This past spring, I decided to do a project on anti-LGBTQ+ bills that were popping up at a hefty and alarming rate. In 2022, we had a record-breaking year, and same as the year before, but nothing like we saw this year. I wanted to revisit this topic to get an overview of where we are at this far into the year as we have two months left in the year. Where I last left off we were roughly 467 bills introduced with 45 bills enacted into law four months into the year. According to the Human Rights Campaign and the American Civil Liberties Union, we are now sitting at around 501-525 bills total being introduced and about 77-84 bills passed into law meaning that about 40-60 bills have been introduced in the last 6 months and about 40 more bills have been enacted. Now let’s reference past years and the amount of bills they enacted:
- 2015: fifteen enacted bills
- 2018: two enacted bills
- 2019: seven enacted bills
- 2020: four enacted bills
- 2021: seventeen enacted bills
- 2022: twenty-nine enacted bills
The topics of these bills have also increased over the years and of the bills that have been enacted there are fifteen that target gender-affirming care for trans youth, seven bills that require or allow misgendering of trans students, two bills targeting drag performances, three bills that created a license to discriminate, and four bills that censor school curriculum just to name a few. The Human Rights Campaign has identified over 220 bills that specifically target transgender and non-binary individuals which is just under about half of the bills that were introduced.
In reference to the beginning of the year to now, we have seen a slower rate of introduction but the rate of enactment is still scarily high. In four months there were 45 enacted bills and in the six months since then, there have been about 40 more bills added. With the year coming to a close, this has been one of the worst years in recent history for LGBTQ+ rights. This came after some of the worst years in reference to trans losing trans lives from transgender violence as last year (2022) we lost at least 40 individuals and the year before that (2021) we lost at least 46 individuals. I hate to bring up such a grim topic but these are issues that trans individuals and other LGBTQ+ individuals are facing and it is not a topic that I can ignore. This post does not discuss the impact these bills have had on LGBTQ+ youth and adults but the rates for depression, anxiety, and suicidality within this population are already high enough. The impact this is having on the community is ongoing and it is hard to watch but I have hope as this is not an unfamiliar battle within the community. The resources that were built by the people who came before us still are with us today and we are not at square one, as we have always been here and we will continue to fight against queer erasure.
2021 Becomes Deadliest Year on Record for Transgender and Non-Binary People by the Human Rights Campaign
Fatal Violence Against the Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Community in 2022 by the Human Rights Campaign
Roundup of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation Advancing In States Across the Country by the Human Rights Campaign
Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ+ Rights in the U.S. State Legislatures by the American Civil Liberties Union