The State of Anti-LGBTQIA+ Legislation in 2023

Though we’re not even halfway through 2023, already 57 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills have been passed in the U.S. so far this year. They range from bills banning gender-affirming healthcare for minors to bills giving businesses the right to turn people away because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

We’ve collected and explained them all here, from the bills passed in Arkansas to the new legislation in Wyoming.

Arkansas

Arkansas passed Senate Bill 43 into law on February 27. The bill restricts “adult-oriented performances," barring them from taking place on public property, being wholly or partly publicly funded, or admitting minors. Drag performances and other LGBTQIA+ events could be affected by definition.

On March 14, Arkansas passed Senate Bill 294 into law. This bill focuses on education, prohibiting teachers below the fifth grade from teaching subjects around sexual orientation and gender identity. 

Two days later, on March 16, Arkansas passed Senate Bill 199 into law. The bill gives people who received gender-affirming care as minors, including hormones and puberty blockers, the chance to sue their physician for 15 years. This legislation might make it more difficult for transgender minors to find gender-affirming care, as healthcare professionals might be reluctant to offer it.

On March 21, Arkansas enacted House Bill 1156. This bill concerns school bathroom use, affecting multiple-occupancy bathrooms, locker rooms, and students’ rooms on overnight trips, restricting students to the bathrooms matching the gender they were assigned at birth. However, it also requires schools to provide “reasonable accommodation” for students unwilling to use a bathroom corresponding to the gender they were assigned at birth, like a single-occupancy gender-neutral bathroom.

Arkansas passed Senate Bill 125 into law on April 11. The bill means that colleges cannot mandate the use of specific words or language, including pronouns. 

The same day, the state signed Senate Bill 270 into law. Sometimes referred to as the “bathroom bill,” the legislation prohibits transgender people from using the public bathroom corresponding to their gender identity in some cases. It makes it a crime for a man or transgender woman to enter a public bathroom if they know a female child is present, and vice-versa. Included in the bill are public restrooms, locker rooms, and shower rooms. 

Also on April 11, Arkansas signed House Bill 1468 into law. The bill means that written parental permission is required before a public school employee can address students by their chosen pronouns or name.

The following day, Arkansas passed House Bill 1615 into law. The bill allows taxpayer-funded adoption and foster care agencies to reject prospective parents – including based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Florida

On May 15, Florida—which has passed a number of anti-LGBTQIA+ laws in recent years—signed Senate Bill 266 into law. The bill prevents colleges and universities from spending state or federal money on programs or activities that advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion or “promote or engage in political or social activism,” defined by the State Board of Education or the Board of Governors of the university system. 

Two days later, on May 17, three more bills were passed into law. House Bill 1069 restricts what can be taught in sex education at schools, teaching that sex is binary and unchangeable and determined by reproductive function at birth. Only materials approved by the State Department of Education can be used. The bill also allows anyone to object to reading material in schools that depicts or describes sex.

Senate Bill 254 criminalizes doctors for providing gender-affirming care to minors and puts parents who support gender-affirming care for their transgender child at a disadvantage in child custody disputes when a couple is going through a divorce. 

House Bill 1521 requires people to use the bathrooms consistent with the sex they were assigned at birth. 

Georgia

On March 23, Georgia passed Senate Bill 140 into law. The bill prohibits gender-affirming medical care for minors in the state. 

Idaho

Idaho signed Senate Bill 1100 into law on March 23. The bill requires schools to keep separate bathrooms and changing areas based on biological sex, meaning that transgender students would not be able to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity.

On March 27, Idaho signed Senate Bill 1016 into law. The bill makes public works contractors exempt from requirements to provide access to non-gendered bathroom and locker room facilities, meaning that people will need to use the facilities corresponding to their sex as assigned at birth. 

On April 4, Idaho signed House Bill 71 into law. The legislation prohibits gender-affirming medical care for minors, and makes it a felony for parents or healthcare professionals to provide it. 

Indiana

Indiana signed Senate Bill 480 into law on April 5. The bill prohibits providing gender-affirming care to minors.

On April 20, Indiana passed House Bill 1569 into law. This bill requires that the Department of Corrections denies necessary medical care to incarcerated transgender people. 

On May 4, the state passed House Bill 1608 into law. The bill prohibits discussion of “human sexuality” in schools up to the third grade, but the wording is vague and could prohibit any discussion of LGBTQIA+ people. The bill also forces educators to ‘out’ students who ask for different pronouns or a different name by sending a note home to their parents. 

Iowa

On March 22, Iowa signed Senate File 482 into law. This bill prohibits transgender students from using school bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. 

The same day, the state also passed Senate File 538 into law. This bill bans age-appropriate, medically necessary gender-affirming healthcare for minors in Iowa.

Kansas

Kansas passed House Bill 2238 into law on April 5, with the governor’s veto being overridden. The bill requires that female student athletic teams across schools and colleges only include those assigned female at birth. 

On April 27, the state passed Senate Bill 180 into law, with the Senate and House overriding the governor’s veto. The bill bans anybody from identifying as any gender other than the one they were assigned at birth. 

The same day, Senate Bill 228 was passed into law by the state, again after a veto was overridden. The bill reimburses counties for the cost of housing people awaiting evaluation, examination, or treatment for competency. However, senators amended the original bill to state that men and women should be kept in separate rooms, defining females as those born with the ability to produce eggs for reproduction and males as those born with the ability to fertilize eggs.

Kentucky

On March 24, Kentucky signed Senate Bill 145 into law. The bill requires sports teams in schools to allow students to play only on teams that correspond to their sex assigned at birth.

The state then passed Senate Bill 150 into law on March 29, with the governor’s veto overridden. The bill prohibits gender-affirming medical care for minors, requires school students to use the bathroom corresponding to their sex as assigned at birth, and means that school staff members would not have to use a student’s requested pronouns. 

Mississippi

Mississippi signed House Bill 1125 into law on February 28. The bill bans gender-affirming care and surgery for minors in the state. 

On March 27, Mississippi passed House Bill 1733. This bill gives businesses the opportunity to deduct the cost of equipment in the year it’s put into service. 

Montana

On April 28, Montana passed Senate Bill 99 into law. The bill prohibits gender-affirming care for transgender minors, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries.

On May 3, the state passed House Bill 303 into law. The act permits healthcare providers to withhold their services based on their ethical, moral, or religious beliefs. As a result, they could refuse to treat or help LGBTQIA+ patients. 

North Dakota

On April 6, North Dakota signed House Bill 1111 into law. The bill means that the state doesn’t have to enforce any health-related regulations put in place by an international health organization unless it’s also put in place through legislation or a signed executive order

Then, on April 10, the state also signed House Bill 1139 into law. The bill defines sex as “the biological state of being female or male, based on the individual's nonambiguous sex organs, chromosomes, and endogenous hormone profiles at birth” for the purposes of birth certificates. 

The following day, April 11, North Dakota signed House Bill 1249 into law. The bill bans school students, down to kindergarten level, from playing sports as per their gender identity. 

The same day, the state passed House Bill 1489 into law. It’s similar to HB 1249, but prohibits college students from playing sports as per their gender identity. 

On April 19, North Dakota passed House Bill 1254 into law. The bill prohibits healthcare professionals from providing gender-affirming care to minors. 

On April 25, the state signed House Bill 1473 into law. This bill prohibits transgender people from using bathrooms and shower rooms corresponding to their gender identity in correctional facilities, youth correctional facilities, prisons, and university dormitories. 

The same day, North Dakota signed House Bill 1205 into law. This bill prohibits public libraries from holding books with explicit sexual material – for example, images portraying masturbation or sex. 

North Dakota signed House Bill 1522 into law on 8 May. This bill prohibits school students from using the bathroom consistent with their gender identity and means that schools cannot require that students’ chosen pronouns are respected. 

The same day, the state signed House Bill 1297 into law. It prevents transgender people from being able to change the gender marker on their birth certificate. Also, on the same day, House Bill 1474 was passed. It dictates that people should be identified as the gender they were assigned at birth when the state collects data, regardless of their gender identity.  

Oklahoma

Oklahoma signed Senate Bill 613 into law on May 1. The bill prohibits gender-affirming care for transgender minors in the state. 

The following day, the state passed Senate Bill 404. The bill gives religious organizations better access to support from the state, including those which may discriminate against LGBTQIA+ people. 

South Dakota

On February 13, South Dakota signed House Bill 1080 into law. The bill prevents healthcare professionals from prescribing puberty blockers and performing gender-affirming surgery on minors. 

Tennessee

Tennessee signed Senate Bills 1 and 3 into law on February 28. SB 1 prohibits gender-affirming care and surgery for minors in the state.

SB 3, which has also been referred to by some as the Tennessee drag ban, bans “adult cabaret performance” in public or in front of minors in the state. It’s vague in terms of what falls under “adult cabaret performance,” so drag performances may be prohibited. 

Tennessee passed Senate Bill 1237 into law on April 28. The companion bill to House Bill 306, introduced in January 2023, SB 1237 allows private schools to ban transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.

On May 17, Tennessee passed Senate Bill 466 into law. The bill means that transgender and non-binary students can be intentionally misgendered and deadnamed by other students as well as educators. 

That same day, the state signed Senate Bill 1440 into law. This bill defines “sex” in such a way that will prevent LGBTQIA+ people from being covered by nondiscrimination laws in the state. 

Utah

Utah passed Senate Bill 16 into law on January 28. The law effectively bans gender-affirming surgery and hormone therapy for minors.

On February 16, Utah then passed Senate Bill 100 into law. The bill requires schools to get parental consent if a student chooses to go by a different name or pronoun on official school records, and states that schools cannot withhold a student’s school record from their parents.

Almost a month later, on March 14, Utah signed Senate Bill 97 into law. Sometimes referred to as an “anti-boycott bill,” this bill will end government contracts with companies that boycott a range of industries and business policies – companies that support pro-LGBTQIA+ policies could be affected. 

The following day, on March 15, Utah passed Senate Bill 39 into law. The bill recodifies parts of the Utah Health Code and the Utah Human Services Code. 

Then, on March 17, Utah passed House Bill 209 into law. This bill requires students to present a birth certificate or another state-issued or federally-recognized form of identification before they can participate in sports. 

On March 23, Utah signed Senate Bill 93 into law. The bill prohibits name or gender changes on a minor’s birth certificate, so through both pieces of legislation combined, young transgender athletes will face additional obstacles when trying to compete.

West Virginia

On March 9, West Virginia passed House Bill 3042 into law. The bill could theoretically allow anyone to be exempt from abiding by a law or policy if they believe it goes against their religious beliefs. This means that LGBTQIA+ people could be denied housing, help from a government official, or service from a business.

West Virginia signed House Bill 2007 into law on 29 March. The bill limits gender-affirming healthcare for minors.

Wyoming

Wyoming passed Senate File 133 into law on March 17. The law prohibits transgender girls from competing on female sports teams in schools, past the seventh grade. 

How This Legislation Affects LGBTQIA+ People

“LGBTQ+ populations are some of our most vulnerable to marginalization and discrimination,” says Anjali Ferguson, PhD, a culturally-responsive clinical psychologist. “These policies impact access to life-saving care that transcends all facets of someone’s life from education, to healthcare, and ability to raise children/families. Many of these suggested policies undermine LGBTQ+ existence and promote environments that are inherently unsafe.”

Amy Mezulis, PhD, co-founder and chief clinical officer of Joon, adds: “Not being able to receive gender-affirming care prolongs the distress of living a daily life that is misaligned with one’s gender identity. It is also nearly always paired with invalidation of the person’s actual gender identity by family, community, and providers.”

She continues: “Extensive research shows that gender-affirming care—which includes everything from psychoeducation, social, and family support to gender-affirming medical intervention—meaningfully improves mental health. Gender-affirming care reduces depression, anxiety, gender dysphoria, and suicidality. It also promotes well-being and positive self-esteem, which in turn predict better social and academic/professional outcomes.”

It’s a difficult time to be LGBTQIA+ in the US, particularly for those living in the above states. Indeed, research published this year shows the effects of this legislation on young people. If you’re struggling with feelings of anger, anxiety, depression, and loneliness, however, you’re not alone. Speak to a trusted loved one or reach out to a healthcare professional.