LGBTQ

North Carolina’s GOP controlled state legislature overrides vetoes to pass anti-trans laws

On Wednesday, Republican supermajorities in the North Carolina House and Senate overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto on three anti-trans bills, stripping transgender youth of their rights to access gender-affirming healthcare, to play sports, and to learn about gender identity and sexual orientation in schools.      House Bill 808- “Gender Transition Procedures on Minors” The first […]

Courts LGBT Rights LGBTQ

Human Rights Campaign Sues Tennessee over Anti-Transgender “Bathroom Bill”

The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ civil rights organization, filed a lawsuit Tuesday to challenge Tennessee’s latest anti-transgender law. The “bathroom bill” prevents trans students from using the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity. The law was signed in May by Tennessee governor Bill Lee and went into effect July 1. It requires that […]

Courts Health LGBTQ Sports

Anti-Trans Laws in Arkansas and West Virginia Blocked by Federal Judges

On Wednesday, federal judges blocked two anti-trans state laws from going into effect. The first, an Arkansas law, would prohibit physicians from providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth. The second, a West Virginia law, banned transgender girls and women from playing in women’s public-school sports. The Arkansas law would ban doctors from offering necessary gender-confirming […]

Activism Courts LGBTQ

Supreme Court Dismisses Transgender Rights Case, Maintains Victory for Student Gavin Grimm

On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to hear a case over transgender students’ right to use school bathrooms, leaving intact a lower court decision that allows transgender students to use the restrooms that match their gender identity. While this does not mean that the Supreme Court agrees with the lower court’s decision, it does maintain […]

Global LGBTQ Sports

Laurel Hubbard to Become the First Openly Transgender Olympian

Laurel Hubbard, a New Zealand weightlifter, will become the first ever openly transgender individual to compete at the Olympics. She has been selected as a member of the New Zealand women’s weightlifting team for this summer’s Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games.  Hubbard will compete in the 87-kilogram women’s category. She suffered a potentially career-ending arm injury […]

LGBTQ

Tennessee Passes Bill Targeting Transgender People

On Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law a bill to require government facilities and businesses to post signage letting the public know if they allow transgender people to use bathrooms associated with their gender identity. The law is the first of its kind, and will go into effect on July 1. A few […]

Health LGBTQ

Texas Legislature Debates Anti-Trans Youth Bill

On Wednesday, the Texas House heard testimony debating HB 1399, a bill which would ban gender-affirming care for transgender young people. The bill would prohibit doctors from providing evidence-based, best practice medical care for transgender young people under 18. Many parents of transgender children spoke on Wednesday about the danger of this bill. One parent […]

LGBT Rights LGBTQ

Arkansas Legislature Overrides Veto on Trans Youth Health Care Bill

Yesterday, the Arkansas General Assembly voted to override Governor Asa Hutchinson’s veto on the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, a bill that will prohibit transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming health care such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, among other services. The bill is the first of its kind in the nation and has […]

Education Health LGBT Rights LGBTQ Sports

Kansas Senate Passes Bill Targeting Trans Student-Athletes

On Wednesday, the Kansas Senate passed a bill banning transgender students from girls’ and women’s school sports. The measure passed 24-10, sending it to Kansas’ conservative House.  Governor Laura Kelly referred to the bill as “regressive,” and said that the controversial policy could repel businesses from the state, which supporters dismissed. One legislator, Representative Stephanie […]

Education LGBTQ

Lawmakers Denounce Title IX Decision on Transgender Athletes

28 lawmakers, including six of the seven members of Connecticut’s delegation, signed a joint letter condemning the U.S. Department of Education’s May 15 decision regarding transgender athletes. The lawmakers request that the Department of Education (DOE) reconsider its decision, as well as other rulings that “roll back” the rights of transgender students. They have tasked […]

Courts Health LGBTQ

SCOTUS Ruling Could Upend Trump Administration’s Attacks on the Trans Community

Monday’s Supreme Court ruling to protect LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination in the workplace could derail the Trump administration’s latest restrictions on transgender rights in healthcare. In the Trump administration’s most recent attack on the LGBTQ+ community, the anti-discrimination policies that protect transgender people in healthcare settings have been reversed. Under the Affordable Care Act, healthcare […]

LGBTQ Violence Against Women

Tens of Thousands Show Up for Black Trans Lives in Marches Across U.S.

Tens of thousands of people across the United States rallied to demand justice for Black transgender women on Sunday. The demonstrations hoped to call attention to the fact that trans people of color are disproportionately the victims of violent crime. Approximately 15,000 people gathered for a “Brooklyn Liberation” rally outside the Brooklyn Museum in New […]

Health LGBTQ

Trump Administration Removes Healthcare Protections for Transgender People

On Friday, June 12, the Trump administration rolled back rules that protected transgender people from being discriminated against in healthcare. The regulation was initially implemented by the Obama Administration as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA prevents healthcare institutions that receive federal funding from discriminating on the basis of sex. Under the […]

Courts LGBTQ

Transgender Minors in NY Now Allowed to Change Their Gender Marker

Transgender individuals born in New York can now change their gender marker on their birth certificate before their 18th birthday thanks to a lawsuit by a 14-year-old trans boy, known only as M.H.W.   “Effective immediately, transgender individuals born in New York will have the right to make this deeply personal decision without the government’s […]