Anti-LGBTQ Legislation Is Surging: How Can We Combat It?

Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill has passed the state Senate and will almost certainly be signed into law. Bills are moving forward in Idaho and Alabama that would make providing gender-affirming care to minors a felony. And these are only three of a growing number of states that have passed or are trying to pass such repressive laws. How can we address this onslaught against LGBTQ children and youth?

First, a recap of where things are:

Anti-Transgender Legislation

• Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) recently called gender-affirming care for minors “child abuse” and said that doctors, nurses, teachers, and members of the public have a legal obligation to report when they see instances of any gender-affirming care, including surgeries, hormone treatment, and puberty blockers, and that there are criminal penalties for failure to do so. The investigations of families with trans children have already begun.
• Idaho and Alabama‘s legislatures have advanced bills making gender-affirming care a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison in Alabama, and up to life in prison in Idaho. Alabama’s bill would require school officials to disclose to parents if a child feels their gender and sex do not align.
• Arkansas already bans gender-affirming care for minors and allows private insurers to refuse to cover gender-affirming care for trans people of any age, although a federal judge has temporarily blocked this law from going into effect.
• Tennessee also bans gender-affirming care for prepubescent minors, but that’s not anything that even transgender advocates want; the law was passed out of pure fear and spite.
• In total, over 100 bills attacking transgender people have been introduced in state legislatures since 2020, many targeting trans athletes, particularly trans girls, according to the ACLU. Eleven states currently ban trans students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity, per the Movement Advancement Project.

All this, although every major medical association in the U.S.—including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, among others—supports gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers, for youth meeting specific diagnostic criteria—i.e., not on a whim. Trans youth in general have high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide from the stress of discrimination and stigmatization; puberty blockers can reduce suicidality,  improve psychological functioning, and mitigate mental health disparities, according to studies from respected, peer-reviewed medical journals.

Educational Gag Orders and Book Bans

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has indicated he will sign the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which bans classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity. Fourteen bills in eight other states would also silence speech about LGBTQ identities, per PEN America. Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas already have similar laws.
• More than 100 bills in 35 states also aim to halt discussions of race, racism, and gender in K-12 schools, public universities, and workplaces, according to PEN America.
• There is a rising number of efforts across the U.S. to ban or restrict children’s and young adult books with characters who are LGBTQ or people of color or that deal with topics like gender, sexuality, race, and racial justice. The American Library Association tweeted in December that “We’ve seen a three-fold increase in the number of daily book challenges being reported to ALA compared to the same period last year.” Some of these efforts involve criminal penalties for librarians.

All of the bills above are not isolated events. As HRC explains, they are “the result of a concerted effort by right-wing organizations that have been battling against LGBTQ+ progress for years.” Such efforts are difficult to read about every day, much less fight back against. (Add to this the many actions taken recently against reproductive rights, too.) It can feel overwhelming and dispiriting. Yet fight we must.

What to Do?

• Stay informed. Knowing that these anti-LGBTQ efforts are underway and learning their details is the first step to addressing them. Here are a few good resources:
  • Step Up, from the nonprofit Trans Formations Project, compiles information about anti-trans bills around the country, along with contact information for relevant elected officials.
  • Equality Federation has a State Legislation Tracker for all LGBTQ-related bills, good and bad, and posts weekly legislative updates at their blog.
  • Freedom for All Americans tracks Anti-Transgender Legislation, Medical Care Bans, Youth Sports Bans, Anti-LGBTQ School Policy Bills, and (happily) bills for LGBTQ-Inclusive Nondiscrimination Protections.
  • Transathlete tracks bills targeting trans student athletes (with links to contact elected officials in relevant states).
  • PEN America is a good first stop regarding educational gag orders, which they track in their index, updated monthly.
  • The Book Ban Busters map tracks book bans and attempted bans around the U.S.; the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) map also tracks these, as well as censorship of student art, journalism, and other types of student expression in schools.
• Stay active. Taking action makes me feel less helpless. If you’re the same, consider one or more of these:
  • Write to or call your state legislators about bills that concern you.
  • Follow any of the major LGBTQ organizations (and the ACLU, which works on LGBTQ issues among others) on social media for regular ways you can help support LGBTQ equality and fight anti-LGBTQ legislation. Stay in touch with your state and local organizations, too. For the states above, some key organizations are:
    • ACLU of Alabama
    • Equality Florida
    • ACLU of Florida
    • ACLU of Idaho
    • The Tennessee Equality Project
    • ACLU of Tennessee
    • Equality Texas
    • ACLU of Texas
    • Campaign for Southern Equality
  • Looking to help trans children/youth specifically? A few resources:
    • The National Center for Transgender Equality is a key resource for trans-related policies and actions.
    • Resources for Transgender Youth in Texas is exactly that.
    • The Transgender Education Network of Texas is a key organization on the ground in the Lone Star State.
    • PFLAG offers Resources for TX Trans + Nonbinary Youth.
  • Don’t forget that the federal Equality Act, if passed, would ensure basic freedoms and protections for LGBTQ people in every state, including in health care, housing, employment, child services, and public accommodations. Contact your members of Congress today and ask for their support of this bill.
  • Volunteer at your local LGBTQ community center (if there is one) or with LGBTQ youth groups.
  • Want ideas for more LGBTQ organizations to follow or be involved with? Try these.
  • The American Library Association’s Fight Censorship page has great information for fighting censorship near you, with state-specific information for many states.
  • The NCAC Resources for students, parents, teachers, librarians, and others is also very useful.
  • Don’t forget, though, that some of the most impactful work we can do is with the people we know. Reach out to others in your community who may be impacted by these bills and ask what they most need at this time. Maybe it’s just watching their kids for an evening while the parents go out to decompress; maybe it’s showing up at the state house with them.
  • Don’t feel you have to do everything. Your own health and well-being and that of your children come first. If they don’t, the forces that oppose us are already winning. But try to do something.
• Take breaks.
  • Most of us have doomscrolled at some point. Many of us have spent long hours working against anti-LGBTQ legislation. Part of fighting well, however, means knowing when to rest and recharge. Give yourself time for that, and time to remember the joys of being LGBTQ, not just the challenges. You’ll come back stronger.
• Take heart. People are fighting back against these bills. Just a few examples:
  • The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has issued guidance stating that it is illegal to deny minors gender affirming care when “medically appropriate and necessary,” and directing the HHS Office for Civil Rights to investigate violations of the applicable laws.
  • The ACLU has successfully obtained a temporary block on the anti-trans law in Arkansas.
  • In Texas, the Travis County District Court last week granted a temporary restraining order to stop the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services from investigating one family with a transgender child, the plaintiffs of a lawsuit brought by Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Texas, and the ACLU. The order only applies to this family, however, but is a first step.
  • Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown have issued a joint proclamation declaring Austin a “safe and inclusive city” for families with transgender children.
  • Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) has said he will veto the transgender sports ban passed by the legislature.
  • Students are pushing back on book bans, even in Texas. Many others are doing so as well.
  • The Texas Library Association has launched a grassroots coalition, Texans for the Right to Read, to oppose book bans.
• Find community. None of us are facing all this alone. The more we can work together, across parts of the LGBTQ community, across allied communities, and around the country, the more we can leverage our shared knowledge and coordinate our actions. For families in particular who are seeking community for support and camaraderie, a few resources are:
  • Families for Transgender Equality (from the National Center for Transgender Equality)
  • Trans Families
  • The Trans Family Network
  • Gender Spectrum, which offers online groups for pre-teens, teens, parents, and other caregivers
  • PFLAG and its chapters around the country
  • Family Equality’s virtual meetups for LGBTQ parents

These resources are by no means comprehensive, but they are a start. Things may feel overwhelming right now, but I’ve seen what the LGBTQ community and our allies can do when we work together, and I still have hope. To all the LGBTQ children and youth, particularly the trans ones who are most under attack, please know that you are worthy, your identities are valid, and you are loved. We’re fighting for you.