December 2021 Updates to Equality Maps

MAP's interactive LGBTQ Equality Maps provide a comprehensive look at the current state of laws and policies impacting LGBTQ people across the United States. The Equality Maps offer a state-by-state comparison of the policy landscape and gaps in protections for LGBTQ people across the country.

To keep you informed on this regularly changing landscape, here are the updates as of December 2021.

Two New Equality Maps

As a reminder, we have two new Equality Maps:

• LGBTQ-related curricular laws: LGBTQ-related school curriculum laws are important for LGBTQ students' health, wellbeing, and academic success. This map shows three different policies related to school curricula, consolidated into one map.

  Four states prohibit teachers and school staff from discussing LGBTQ people and issues: Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas.

  Three states require parental notification of LGBTQ-inclusive curricula and allow parents to opt their children out: Arkansas, Montana, and Tennessee.

  Seven states explicitly require school curricula to include information about LGBTQ people and history: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, and Oregon.

• Jury service nondiscrimination: Jury service is an important civic responsibility, with a constitutional guarantee of a jury of one's peers. Nondiscrimination protections are an important tool in ensuring that juries are representative of the broader community and to help ensure fairer and more equitable outcomes in the legal system. This map shows whether state laws prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in jury service.

  Currently 33 states and the District of Columbia lack nondiscrimination protections in jury service based on either sexual orientation or gender identity.

  Eight states currently have jury nondiscrimination protections based on both sexual orientation and gender identity: California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

  An additional eight states have laws or court rulings that prohibit jury discrimination based on sexual orientation, but not gender identity: Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, and Wisconsin.

  Finally, New Hampshire prohibits jury discrimination based on gender identity, but not sexual orientation.

LGBTQ-Inclusive Data Collection

We also updated our maps tracking LGBTQ-inclusive data collection. These maps show which states chose to include questions about sexual orientation and transgender status in their state surveys in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We've now added an icon to the youth data collection map showing which states also ask questions about gender expression.

Important Updates in the States

To access individual State Equality profiles, click on the state in each update below. You can also visit Equality Maps issue pages by clicking on the subject of each item below.

• In Iowa, a district court ruled that the state's Medicaid program must cover medically necessary care for transgender people. The ruling stated that a previous law preventing Medicaid from covering such care violated both the state's civil rights law and its constitution.
• Last month, Oklahoma issued its first nonbinary marker on a birth certificate and improved its process for changing gender markers on birth certificates. Unfortunately, the governor issued an executive order in November prohibiting not only nonbinary markers but any changes to gender markers on birth certificates.

Advances in Local Communities to Prohibit Discrimination

Local cities and communities continue to make advances in securing vital nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people.

Comprehensive nondiscrimination ordinances were passed in:

• Dublin, Ohio
• Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia

Partial nondiscrimination ordinances were passed in North Carolina:

• Durham County: employment and public accommodations only
• Mecklenburg County: employment and public accommodations only
• City of Davidson: public accommodations only

Local-level bans on conversion "therapy" were passed in:

• Independence, Missouri: the fifth ordinance in the state. Now, more than 17% of the Missouri population lives in a municipality with such a ban

ICYMI: The Democracy Maps

Access to democracy varies dramatically by state and region of the country, with more than three in five voters living in states with inadequate election laws and policies. In partnership with One for Democracy, MAP released the Democracy Maps, which track more than 40 laws and policies around the country related to voting and elections. Similar to our Equality Maps, the Democracy Maps offer a roadmap to understand how states vary in terms of election policies, and what drives those differences.

About MAP: MAP's mission is to provide independent and rigorous research, insight and communications that help speed equality and opportunity for all. MAP works to ensure that all people have a fair chance to pursue health and happiness, earn a living, take care of the ones they love, be safe in their communities, and participate in civic life. www.lgbtmap.org