LGBTQ Policy Updates: September 2023

MAP's Equality Maps provide a detailed snapshot of the current state of LGBTQ laws and policies in the United States. In this regularly changing landscape, these are the state and local policy updates from August 3 to September 5.

For a full look at changes in LGBTQ policy during the first half of the year, see MAP's brief, Assessing the Damage: Reviewing How State LGBTQ Policies Changes in 2023.

State Policy Updates

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.

More than 1 in 3 transgender youth (35%) now live in states with bans or restrictions on best practice medical care. At the beginning of 2023, only 4% of youth lived in such states.

August 16: In North Carolina, the legislature overrode the governor's veto, making North Carolina the 22nd state to ban or severely restrict transgender youth's medical care, and the 19th state to do so in 2023 alone.

North Carolina's ban also bans the state's Medicaid program from covering medically necessary care for transgender youth.

September 5: In Georgia the full ban on medically necessary care for transgender youth has now gone into effect. A judge paused their own temporary block on the ban following an Eleventh Circuit ruling. A lawsuit is ongoing.
August 22: In Alabama, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the temporary block on the state's ban on necessary medication that has been in place since last year.

However, LGBTQ advocates in the case are asking the Eleventh Circuit to review that decision, a process that means the temporary block will stay in place for at least a couple more months?-?in other words, transgender youth should still be able to access medically necessary medication for the time being.

August 25: In Texas, a court temporarily blocked the state's ban, but the state is appealing the decision. This appeal automatically pauses the court's block.

This means the Texas ban went into effect as planned on September 1, though the court case continues.

August 25: In Missouri, a court denied the request for a temporary block of the state's ban. This allowed the ban to go into effect on August 28.

This was the first trial court decision that did not rule in favor of transgender youth and their families, though the court case continues.

Bans on transgender kids playing school sports

See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here, including a chronology of laws and vetoes, a breakdown of grade applicability, and further analyses.

More than 1 in 3 transgender youth live in states with these sports participation bans on the books.

August 16: In North Carolina, the legislature overrode the governor's veto, making North Carolina the 23rd state to ban transgender youth from playing school sports according to their gender identity.
August 17: In Idaho, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's block on the state's ban. In 2020, Idaho became the first state to enact such a ban.