LGBTQ Equality Laws & Policies Update: June 2023
2023 has seen a record number of political attacks and continued threats against LGBTQ people, especially transgender people. This update covers LGBTQ equality laws enacted from May 5 - June 13, 2023. Given the high number of LGBTQ-related bills introduced and signed into law, this is a longer update than usual. Our maps for each policy area are updated in real-time as new laws are enacted. Full details for this update are available here.
The contents of this month's update include the following:
- Four new LGBTQ Equality Maps
- State Policy Updates
- MAP's Bill Tracker with a count of the overall anti-LGBTQ bills introduced so far this year, and the count by several categories of bills.
New LGBTQ Equality Maps
We recently launched four new Equality Maps:
- Bathroom Bans
- Defining "Sex" To Allow Discrimination
- Transgender Healthcare "Shield" or "Refuge" Laws
- Restrictions on Drag Performances
State Policy Updates
See below for details on more than 10 types of laws impacting LGBTQ people that have been enacted between May 5 - June 13.
Bans on medical care for transgender youth
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here, including a chronology and details on effective dates, exceptions, lawsuits, and more.
Nearly 1 in 3 transgender youth now live in a state with a law that bans medically necessary care. Twenty states have enacted laws that ban this care.
New laws enacted:
- May 1: Oklahoma (effective immediately, but currently not being enforced)
- A lawsuit has already been filed, and the state's attorney general has agreed not to enforce the ban during the lawsuit.
- May 17: Florida (effective immediately, but already temporarily enjoined)
- This law significantly expands the existing administrative ban, including felony penalties and provisions that create significant obstacles to gender-affirming care for transgender adults in the state.
- May 22: Nebraska (takes effect October 1, 2023).
- This ban, which applies up to age 19, also bans abortion. It is the first ban that explicitly targets abortion and gender-affirming care. A lawsuit has already been filed.
- June 2: Texas (takes effect September 1, 2023)
- June 7: Missouri (takes effect August 28, 2023)
- This follows the state's attorney general May 16 action terminating his earlier "emergency rule" that would have applied to effectively all transgender people in the state, regardless of age.
- This law also prohibits the state's Medicaid program from covering gender-affirming care for anyone regardless of age and prohibits the state from covering gender-affirming surgery for incarcerated people regardless of age.
Blocking or fighting bans on medical care for transgender people
At least half of the 20 states with bans on medical care for transgender youth have an active lawsuit already filed. Lawsuits are expected but not yet filed in the remaining states with bans.
- New lawsuits were filed in Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, and the existing lawsuit in Florida was expanded to include the state's new legislative ban.
- May 16: The Missouri attorney general terminated his "emergency rule" that would have effectively banned gender-affirming care for all transgender people, regardless of age. A new legislative ban was later enacted for transgender minors (and for transgender adults on Medicaid or who are incarcerated), but this law will sunset in four years.
- May 18: Oklahoma's attorney general signed a binding agreement that he will not enforce the state's trans youth healthcare ban during the ongoing lawsuit
- June 6: Florida's youth healthcare ban was temporarily blocked/enjoined, and new filings are expected very soon to seek a block on the adult provisions as well.
LGBTQ school censorship laws: 10 states
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
More than 1 in 4 LGBTQ youth (26%) now live in the 10 states with a "Don't Say LGBTQ" style school censorship law.
New laws enacted:
- May 4: Indiana (applies to grades preK-3)
- May 18: Florida (expanded previous law to apply to preK-8)
- May 26: Iowa (applies to grade K-6)
Forced outing of transgender students in schools
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
New laws enacted:
- May 4: Indiana
- May 8: North Dakota
- May 26: Iowa
Bans on transgender youth playing school sports: 22 states
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here, including a chronology, a breakdown of grade applicability, and further analyses.
Nearly 1 in 3 transgender youth (31%) live in a state that bans participation in school sports consistent with their gender identity. So far, 22 states have this kind of ban.
New laws enacted:
- May 30: Alabama (expanded its existing K-12 ban to college sports)
- June 7: Missouri (applies to both K-12 and college; the ban will expire in four years)
Bans on transgender people's use of bathrooms and facilities
See our new Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
New laws enacted:
- May 8: North Dakota
- The first ban, enacted in April, applies to bathrooms/facilities in public college dorms and prisons.
- The second ban, enacted in May, applies to K-12 settings.
- May 17: Florida
- This ban is so wide-reaching that a new category on our Equality Map was created to reflect its scope and escalation.
- The law applies to K-12, higher education, and all publicly-owned or leased facilities, which includes government buildings, public parks, sports stadiums, airports, and much more.
- The law also carries criminal penalties, punishable by potential imprisonment.
Religious exemptions for medical providers: 9 states
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
Nine states have these laws, meaning that 1 in 5 LGBTQ people (20%) live in states that allow medical providers to refuse to provide medical care if they claim religious objections to doing so.
New laws enacted:
Targeting or restricting drag performances
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
- May 17: Florida (targets drag performances, but does not explicitly ban or restrict it)
- May 22: Montana (explicitly restricts drag performances)
Banning gender marker changes on birth certificates
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
Five states now ban gender or sex marker changes on a birth certificate. An additional 12 states impose invasive and burdensome requirements to do so.
- May 8: North Dakota banned any changes to the sex marker on birth certificate. This comes shortly after April's ban on the use of "X" markers on birth certificates.
- May 15: The Indiana Supreme Court declined to hear two cases, and as a result, state courts now cannot issue new birth certificates unless explicitly authorized to do so by the legislature.
Defining "sex" to allow discrimination: 4 states
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
Four states now explicitly define "sex" throughout all state law to exclude transgender and nonbinary people and effectively allow discrimination against them.
New laws enacted:
- May 8: North Dakota
Allowing the harmful practice of conversion "therapy"
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
New law enacted:
- May 1: Indiana enacted a first-of-its-kind law prohibiting any local-level bans on conversion "therapy."
Blocking or fighting other anti-LGBTQ laws
- Tennessee's first-of-its-kind law restricting drag was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge, though the state may appeal the decision.
- A new lawsuit was filed against Indiana's "Don't Say LGBTQ" law.
- Arizona's governor has vetoed a record 111 bills and counting, including an anti-transgender bathroom ban, a bill targeting transgender students' pronouns, and more.
Enacting new, pro-LGBTQ laws
- Both Minnesota and Maryland repealed their sodomy laws, though Maryland's governor is allowing the bill to become law without his signature.
- Maryland enacted a new law creating domestic partnerships for all couples (not only same-sex couples).
- Both Vermont and Maryland enacted a new transgender healthcare shield law in the state. Now 11 states and the District of Columbia have either an executive order or legislation protecting access to gender-affirming care in their state. (New York state has also passed a similar bill, now on its way to the governor.)
MAP's LGBTQ Equality Bill Tracker
To continue highlighting trends across the country, included below are our current bill tracking counts for LGBTQ-related bills in state legislatures.
Note that these counts may differ from other organizations or public counts for a variety of reasons, and this work is greatly facilitated by the leadership and work of other organizations including the Equality Federation and their member state groups.
As of June 12, 2023, the count of anti-LGBTQ bills so far in 2023 is:
- At least 735 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced across at least 47 states.
- At least 150 anti-transgender medical care bans or related bills have been introduced across at least 37 states.
- At least 75 anti-transgender sports bans or related bills have been introduced across at least 31 states.
- At least 55 anti-drag bills have been introduced across at least 20 states.
To schedule an interview with a MAP researcher or for questions please contact Rebecca Farmer at rebecca@mapresearch.org.
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.mapresearch.org
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Founded in 2006, the Movement Advancement Project is an independent think tank that provides rigorous research, insight and analysis that help speed equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. MAP’s work is focused on three primary areas:
