WASHINGTON - April 25, 2024 - In a letter circulated today, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters ordered that school district leaders across the state refuse to comply with the U.S. Department of Education's updated Title IX rule finalized last week. The rule clarifies the scope of nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students while also empowering sexual assault survivors, a move imperative to the enhanced safety and protection of queer and transgender students.

KANSAS, STATEWIDE - April 22, 2024 - 200 medical providers and mental health professionals in Kansas have signed onto an open letter to the Kansas legislature warning against the adverse consequences of SB 233, which would ban and severely restrict minor transgender patients' access to care and would make punishable providers' ability to provide evidence-based care in line with best practices. The signatories are urging the legislature to sustain Governor Kelly's veto.

(Washington, DC, April 22, 2024) - The United States Supreme Court heard oral argument today in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, a challenge to a draconian ordinance that criminalizes people experiencing homelessness. A U.S. District Court in July, 2020, blocked enforcement of the ban, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed that ruling in September, 2022. Lambda Legal, the Juvenile Law Center, the law firm Baker McKenzie, and 223 experts on unhoused youth submitted a friend-of-the-court brief underscoring the particular harm the unconstitutional ban posed to unhoused youth, many of whom face rejection and abuse at home and face additional barriers to accessing other housing.

WASHINGTON - April 15, 2024 - The Supreme Court of the United States issued a partial stay today against a statewide preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of Idaho's ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, allowing the law to be enforced against families and medical providers other than the plaintiffs in this case while that case proceeds in the District Court.

WASHINGTON - April 17, 2024 -Today, TIME named Human Rights Campaign President, Kelley Robinson, to the 2024 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The full list and related tributes appear in the April 29, 2024 issue of TIME, available on newsstands on Friday, April 19, and now at time.com/time100. The list recognizes the impact, innovation and achievement of the world's most influential individuals. Under her leadership, the Human Rights Campaign declared a national state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans and won key legislative and electoral fights. President Kelley Robinson is a trailblazing advocate and leader in the fight for human rights-she is the first Black, queer woman to hold the position of HRC President, leading the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization in the United States.

NASHVILLE, TN - April 17, 2024 - In a truly stunning display of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and targeted misuse of government power, Tennessee lawmakers last week sent to the governor THREE new pieces of legislation targeting the rights and existence of the LGBTQ+ community and has continued working on harmful bills this week. The three bills last week follow on the heels of SB 1738, passed earlier this month and signed by Governor Bill Lee, which could place LGBTQ+ youth in the foster care system into unsupportive homes.

Topeka, KS - April 12, 2024 - Today, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly vetoed SB 233, which, if enacted, would ban crucial, medically necessary health care for transgender youth. This is the latest anti-LGBTQ bill to be rejected by the governor, who vetoed a similar bill targeting gender affirming care last year, in addition to a slew of other extremist, anti-LGBTQ+ bills.

New York, 9 April 2024 - For the first time in its 78-year history, the United Nations Security Council received a full briefing in a regular session on security issues impacting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in a conflict setting. Marcela Sanchez, a lesbian human rights defender and executive director of Colombia Diversa, a human rights organization based in Bogota that focuses on LGBTQ people's human rights, briefed the United Nations Security Council on LGBTQ persons in the Colombian peace process. Sanchez called for an end to attacks against LGBTQ persons in Colombia and demanded the full, equal, and safe participation of women and LGBTQ people in the implementation of Colombia's peace agreement.

WASHINGTON - On Sunday, April 7, the University of South Carolina's women's basketball team won the NCAA National Championship. Ahead of the championship game, South Carolina's head coach Dawn Staley made comments in support of transgender athlete inclusion in sports when she was pressed by a media member on the topic. Her remarks came ahead of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) voting Monday, April 8, to all but ban transgender women from women's competitions starting next school year.

MAP's LGBTQ Equality Maps provide a detailed snapshot of the current state of LGBTQ laws and policies in the United States. See below for the latest state policy updates and bill tracking as of April 5, 2024. In this month's edition, state-level policy changes are sorted by updates that are positive and include protections for LGBTQ people, or negative and limit access to education, medical care, IDs, services, and more.

April 18, 2024 - In response to an op-ed published today by Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, who seeks to divert blame for the death of nonbinary Oklahoma teen Nex Benedict following a bullying incident that took place at school, Kelley Robinson, Human Rights Campaign President, released the following statement: "It is ludicrous and offensive to see Ryan Walters painting himself as an opponent of bullying and defender of children while in the same breath, he misgenders and insults Nex Benedict - the young Oklahoma teen who died following a school bullying incident on his watch, in the state school system that he leads. This is further evidence that he doesn't have the vaguest idea of how to actually run a state school system and is interested in nothing but raising his own profile, insulting a teen who died in tragic circumstances, fanning the flames of hatred, and attacking the entirety of Oklahoma's LGBTQ+ community. Ryan Walters, you should be ashamed of yourself. Resign now."

HELENA, Mont. - April 18, 2024 - Today two transgender women filed a class-action lawsuit against the State of Montana and various state agencies challenging a 2022 policy that categorically bars transgender people from correcting the sex designation on their birth certificates. The lawsuit also challenges a policy that makes it impossible for transgender Montanans to update the sex listed on their driver's licenses.

Washington, DC - April 19, 2024 - Today, the U.S. Department of Education finalized a range of critical updates to its regulations interpreting and enforcing Title IX, restoring and reinforcing vital civil rights protections for all students to access school spaces and programs free from sex discrimination.

Harrisburg, PA - April 11, 2024 - The State Boards of Psychology and Osteopathic Medicine voted this week to adopt new Statement of Policies (SOP) that oppose the use of conversion therapy on minors in Pennsylvania. The new policies notify licensees that the Board considers the use of conversion therapy to be unprofessional, harmful conduct that may subject any licensee engaging in it to administrative discipline.

April 15, 2024 - Today, the Kentucky General Assembly adjourned without advancing any anti-LGBTQ laws. Advocates successfully defeated ten bills aimed at restricting the health, rights, and well-being of LGBTQ Kentuckians.

WASHINGTON - April 15, 2024 - The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, today released powerful video testimony from Marley H., an Owasso High School grad and Oklahoman speaking to the culture of harassment and bullying she witnessed firsthand during her time in the Owasso school district, how it impacted her and her fellow students, and what she sees as the way forward for the district and state. The video's release comes as we mark two months since the death of Nex Benedict, a 16 year-old Owasso nonbinary student of Choctaw heritage who died after being assaulted in their school bathroom and bullied and harassed for over a year.

COLUMBUS, OHIO - April 16, 2024 - Today, the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth from taking immediate effect. The plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio, and the global law firm Goodwin Procter, successfully argued that the plaintiffs are likely to win their claim that House Bill 68 violates the Ohio Constitution because it covers more than one single subject.

The Pennsylvania Equality Project is conducting year 2 of a five-year study on housing affordability and sustainability. The survey runs from April 1 until May 31. It is open to all LGBTQ+ people who reside year-round in Pennsylvania or are students attending a post-secondary school in PA and reside either on or off campus. All personal identifying information shared on the survey will remain confidential. Results from the survey will be available in mid-July and shared through our website at https://paequality.com/survey/. The housing survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals today voted to block a West Virginia law banning transgender student-athletes from playing on teams consistent with their gender identity, finding the law violates the rights of transgender students under Title IX.

(Baltimore, MD - April 8, 2024) - Lambda Legal and co-counsel Winston & Strawn LLP, Perkowski Legal, PC, and Scott Schoettes today announced they have reached a settlement with the Department of Defense (DoD) in a lawsuit filed in 2018 on behalf of a former Navy midshipman, Kevin Deese, and a former Air Force cadet, John Doe (a pseudonym), who were denied commissions after graduating from their respective service academies because they are living with HIV. The settlement provides for Deese and Doe to be commissioned as officers in recognition of the status and military careers they qualified for and earned years ago.

Washington, DC - April 8, 2024 - Today, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced its decision to categorically ban transgender women from women's sports.

Geneva, 4 April 2024 - The United Nations made a historic move to protect the human rights of intersex persons, 35 civil society organisations said today, as the Human Rights Council adopted its first-ever resolution specifically addressing discrimination, violence, and harmful practices against persons with innate variations in sex characteristics. A majority of States voted in favour of the resolution, with no States voting against it.

New York, USA- 03 April 2024 - Outright International strongly condemns the decision by Uganda's Constitutional Court to invalidate only a few provisions of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023, while leaving the rest intact. The Court categorically declined to nullify the Act in its entirety or issue a permanent injunction. This decision falls short of the necessary action to protect the rights and lives of LGBTQ individuals in Uganda.

Oklahoma City - Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters must be relieved the calendar has turned to April, because his last week of March was filled with continued backlash and criticism from Oklahomans, canceled events, and more staff upheaval at the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE). It's clear that no matter how much Walters tries to hide himself from criticism, Oklahomans refuse to let him off the hook.

WASHINGTON - April 3, 2024 - Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, released a report in partnership with Community Marketing & Insights featuring data collected from 1,899 LGBTQ+ adults (age 18 and older) in the United States. The report, which comes at the start of Financial Literacy Month, fielded survey responses about financial wellness within the LGBTQ+ community and highlights the unique economic challenges that many in the community often face.