban |
| May 17, 2023 | Florida | HB 1521 | Bathroom bill |
| May 17, 2023 | Tennessee | SB 466 | Education |
| May 17, 2023 | Tennessee | SB 1440 | Trans legal existence |
| May 22, 2023 | Montana | HB 359 | Drag ban |
| May 26, 2023 | Iowa | SF 496 | Education and health care |
| June 2, 2023 | Texas | SB 14 | Health care |
| June 7, 2023 | Missouri | SB 49 | Healthcare |
| June 7, 2023 | Missouri | SB 39 | School sports |
| June 15, 2023 | Texas | SB 15 | School sports (K-12) |
| July 18, 2023 | Louisiana | HB 648 | Health care |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Arkansas SB 294
Passed March 14, 2023
This sweeping education reform bill includes a provision prohibiting teachers below the 5th grade level from providing classroom instruction on topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity.
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 HB 1156
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.
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.”
Utah SB 93
Passed March 23, 2023
This bill bans minors from changing their name or gender on their birth certificates.
West Virginia HB 2007
Passed March 26, 2023
This bill bans transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming care. The bill bans puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, and surgery.
The bill contains an exemption if a doctor thinks that a trans young person may self-harm or attempt suicide if their gender dysphoria is left untreated. This exception requires a diagnosis of “severe gender dysphoria” from two doctors and parental permission.
Idaho SB 1016
Passed on March 28, 2023
This bill exempts state contractors from federal anti-discrimination requirements by allowing those who receive no federal funding to require that workers use facilities based on sex assigned at birth.
Kentucky SB 150
Passed March 29, 2023
This omnibus bill attacks trans young people on multiple fronts. It bans gender-affirming surgeries, puberty blockers, and hormone therapy for minors, as well as a mandate that doctors stop treating young patients who are currently receiving gender-affirming care.
It also bans Kentucky teachers from using pronouns that “do not conform to a student’s biological sex as indicated on the student’s original, unedited birth certificate,” bans instruction on sexuality in grades K through six, and bans discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation at all grade levels.
The bill was vetoed by Gov. Andy Beshear (D) but the state’s General Assembly overrode his veto.
Idaho HB 71
Passed April 4, 2023
This is one of the most punitive bans on gender-affirming care for minors in the country. It bans surgery, hormone replacement therapy, and puberty blockers for transgender people under the age of 18, and it makes it a felony to provide such care to transgender minors in the state. The felony carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Kansas HB 2238
Passed April 5, 2023
The Republican-dominated legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s (D) third veto of the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” and passed it into law in April. The law bans transgender girls and women in kindergarten through college from participating in girls’ and women’s school sports.
Indiana SB 480
Passed April 5, 2023
This law not only prohibits trans youth from both gender-affirming medication and surgery, but it also requires youth already undergoing care to detransition.
North Dakota HB 1249
Passed April 11, 2023
This law bans trans girls in kindergarten through 12th grade from participating on women’s sports teams.
North Dakota HB 1489
Passed April 11, 2023
This law bans trans women in college from participating on women’s sports teams.
Kansas SB 180
Passed April 27, 2023
This law bans trans people from using the appropriate facilities in a number of areas, including restrooms, locker rooms, women’s shelters, rape crisis shelters, and prisons. It also bans them from updating the gender marker on their driver’s licenses.
Montana SB 99
Passed April 28, 2023
This law bans gender-affirming care for minors, including reversible puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy. Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed the bill despite the fact that his nonbinary son begged him to veto it. During a debate on the legislation, Montana state Rep. Kerri Seekings-Crowe (R) said that she would rather have her daughter die by suicide than let her transition.
Oklahoma SB 613
Passed May 1, 2023
This bill bans all forms of gender-affirming care for trans youth – including reversible puberty blockers – and makes it a felony for doctors to provide it. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) said he was “thrilled” to sign the legislation.
North Dakota HB 1522
Passed May 9, 2023
H.B. 1522 makes it illegal for schools and government entities to require teachers and employees to use trans people’s proper pronouns.
It also mandates that teachers out trans students to their parents or guardians, which makes them vulnerable to dangerous situations if their family is not accepting. It also says trans students cannot use the bathroom that aligns with their gender unless a parent or guardian grants permission.
Florida SB 254
Passed May 17, 2023
This law forbids minors from accessing puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and gender-affirming surgeries — the law allows people to sue if they were harmed by the above methods. The law also requires trans adults to submit a form to the state’s Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine explaining that they understand the risks of trans-related healthcare methods. Additionally, the law allows state officials to take temporary custody of children who may be receiving gender-affirming care now or in the future
Florida HB 1069
Passed May 17, 2023
This expansion of the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law bans discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in all grade school levels. The law allows parents to challenge any books in school libraries and will require contested titles to be pulled from shelves before review. Additionally, the law bans school officials from having to declare their own pronouns or use any student pronouns that don’t correlate with the student’s gender assigned at birth.
Florida HB 1438
Passed May 17, 2023
This drag ban allows state boards to revoke the business licenses of any venues that allow minors to see drag performances, even if their parents consent.
Florida HB 1521
Passed May 17, 2023
This law criminalizes anyone who uses a toilet or changing facility that doesn’t match the gender they were assigned at birth. The law applies to public schools, universities, parks, prisons, and other government buildings but not to businesses and healthcare facilities.
Tennessee SB 466
Passed May 17, 2023
This law says teachers do not have to honor students’ pronouns and can refer to them using the pronoun associated with their sex assigned at birth without penalty.
Tennessee SB 1440
Passed May 17, 2023
This law legally defines “sex” as “a person’s immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth and evidence of a person’s biological sex.” The bill adds that “evidence of a person’s biological sex” includes government-issued identification documents.
Montana HB 359
Passed May 22, 2023
This is the first bill in the country to specifically ban drag performers from reading to kids.
In addition to explicitly prohibiting drag story hour in public schools and libraries, H.B. 359 also says no “sexually oriented or obscene performances” – which Republicans have been using as code for any drag – can take place in public places where children are present.
Iowa SF 496
Passed May 26, 2023
This law bans instruction on LGBTQ+ identities through 6th grade and requires schools to out trans youth to their parents. It also bans all books containing sex acts from school classrooms and libraries, which will undoubtedly lead to the banning of several LGBTQ+ books.
And despite the fact that Iowa has banned gender-affirming care for trans youth, the bill explicitly establishes that parents and guardians have “the fundamental, constitutionally protected right, to make decisions affecting [their] child, including decisions related to the minor child’s medical care…”
The section clarifies that it does not authorize parents and guardians to “engage in conduct that is unlawful,” and as such, parents of trans youth still do not have the right to make gender-related medical decisions for their kids.
Texas SB 14
Passed June 2, 2023
This law says doctors cannot prescribe youth hormones or puberty blockers and cannot perform gender-affirming surgery on minors (something that is already extremely rare). It also says that any youth currently receiving such care must be weaned off of their treatment – essentially forcing them to detransition. The law is set to take effect on September 1st.
Missouri SB 49
Passed June 7, 2023
The “Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act” bans all gender-affirming treatments (including reversible puberty blockers) until August 2027. Any healthcare providers who violate the law risk losing their license.
Some states that have passed gender-affirming care bans have required trans youth already receiving this care to wean themselves off their medications and detransition, but this law allows those already undergoing care to continue.
Missouri SB 39
Passed June 7, 2023
This law says both private and public schools all the way through college must require trans youth to play on sports teams according to their sex assigned at birth.
Texas SB 15
Passed June 15, 2023
The so-called “Save Women’s Sports Act” bans trans athletes from competing in public college and university sports in the state. It expands on 2021 law banning K-12 schools in the state from allowing trans youth to compete in school sports.
The law states a person’s biological sex will be determined by what was recorded on the athlete’s birth certificate “at or near” the time of birth. Modifications to a birth certificate would only be recognized if a change was made to correct “scrivener or clerical error.” It also empowers Texas residents to bring civil actions against targets of the bill.
Louisiana HB 648
Passed July 18
This gender-affirming care ban will take effect on January 1 and will prevent trans youth from receiving gender-affirming medications and surgery (though surgery is almost never performed on trans youth). It will also punish doctors for providing this care by taking away their license for at least two years.
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We will continue to update this list of anti-trans bills as more are passed into law.
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