Trans Formations Project Newsletter ∙ 1/13/23
Hello everyone. At the time of writing, it is Friday, January 13th. We are in our second week of 2023 and are already seeing record numbers of anti-trans legislation introduced across the U.S.
First, we are kicking off this week’s newsletter with some action items. The Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathy are taking public comments in opposition to their proposed "standards of care" which would ban gender-affirming healthcare for youth in Florida. You can join Equality Florida and other community partners at the hearing on Friday, February 10th from 1 to 5 pm in Tallahassee, Florida. You can RSVP to attend the hearing here. Equality Florida and the HRC are also hosting a pre-meeting virtual messaging training which you can register for here. If you are unable to attend the hearing in person, written public comments can be submitted via email to BOMPublicComment@flhealth.gov up until February 7th at 5 PM EST.
The Thing(s) We Won
We have a few pieces of good news to share before moving on to the onslaught of anti-translegislation introduced in the past week.
First, last week, the Oregon Department of Education released a 48-page document for school districts on how to support gender expansive students. The document provides schools with guidance on affirmation of student gender identity through student records and pronoun usage, student support and safety plans, school-based gender-affirming care, bathroom access policies, and more.
Second, the ACLU of Ohio has filed a motion to defend a transgender student's ability to use the bathroom consistent with her gender identity. The ACLU is challenging a lawsuit which seeks to threaten the Bethel Local School District's current gender-affirming bathroom policy.
Finally, we have a few positive legislative updates to report on this week:
Minnesota SF206 was introduced and referred to the Senate Education Policy Committee. This positive bill would require that students have access to athletic teams and school facilities, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, consistent with their gender identity. It also includes a statute listing gender neutral bathrooms and locker privacy stalls as part of state spending.
Last week, a positive bill was introduced in Missouri by Democrat Deb Lavender. HB574 is a housing protection bill that includes protection for LGBTQ+ individuals. This bill would provide important protections for trans folks in a state with record numbers of anti-trans legislation.
New Hampshire HB368 was introduced and referred to the House Health, Human Services & Elderly Affairs Committee this week. This is a safe state bill which would provide refuge to trans folks fleeing other states. If passed, the state of New Hampshire would not release medical records or comply with states seeking criminal charges against folks who sought gender-affirming care.
Also, Democratic Representative Danielle Walker introduced HB2101 in West Virginia. This bill would allow for birth certificate updates based on gender change and allow for a non-binary "X" designation. This bill would be extremely beneficial for trans West Virginians.
What the Heck Happened This Week?
The torrent of anti-trans legislation being introduced so far this legislative session was covered by MSNBC this week. You can check out NCB Out reporter Jo Yurcaba discussing the exponential increase in trans healthcare ban bills in the past few years here. At the time of writing this newsletter, there have already been nearly 100 anti-trans bills introduced across nearly half of U.S. states, and these numbers are growing by the hour. And, many state legislatures have not yet convened, so we expect even more bills to come. Below is a summary of bills targeting trans people introduced since last Friday. As a reminder, you can access information on these bills, and more, using our legislative tracker at transformationsproject.org.
Starting off, we have a few bills to discuss that were introduced late last week:
In Kentucky, HB120 was introduced. This bill would ban gender-affirming healthcare for children under 18. It also prohibits use of public funds and Medicaid and other health insurance coverage for gender-affirming health services.
In Missouri, multiple anti-trans bills introduced last week:
SB48, SB87, and SB165 together are part of the “Save Women’s Sports Act” and force designation of sports teams by sex assigned at birth and would ban trans girls from participating in public or private middle, high school, and college sports by withholding public funds. Additionally, SB165 contains transphobic provisions for locker room use, restricting trans students from using locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.
SB42 was introduced. This bill is a schooling bill that would prohibit teaching about both race and sex, what they call “divisive concepts,” in any public school.
Finally, SB429 had its first read. This bill is what is now a standard “drag ban,” classifying drag shows as adult content. This is part of a growing trend banning drag which activists predict can and will be used to restrict the lives of trans folks.
Virginia also introduced multiple anti-trans bills last week:
SB960 is a healthcare ban for folks up to age 21. It covers any treatment, activity, or mental healthcare services which would destransition youth and could remove access to crisis services. This bill also includes a duty to inform/parental rights clause.
Two sports bills, SB911 and SB962, were also introduced and referred to the Senate Committee on Education and Health. These are what are now standard sports bills that require the designation of sports teams and restricting play based on sex assigned at birth.
Now moving on to this week’s legislative updates, starting with newly introduced legislation:
At the national level, US Congress HB216 was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. This bill would force elementary schools to obtain written parental consent before teaching about gender identity, sexual orientation, or "transgender studies," in order to receive federal education funds. This is a de facto "don't say gay or trans" bill on a national level.
Alaska HB27 was pre-filed. This is a standard sports bill which requires designating sex assigned at birth for schools sports.
In Arizona, SB1001 was introduced. This bill would ban school personnel from affirming students' gender identity, prohibiting use of gender-affirming pronouns for trans students. Arizona also introduced SB1030, a drag ban bill, and SB1040, a school bathroom bill.
In Arkansas, SB43 was introduced and referred to the Senate City, County & Local Affairs Committee. This is another drag ban.
Multiple bills came out of Indiana this week:
First, HB1118 was introduced and referred to the House Public Health Committee. This is a proposed healthcare ban with criminal charges for healthcare providers who provide gender-affirming care. What is particularly disgusting about this bill is that it refers to gender-affirming care as conversion therapy.
Second, HB1220 was introduced and referred to the House Public Health Committee. This bill would prohibit gender transition of any kind, including social, legal, or physical changes for anyone under 18, with exceptions for intersex people. The bill specifically bans “living as a gender” that is not consistent with sex assigned at birth.
Third, HB1231 was introduced and referred to the House Public Health Committee. This bill is in the same spirit as HB1220, but targets providers. It would prohibit providers and public funds from providing transition related care to minors. These bills represent a concerted attack in Indiana to restrict trans rights through all possible legislative means.
Fourth, HB1232 was introduced and referred to the House Family, Children and Human Affairs Committee. This bill would not allow denying trans care to a child to be classified as abuse or neglect, and prevents children from being removed from parents for this reason. Essentially, it codifies allowing parents to deny their kids gender-affirming care.
In Iowa, two anti-trans schooling bills were introduced and referred to the House Education Committee this week. HF8 would prohibit schools from covering topics related to gender identity or sexual orientation in grades K-3. HF9 would prohibit schools from affirming students' gender identity and force outing to parents.
In Kansas, SB12 was introduced and referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary. This bill would criminalize gender-affirming healthcare for individuals under age 21. This is part of an alarming trend restricting healthcare access for not just trans youth, but trans adults too.
Mississippi SB2076 was introduced and sent to the Judiciary Committee. This is a sweeping bill with broad implications which attempts to codify and define two biological sexes and differences between them. This would define a person's gender as their sex assigned at birth for all state legal purposes, including bathroom access, prison, sports, domestic violence shelters, and more.
In Missouri this week, SB39 had its second read and was referred to the Senate Emerging Issues Committee. This is another sports bill, which would allow girls to play on boys’ teams if no girls’ teams are available, but not the other way around. This bill would restrict trans girls from participating in school sports. Missouri is already in the double-digits of anti-trans sports bans, healthcare bans, and drag bans so far this legislative session.
In New Hampshire, HB396 was introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Similar to Mississippi SB2076, this bill forces the state to recognize sex assigned at birth across settings including sports, prisons and jails, and bathrooms.
A few bills were introduced and referred to the House Human Services Committee in North Dakota:
HB1254 was declared as an emergency measure. It proposes a ban on trans health care for minors and would classify providing care as a felony. It includes the typical exceptions for intersex children. HB1301 was also declared as an emergency measure and is another healthcare ban.
HB1249 is a standard sports ban that would prohibit trans girls from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.
SB2199 is one of the stranger, more broadly sweeping bills introduced and sent to committee this week.This bill bans use of any gender-affirming words (not just pronouns, but any WORDS), for entities who receive state funding, including schools. The bill forces that gender is determined by DNA and threatens a 1500 dollar fine for violations.
Finally, HB1297 was introduced and sent to the House Human Services Committee. This is a birth certificate bill that prevents the updating of a person’s gender marker due to gender identity change.
A few anti-trans bills were pre-filed in Oklahoma for next month:
SB252 is a proposed health care ban for minors. Under this bill, providers would face revocation or suspension of their medical licenses for providing gender-affirming care. Interestingly, this bill does not include the usual intersex exclusions.
SB250 is an emergency bill that would effectively enact a total healthcare ban by banning use of state and federal funds for gender-affirming care. Bills like this that are total bans, or bans up to age 26, are likely being introduced as a red herring to make the 18 under bans seem like a compromise.
Multiple anti-trans bills were introduced in Oregon this week:
First, two sports bills, HB2186 and SB453 were introduced. These are standard sports bills which bans trans girls from playing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity.
Second, HB2477 was introduced. This bill would prohibit discussion of orientation or identity in school settings before fourth grade, as well as any health care services or health screening forms without parental consent.
Third, SB452 is a surgery ban for minors with exceptions for intersex people. It’s worth noting again that transition surgery is very rarely done on minors, and intersex children will continue to be forced to have surgeries under these bills. This bill is also Oregon’s first anti-trans healthcare bill, representing an alarming trend of anti-trans legislation spreading beyond red states.
Multiple bills were introduced and referred to their respective committees in South Carolina, some of which we reported on previously when they were prefiled. Missouri is already in the double-digits of parental rights/forced outing bills, healthcare bans, and drag bans so far this legislative session. Below are a few summaries:
S0243 would ban gender-affirming healthcare for minors, with exceptions for intersex children.
S0364 would make it harder to change birth certificate gender markers by requiring surgery in order to amend a birth certificate. It would also ban non-binary gender markers.
H3616 is a standard drag ban targeting people performing anything dressed as the opposite gender.
H3611 seeks to protect religious “right to discriminate” in direct response to expanded tolerance in other states.
H3485 is a standard parent’s rights bill that forces outing and prevents care without consent of the parent.
In Texas, HB1266 was introduced. This drag ban bill would define drag performance as “sexually oriented” and, like other states, loosely defines drag as dressing up in the “opposite gender’s clothing” and “performing for an audience.”
Virginia also introduced multiple bills attacking trans rights.
HB1707 was introduced this week. This is an evil forced outing bill that would require school personnel to out gender-diverse students to their parents.
SB1203 was introduced and referred to the Senate Education and Health Committee. This bill is an under 18 healthcare ban targeting insurance and public funding. The bill also specifies no requirement to provide transition-related coverage over age 18.
SB1186 was introduced and referred to the Senate Education and Health Committee. This bill is another one-sided sports ban prohibiting trans girls from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.
We have multiple bills to report out of Washington too.
HB1214 was introduced and referred to the House Health Care and Wellness Committee. This is a health care ban for people under 18, exempting intersex people. This is Washington state’s first anti-trans bill and shows that even in Democratic states, trans rights are at risk.
HB1233 was introduced and referred to the House Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry committee. This bill would ban incarcerated trans people from being housed consistent with their gender identity.
We have a few pieces of legislation to report out of West Virginia as well:
SB103 was introduced and sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee. This is another drag show ban prohibiting state funding for drag shows and banning the presence of minors at drag shows.
HB2007 was introduced and sent to the House Health & Human Resources Committee. This is a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors, with exceptions for intersex children.
A few other updates:
Nebraska LB371 was introduced on Thursday, but then postponed indefinitely. This bill would have banned drag performance in front of anyone 21 and under.
On Monday, there was a hearing for North Dakota HB1139, a bill which would require birth certificates to be recorded as either male or female at the time of birth. Non-binary or any symbol representing non-binary would be forbidden, and this would not account for intersex infants. After the hearing, the bill received a “do pass” recommendation in committee and will progress on to a full floor vote.
This week, both hearings on Montana SB99, a gender-affirming healthcare ban for minors, were canceled. We will keep an eye on updates on future hearings.
Taken together, these bills represent an attack on trans rights by any means necessary, including sports bans, drag bills, healthcare bans, parental rights/forced outing bills, and gender marker bills. While this list of bills is overwhelming, it is important to remember that this is proposed legislation which we have time to testify and organize against, and much of which will not pass. Keep up the good fight!
We know that staying up-to-date with anti-trans legislation may be distressing to our readers. If you or someone you know needs support, here are a few affirming resources that you can reach out to:
If you need support or are in crisis you can contact the Trans Lifeline hotline at (877) 565-8860. The Trans Lifeline is run by trans people, for trans people, and does not engage in non-consensual active rescue, meaning they will not call law enforcement without your consent.
You can connect with a Trevor Project crisis counselor via phone (1-866-488-7386), chat, or text (Text ‘START’ to 678-678) support. Note: This resource could utilize non-consensual active rescue, including law enforcement, 911, and first responders.
You can call the LGBT National Hotline at (888) 843-4564, or connect with a peer via chat. The LGBT National Help Center will NOT call other suicide hotlines, law enforcement, 911, or rescue services.
BlackLine is a BIPOC LGBTQ+ support line, run by BIPOC folks, for BIPOC folks. This resource does not involve law enforcement or state agencies. You can call 1 (800) 604-5841 to chat with a peer.