2020s anti-LGBT movement in the United States

thumb|Voting rights are being gutted. Women’s rights are being dismantled, books are being banned, history is being rewritten. The Supreme Court is being corrupted… the LGBT+ community is under attack. ~ Oprah Winfrey The 2020s anti-LGBT movement in the United States is a conservative political backlash against LGBT people which has included bathroom use restrictions, bans on gender transition, “don't say gay” laws, laws against drag performances, book bans, boycotts, and conspiracy theories around grooming. thumb|Votes for the Respect for Marriage Act in the U.S. Senate in 2022Green is two yeasRed is two naysYellow is one yea and one nayLight green is one yea and one not votingLight red is one nay and one not voting thumb|State laws which ban transgender athletes from participating in the sport of their gender identity, as of June 2023 thumb|States and counties in the United States which have enacted legislation on restrooms, locker rooms, and other sex-segregated public accommodations, in regard to their access from those who are transgender, or have gender dysphoria as of March 2023 thumb|So, what have Republican legislators done? Let me count the ways. They introduced nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills. They’re also banning books, which we know. And teachers in states like Florida are barred from even talking about being gay or transgender in the classroom. ~ Joy Behar thumb|Reverse policies that allow transgender individuals to serve in the military. Gender dysphoria is incompatible with the demands of military service, and the use of public monies for transgender surgeries or to facilitate abortion for servicemembers should be ended. ~ Christopher Miller thumb|[Gender transition] is a major problem. I will be actively lobbying to criminalize making severe, irreversible changes to children below the age of consent. Shame on those who advocate this! It is utterly contemptible. ~ Elon Musk thumb|I hope the next time there's an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands. ~ Zooey Zephyr thumb|Knowing that your governor and the top officials in your state literally don't want you to exist – That's a different kind of stress. It felt very genocidal [in Texas]. ~ Jamie (pseudonym) thumb|Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to take the rare step of renaming a ship, one that bears the name of a gay rights icon, documents and sources show. [A defense department official] also said that the timing of the announcement -- occurring during Pride month -- was intentional. ~ Konstantin Toropin thumb|Student protest at Palm Harbor University High School in March 2022, in response to the Parental Rights in Education Act passed in Florida under Governor Ron DeSantis thumb|It’s amazing how strongly people feel about that. You see I’m talking about cutting taxes, people go like that. I talk about transgender, everyone goes crazy. Who would have thought? Five years ago, you didn’t know what the hell it was. ~ Donald Trump See also: LGBT rights in the United States Transphobia in the United States Homophobia __NOTOC__ B I'm looking at society today and it's like I'm watching an X-Men movie… it's like we have mutants living among us on planet Earth. Some people don’t like that, but that’s a fact. This is the planet Earth, where God created men, male and women, female. I’m a proud Christian, conservative Republican. I’m not on the fence… I'm not afraid to address the dysphoria or the dysfunction. The Lord rebuke you, Satan, and all of your demons and all of your imps will come and parade before us. That's right – I called you demons and imps who come and parade before us and pretend that you are part of this world. Florida state Rep. Webster Barnaby, quoted in Florida GOP legislator calls transgender people ‘mutants’ and ‘demons’ during hearing https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3944304-florida-gop-legislator-calls-transgender-people-mutants-and-demons-during-hearing/ April 11, 2023 The Hill So, what have Republican legislators done? Let me count the ways. They introduced nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills. They’re also banning books, which we know. And teachers in states like Florida are barred from even talking about being gay or transgender in the classroom. Joy Behar, stated in Transgender State Rep. Zooey Zephyr On How Anti-Trans Laws Can Affect Trans Youth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqB5wipYqLM June 2, 2023 The View A New York Times bestseller that chronicles the true story of a nonbinary teenager set on fire by another teen while riding a bus in Oakland, California.A collection of stories and poems by a New York Times bestselling author about the feelings and experiences of teenagers in love.An NPR “best book of the year” award winner featuring authors and illustrators sharing personal stories about their conversations with their kids about race in America today.This is a small sampling of the kinds of books that have been marked for “quarantine” in school libraries run by the Defense Department’s Education Activity, or DoDEA. For months, officials atop this agency have been quietly flagging and banning dozens of books in response to President Donald Trump’s executiveorders requiring federal agencies to eliminate programs or materials related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The effect is that tens of thousands of kids in U.S. military families living on military bases worldwide no longer have access at their school libraries to celebrated and highly recommended books that happen to talk about LGBTQ+ people and people of color. Jennifer Bendery, "The Military's K-12 Schools Are Banning Award-Winning Kids’ Books To Appease Trump", HuffPost, 10 May 2025 HuffPost obtained an internal list of 80-something books that have been banned, or are in the process of being banned, at schools across the DoDEA system, which provides K-12 education to more than 67,000 kids in 11 countries, seven states, Guam and Puerto Rico. HuffPost isn’t providing the full list at the request of the DoDEA employee who shared it; they feared they could lose their job. But the clear theme to these books is that in one way or another, they talk about gender identity, sexuality and race. Jennifer Bendery, "The Military's K-12 Schools Are Banning Award-Winning Kids’ Books To Appease Trump", HuffPost, 10 May 2025 Still, senior DoDEA officials’ focus on rooting out books that talk about transgender people stands out the most, said this DoDEA employee. “They are really trying to deny transgender people exist,” said the employee. “It makes me physically ill.” A second DoDEA employee told HuffPost it’s clear that, in their scramble to comply with Trump’s executive orders, the agency’s leadership has had “a tendency to err far on the side of caution.”DoDEA students last month sued the agency over its book bans, arguing that it is violating their First Amendment rights. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit on behalf of 12 students from six families, ranging in age from pre-K to 11th grade. All are children of active-duty U.S. service members stationed in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy or Japan. Jennifer Bendery, "The Military's K-12 Schools Are Banning Award-Winning Kids’ Books To Appease Trump", HuffPost, 10 May 2025 HuffPost previously talked to an active-duty military officer overseas with kids attending a DoDEA school. He described Trump’s anti-DEI policies as a constant source of stress and fear for people around him, including at home: His spouse is a DoDEA teacher and he has LGBTQ+ children.Trump’s attacks on LGBTQ+ kids and transgender service members “hits home in so many ways,” said the officer. “It’s dehumanizing.” Members of Congress previously wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, urging him to stop to the “Orwellian book purges” within DoDEA schools. “We write to express our grave concern about the escalating censorship taking place in schools run by the Department of Defense,” reads a March letter to Hegseth from more than two dozen lawmakers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. “You are plainly violating the constitutional rights of DoD families,” they wrote.A Defense Department spokesperson on Thursday declined comment on the lawmakers’ letter, saying only, “As with all congressional correspondence, we will respond directly to its authors.” Jennifer Bendery, "The Military's K-12 Schools Are Banning Award-Winning Kids’ Books To Appease Trump", HuffPost, 10 May 2025 What's going on in Florida is, as my mother would say, "close to sinful." Joe Biden, quoted in President Biden leads charge to protect LGBTQ rights as GOP legislates culture wars ahead of 2024 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/22/biden-white-house-condemn-anti-lgbtq-laws/11473255002/ April 22, 2023 USA Today It’s actually those bills and those demagogues that choose to advocate against us, that make us fight more. I will not give up until we have full equality for our people. Earline Budd, quoted in D.C. Pride parade: Thousands celebrate LGBTQ community, trans rights https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/06/10/dc-pride-parade-lgbtq/ June 10, 2023 Washington Post C For years, we've been hearing from anti trans pundits and politicians that this is about protecting the children. But I think what this Oklahoma law reveals is that it's never been about the children. It's always been about scapegoating trans people, stigmatizing us and criminalizing our existence, making us not exist. Laverne Cox, quoted in Laverne Cox: “Trans People Are Exhausted” by Anti-Trans Legislation https://www.them.us/story/laverne-cox-anti-trans-legislation January 20, 2023 them D In 2022, U.S. embassies in at least 98 countries acknowledged or celebrated Pride Month, The Washington Stand found. Nearly 30 U.S. embassies flew the Pride flag or the Progress Pride flag, including in the Vatican. In one incident, the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry called in the Charge d’Affaires of the American embassy in Kuwait to scold him for social media posts “in support of homosexuality” which offended “the laws and regulations in force in Kuwait.” The rainbow revelry of LGBT Pride in U.S. embassies under the Biden administration mirrored President Biden’s “whole-of-government initiative” to advance the LGBT+ agenda, as FRC experts documented in part in a white paper, “Exporting LGBT Ideology: The Biden Administration’s Foreign Policy Priority.” Even domestically, by 2024, the Biden administration observed the accelerating presidential race by attending no less than 200 Pride parades in the month of June.The second Trump administration, however, has pumped the brakes on the Biden administration’s “whole-of-government” promotion of the LGBT agenda with full-fledged skepticism. Instead, the Trump administration has prioritized blocking gender transition procedures for minors, protecting women’s sports, and restoring Title IX to its original purpose.In 2025, President Trump issued no proclamation celebrating Pride Month, and he has refrained from doing so this year as well. When asked whether the White House would be observing Pride Month this June, a spokesperson replied, “We celebrate all Americans every day.” Decision Magazine, "Only Red, White, And Blue: Trump Admin Bans Pride Flags From Embassies For The Second Consecutive June", Harbinger's Daily, 4 June 2026 And corporate America also seems to be increasingly distancing itself from Pride Month observances. According to a report from NPR, corporate sponsorship for 2026 Pride Month events is declining even further, falling by an estimated 60% to 70% from years past. According to ProCapitas, many Pride Month events are now shifting from large-scale corporate-funded initiatives to smaller-scale, “community-driven” events. For example, Tampa Pride in Florida has fully suspended all events for 2026, citing an absence of funding due to the state’s denial of grants to event organizers. And Fort Myers Pride in Florida is unlikely to host events this year. Arlington Pride in Texas also cancelled major events. Meanwhile, Philadelphia Pride, has moved events to larger venues and plan to charge admission fees to cover costs. And several Democrat-controlled cities such as Boston and Houston are planning larger Pride Month events than in years past. Decision Magazine, "Only Red, White, And Blue: Trump Admin Bans Pride Flags From Embassies For The Second Consecutive June", Harbinger's Daily, 4 June 2026 We never did this through all of human history until like, what, two weeks ago? Now this is something? They’re having third graders declare pronouns? We’re not doing the pronoun Olympics in Florida. Ron DeSantis, quoted in 'Genocidal': Transgender people begin to flee states with anti-LGBTQ laws https://abcnews.go.com/US/genocidal-transgender-people-begin-flee-states-anti-lgbtq/story?id=99909913 June 11, 2023 ABC News E The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) today sent a letter to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) urging them to restore to female athletes the records, titles, awards, and recognitions misappropriated by biological males competing in female categories.The Department has called on the NCAA and NFHS to continue the progress made in recent days and strip the records, titles, awards, and recognitions wrongfully credited to the biological males who unfairly competed against girls and women in athletics. Correcting the record is entirely consistent with the NCAA’s new policy intended to preclude males from competing in women’s sports.“Because of President Trump’s bold leadership, men will no longer be allowed to compete in women’s sports regardless of how they identify, and the NCAA has correctly changed its tune on its discriminatory practices against female athletes,” said Candice Jackson, Deputy General Counsel. “The next necessary step is to restore athletic records to women who have for years been devalued, ignored, and forced to watch men steal their accolades. The Trump Education Department will do everything in our power to right this wrong and champion the hard-earned accomplishments of past, current, and future female collegiate athletes.” U.S. Department of Education press release, "U.S. Department of Education Urges the NCAA, NFHS to Restore Female Athletics Records Wrongfully Erased by Male Competitors", 11 February 2025 The Department’s letter follows the NCAA’s policy change to “align NCAA policy” with President Trump’s Executive Order Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports. That Order set forth "the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports...as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”Last week, the Department also launched investigations into two educational institutions and an athletic association where violations of Title IX have been reported. Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments provides that no student “shall on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under” any federally funded education program or activity. As such, K-12 school districts, colleges, and athletics associations are strongly encouraged to keep factually accurate athletics records and to make corrections where male athletes were allowed to erase female records during the Biden administration. U.S. Department of Education press release, "U.S. Department of Education Urges the NCAA, NFHS to Restore Female Athletics Records Wrongfully Erased by Male Competitors", 11 February 2025 "If you can't lick 'em, join 'em," a conservative Indiana senator famously advised nearly a century ago. Today’s Republicans appear to have taken that lesson to heart, working overtime to create GOP-branded alternatives to Pride Month that celebrate traditional marriage, "nuclear families,” and what some governors are calling "fidelity."Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders became the latest Republican official to join the trend Monday, the start of Pride Month, issuing a proclamation declaring June “Fidelity Month" to celebrate "fidelity to God, family, community, and country."The announcement was unveiled through the right-wing outlet The Daily Wire, where Sanders made clear the proclamation was intended as a direct counter to Pride Month. Anti-LGBTQ+ activist Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, applauded the move, saying, "I can't think of a better way to celebrate and honor America than by celebrating faith, family, and freedom." Dawn Ennis, "At least 5 GOP-led states have a new Pride Month tradition — renaming June", Advocate, 3 June 2026 GOP lawmakers in Tennessee started what's been labeled the “rename June” trend by designating this month to be “Nuclear Family Month.” The state declares nuclear families are “one husband, one wife, and any biological, adopted, or fostered children” and “God’s design for familial structure.” Or as The New Republic branded it: "Screw Grandparents Month."Last week, Alabama’s Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed a proclamation proclaiming June is “Strong Families Month.” And just in case any gay dads or lesbian moms decided to bring their gun show to Montgomery, the declaration makes it clear "strong families” don’t include same-sex couples: “Homes led by stable parents, a father and a mother, provide children with the structure and discipline necessary to succeed.” Also, last week, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah declared that June is “Fidelity Month” and said that the U.S. Constitution was “made only for moral and religious people.” Readers of The Advocate will recall that Utah is the state whose Republican legislators passed three bills earlier this year, restricting gender-affirming care for youth, ignoring research they commissioned, which concluded the treatment is safe and beneficial. Dawn Ennis, "At least 5 GOP-led states have a new Pride Month tradition — renaming June", Advocate, 3 June 2026 The reality is that June has never belonged exclusively to any single cause. Alongside Pride Month, it is also National Caribbean American Heritage Month, Men’s Health Month, and National PTSD Awareness Month. Pride Month’s existence has never prevented anyone from celebrating their faith, family, or values and the good news is there's plenty of room on the calendar for everyone. Dawn Ennis, "At least 5 GOP-led states have a new Pride Month tradition — renaming June", Advocate, 3 June 2026 A part of a US national suicide prevention hotline that caters for LGBTQ young people says it will soon close, after the Trump administration cut its funding. The administration has accused the service of "radical gender ideology". It says it will still fund the wider 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline - of which the LGBTQ youth option is one part - and that all callers will receive "compassion and help". The Trevor Project, an organisation that helped to run the LGBTQ option, said the decision would have a harmful impact on vulnerable young people. "Suicide prevention is about people, not politics," said Jaymes Black, the organisation's CEO. He said his service had been told to close within 30 days."The administration's decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible," Mr Black added.The decision comes during international Pride Month, which celebrates LGBTQ culture and history. Kayla Epstein, "Trump ends funding for LGBTQ youth option on national suicide hotline", BBC News, 19 June 2025 The news also arrived ahead of a US Supreme Court decision on Tuesday that upheld the state of Tennessee's ban on transition-related healthcare for minors who identify as transgender. The general 988 Lifeline offers free mental health support via call, text, or chat. It is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a subsidiary of the US Health and Human Services Agency (HHS). Currently, LGBTQ young people can select option 3 from a call menu in order to connect with counsellors. After the changes, the remaining 988 Lifeline services would "focus on serving all help seekers", including those who previously chose to access LGBTQ youth services, SAMHSA said. But the hotline would "no longer silo LGB+ youth services", SAMHSA wrote in a statement, omitting the "T" and "Q" that refers to transgender and queer people in the LGBTQ acronym. Kayla Epstein, "Trump ends funding for LGBTQ youth option on national suicide hotline", BBC News, 19 June 2025 Officials at HHS proposed cutting the 988 Lifeline's LGBTQ youth services last week. In a statement to NBC News at the time, an HHS spokesperson described the option as a "chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology by 'counselors' without consent or knowledge of their parents". Legislation passed in 2020 by the US Congress required the 988 Lifeline to provide services and staff specifically for LGBTQ people as well as other at-risk groups like rural and Native Americans.The legislation noted that LGBTQ youth were "more than 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide than their peers, with 1 in 5 LGBTQ youth and more than 1 in 3 transgender youth reporting attempting suicide".The law received bipartisan support - including from Donald Trump, who was then serving his first presidential term, and signed the bill into law.According to the 988 Lifeline website, LGBTQ communities are "disproportionately at risk for suicide and other mental health struggles due to historic and ongoing structural violence."The Trevor Project began providing its services through the 988 Lifeline in 2022. In 2024, it served more than 231,000 crisis contacts, the organisation said in a statement. It says it will continue to provide its own independent services. Kayla Epstein, "Trump ends funding for LGBTQ youth option on national suicide hotline", BBC News, 19 June 2025 The decision to eliminate the 988 Lifeline's designated LGBTQ youth option comes amid Trump's push to curtail services, support, and access for transgender people across the federal government. He has pushed to end diversity, equity, and inclusion policies (DEI) within the federal government, arguing that such programmes are themselves discriminatory. The president has also ordered the removal of transgender servicemembers from the US military and issued an executive order that the US would only recognise two sexes – male and female. The US Department of State also announced it would no longer allow applicants to choose "X" as their gender on US passports. Instead, transgender individuals must choose "male" or "female" corresponding to their sex assigned at birth. Kayla Epstein, "Trump ends funding for LGBTQ youth option on national suicide hotline", BBC News, 19 June 2025 G Hey Dad. Thanks for setting aside time to meet with me, it means a lot to me. There are a lot of important issues passing through the legislature right now. For my own sake I’ve chosen to focus primarily on transgender rights, as that would significantly directly affect a number of my friends… I would like to make the argument that these bills are immoral, unjust, and frankly a violation of human rights. David Gianforte, quoted in Gianforte’s son one of many lobbying governor against trans bills https://montanafreepress.org/2023/04/26/montana-governor-gianforte-lobbied-by-son-to-veto-trans-bills/ April 26, 2023 Montana Free Press It’s not our fault that the truth hurts them, it’s their fault that the truth hurts them, because they have turned their back on the truth and they’ve turned their back on God... [Democrats] passed a bill to make it a federal law to protect gay marriage. Marriage is between a man and a woman, and that’s between God and a man and a woman. Marjorie Taylor Greene, quoted in Marjorie Taylor Greene Rails Against Gay Marriage https://www.metroweekly.com/2023/02/marjorie-taylor-greene-rants-in-idaho-against-gay-marriage/ February 15, 2023 Metro Weekly In August 2025, at dawn, a Florida road crew painted over the rainbow crosswalk on Orange Avenue in Orlando. It honored the 49 people a gunman murdered at Pulse, a gay nightclub, on its Latin Night in 2016, the deadliest attack on LGBTQ+ Americans the country has seen. The state gave the city no notice of the landmark’s removal. The work was Florida’s own, done under pressure from Washington, where former reality star and now Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had told governors to remove “distractions” from their roads, and the state warned cities they would lose highway funding if they kept the paint. That afternoon, residents knelt on the asphalt and filled the crosswalk back in with chalk. The crosswalk was one move in a larger campaign. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says President Trump has singled out transgender people for “discrimination, persecution, and erasure from public life.” The campaign has widened since 2024. In 2026, it arrived with a holiday. Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE), "Faith, Family, Erasure: Pride Month in Trump’s America, 2026", 16 June 2026 Trump administration health officials announced Thursday that the federal government will block transgender care to children by targeting hospitals and doctors that provide it. New proposed rules would prohibit hospitals from participating in Medicare and Medicaid if they provide care such as puberty blockers and surgeries for transgender minors, and would prevent federal coverage of such treatments.“These procedures fail to meet professionally recognized standards of care,” US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, calling many types of transgender care “malpractice.” “Medical professionals or entities providing sex-rejecting procedures to children are out of compliance with these standards of health care.”Medical groups denounced the announcements, saying they intrude on physician-patient relationships and jeopardize care for everyone.“Allowing the government to determine which patient groups deserve care sets a dangerous precedent, and children and families will bear the consequences,” said Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Jamie Gumbrecht & Sarah Owermohle, "Trump moves to ban transgender care for minors by targeting hospitals", CNN, 18 December 2025 “Patients, their families, and their physicians – not politicians or government officials – should be the ones to make decisions together about what care is best for them. The government’s actions today make that task harder, if not impossible, for families of gender-diverse and transgender youth.”It’s the latest in a string of actions by President Donald Trump’s administration that target transgender people, including eliminating mention of trans people on federal websites, halting data collection on health issues, removing trans people from the military and suing states that allow trans athletes to play on high school sports teams.Also Thursdsay, US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said the agency is sending warning letters to 12 makers and sellers of breast binders who marketed or sold the devices for treatment of gender dysphoria in children. National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya also said the research agency will end support for research into gender transition, saying, “it was junk science to begin with.” Jamie Gumbrecht & Sarah Owermohle, "Trump moves to ban transgender care for minors by targeting hospitals", CNN, 18 December 2025 HHS leaders on Thursday cited their own review of evidence and reports from other countries, many of which have faced sharp criticism for drawing sweeping conclusions with little or poor evidence.Health officials said they expect to emphasize psychosocial assessment and support for transgender youth, including “compassionate, developmentally appropriate counseling.” But they acknowledged that there are a limited number of mental health care providers available.Gender identity care, which is sometimes called gender-affirming care, is a multidisciplinary approach to help a person transition from their assigned gender – the one a clinician assigned them at birth, based mostly on anatomic characteristics – to the gender by which they identify. It can include mental health care or age-appropriate medical care such as hormone treatments, puberty blockers, gynecologic and urologic care and reproductive treatments.Major mainstream medical associations – including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the Endocrine Society, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry – have supported such care and agree that it’s the gold standard of clinically appropriate care that can provide lifesaving treatment for children and adults. Professional medical organizations do not recommend surgery for children as a part of care, and research shows that it’s rare among transgender or gender-diverse teens. Jamie Gumbrecht & Sarah Owermohle, "Trump moves to ban transgender care for minors by targeting hospitals", CNN, 18 December 2025 The American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday that it will challenge the administration’s rules in court. “These gratuitous proposals are cruel and unconstitutional attacks on the rights of transgender youth and their families,” Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Rights Project, said in a statement. Kennedy said Thursday that the administration is confident it’s approach will pass court challenges. “If people sue us, they’re welcome to,” he said.The HHS announcement came just after the House passed a bill that could imprison health care providers for providing trans care for minors. The bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, could imprison doctors who provide care such as surgeries or puberty blockers for up to 10 years. It’s unclear whether the GOP-led Senate will take up the measure, though it is unlikely it would get enough Democratic support to pass out of that chamber. Jamie Gumbrecht & Sarah Owermohle, "Trump moves to ban transgender care for minors by targeting hospitals", CNN, 18 December 2025 H How are we supposed to get our girls used to the fact that biological boys are in their locker rooms? And then we wonder why a third of our teenage girls seriously contemplated suicide last year. Nikki Haley, quoted in Nikki Haley Blames Teen Suicides on Trans Kids in Locker Rooms https://www.thedailybeast.com/nikki-haley-blames-teen-suicides-on-transgender-kids-in-locker-rooms-during-cnn-town-hall June 5, 2023 Daily Beast The Trump administration as a whole has foregone the LGBTQ+ propaganda of “Pride Month” that the Biden administration so vociferously engaged in, delighting millions of voters who had grown to dread the summer month’s perverse zealotry. Katherine Hamilton, "Trump’s Department of Education Replaces ‘Pride Month’ with ‘Title IX Month’", Breitbart News, 2 June 2026 Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced a bill on Wednesday evening that would ban the sexualization of students at K-12 schools. The bill, called the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act, “would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to prohibit federal funding from going to schools ‘to develop, implement, facilitate, host, or promote any program or activity for, or to provide or promote literature or other materials to, children under the age of 18 that includes sexually oriented material, and for other purposes.'” “The American taxpayer should not be funding sexually explicit content for minors. It’s that simple. I’m proud to lead this bicameral effort in the Senate to ensure children aren’t exposed to explicit sexual themes in the classroom,” Banks told Breitbart News.The bill’s text says no funds may go to programs or materials that include sexually oriented material that exposes the children to “nude adults, individuals who are stripping, or lewd or lascivious dancing.” The bill defines “sexually oriented material” to mean anything that “includes any depiction, description, or simulation of sexually explicit conduct or involves gender dysphoria or transgenderism.” Banks’ office noted that studies have shown exposure to sexual content at an early age puts youth at greater risk for early sexual activity, unsafe sexual practices, and other risky sexual behaviors. Katherine Hamilton, "Exclusive: GOP Sen. Jim Banks Introduces Bill to Ban Sexualization of Children at School", Breitbart News, 26 June 2026 The bill notes that it would not apply to teaching “standard science coursework, including biology, botany, zoology, microbiology, cytology, genetics, ecology, human health, or human anatomy and physiology,” the texts of major world religions, classic works of literature, or classic works of art.Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) introduced a version of the bill in the House in February with the support of 22 cosponsors. The House Committee on Education and Workforce passed the bill 18-13 in March and is expected to send it to the full House for consideration. The bill is endorsed by several conservative and parental rights groups, including Family Research Council, Independent Women’s Forum, American Principles Project, Eagle Forum, Family Policy Alliance, Parental Rights Foundation, and Moms for America. Katherine Hamilton, "Exclusive: GOP Sen. Jim Banks Introduces Bill to Ban Sexualization of Children at School", Breitbart News, 26 June 2026 I'll tell you my priority. Protect religious liberty. Protect people of faith. And protect Americans who believe in the true meaning of marriage. I hope and pray that my colleagues will find the courage to join me in opposing this misguided and this dangerous bill. U.S. House Rep. Vicky Hartzler speaking in opposition to the Respect for Marriage Act, quoted in GOP Congresswoman Tearfully Begs Colleagues to Rebuke Gay Marriage https://www.out.com/news/2022/12/12/gop-congresswoman-tearfully-begs-colleagues-rebuke-gay-marriage December 12, 2022 Out Magazine Some Democratic lawmakers have spoken out against retiring 988’s specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth, including Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin. She said in a statement Wednesday that the Trump administration’s plan to cut the specialized services comes at a time when it is estimated that nearly 40% of LGBTQ+ young people have reported seriously considering attempting suicide in the past year.In 2019, Baldwin, along with Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO), Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Jack Reed (D-RI), introduced the legislation to designate a three-digit phone number for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline.“I worked hard to stand up a special line for LGBTQ+ youth because we are losing too many of our kids to suicide, and it’s well past time we did something about it. Children facing dark times and even contemplating taking their life often have nowhere else to turn besides this 988 Lifeline, and the Trump Administration is cruelly and needlessly taking that away,” Baldwin said in the statement.“During Pride Month, a time to celebrate the progress we’ve made, the Trump Administration is taking us a step back and telling LGBTQ+ kids that they don’t matter and don’t deserve help when they are in crisis,” Baldwin said. “This is not the final chapter of this story, and I’ll fight tooth and nail to protect these children.” Jacqueline Howard, "Trump administration to end 988 suicide prevention specialized service for LGBTQ+ youth in July", CNN, 18 June 2025 “On July 17, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will no longer silo LGB+ youth services, also known as the ‘Press 3 option,’ to focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option,” SAMHSA’s statement said Tuesday.“The Press 3 option was established as a pilot program in Fiscal Year 2022 under a government agreement with a third party. The Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus included a Congressional directive for $29.7 million to fund the specialized services. Federal funding in FY24 for the Press 3 services increased to $33 million,” the statement said. “As of June 2025, more than $33 million in funds have been spent to support the subnetworks, fully expending the monies allocated for 988 Lifeline LGB+ subnetwork services.”In October 2020, President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan bill making 988 the universal telephone number to reach the national suicide prevention hotline. Jacqueline Howard, "Trump administration to end 988 suicide prevention specialized service for LGBTQ+ youth in July", CNN, 18 June 2025 This month, the Trump administration officially proposed to eliminate the 988 Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ youth services in budget plans for fiscal year 2026. While some supporters of the move may view it as an efficient way to save spending, critics have called it “deeply upsetting.”“It is deeply upsetting to see the administration reverse course on an evidence-backed, bipartisan program that has successfully provided life-saving crisis care to 1.3 million LGBTQ+ young people, and counting,” Jaymes Black, CEO of the nonprofit The Trevor Project, said in a news release last week when the proposed budget was posted. The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ youth, has been a subcontractor to the specialized service since 2022, serving as one of seven call centers.“We are grateful to the many people who continue to urge this administration and Congress to protect access to these life-saving services alongside us. In a nation where our children’s tears fall without distinction of how they identify, we must rise with one voice – across every faith, every belief, and every political line – now is the time for the full volume of our conviction,” Black said in part. “Now is the time to act.” Jacqueline Howard, "Trump administration to end 988 suicide prevention specialized service for LGBTQ+ youth in July", CNN, 18 June 2025 Some Democratic lawmakers have spoken out against retiring 988’s specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth, including Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin. She said in a statement Wednesday that the Trump administration’s plan to cut the specialized services comes at a time when it is estimated that nearly 40% of LGBTQ+ young people have reported seriously considering attempting suicide in the past year. In 2019, Baldwin, along with Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO), Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Jack Reed (D-RI), introduced the legislation to designate a three-digit phone number for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline.“I worked hard to stand up a special line for LGBTQ+ youth because we are losing too many of our kids to suicide, and it’s well past time we did something about it. Children facing dark times and even contemplating taking their life often have nowhere else to turn besides this 988 Lifeline, and the Trump Administration is cruelly and needlessly taking that away,” Baldwin said in the statement. “During Pride Month, a time to celebrate the progress we’ve made, the Trump Administration is taking us a step back and telling LGBTQ+ kids that they don’t matter and don’t deserve help when they are in crisis,” Baldwin said. “This is not the final chapter of this story, and I’ll fight tooth and nail to protect these children.” Jacqueline Howard, "Trump administration to end 988 suicide prevention specialized service for LGBTQ+ youth in July", CNN, 18 June 2025 We have officially declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States for the first time following an unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults sweeping state houses this year. More than 75 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been signed into law this year alone, more than doubling last year’s number, which was previously the worst year on record. Our community is in danger, but we won't stop fighting back — not now, not ever. Human Rights Campaign, stated in "National State of Emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans". June 6, 2023. I want to tell your audience there is no transgender. There is male and there is female. And transgender would be a mental health issue. So those people that say I'm bigoted, I will say you're insane and you're doing the people wrong by doing that. Oklahoma state Rep. Justin Humphrey, quoted in Oklahoma lawmaker accused of bigotry after saying transgender people ‘have mental illness’ https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-lawmaker-accused-of-bigotry-after-saying-transgender-people-have-mental-illness/36136880 April 15, 2021 ABC 5 I I'm with the President on this! If passed, this bill will put vulnerable, young LGBTQ people in jeopardy. Bob Iger speaking against Florida's "don't say gay" bill, quoted in DeSantis told ex-Disney CEO Bob Chapek to stay out of Florida’s fight over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, book says https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/27/disney-ex-ceo-chapek-called-desantis-over-dont-say-gay-book.html April 15, 2021 CNBC J Knowing that your governor and the top officials in your state literally don't want you to exist – That's a different kind of stress. It felt very genocidal [in Texas]. Jamie (pseudonym), quoted in 'Genocidal': Transgender people begin to flee states with anti-LGBTQ laws https://abcnews.go.com/US/genocidal-transgender-people-begin-flee-states-anti-lgbtq/story?id=99909913 June 11, 2023 ABC News Let's not forget what we're seeing across the country from statehouses: more than 600 pieces of legislation, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. A few hundred of those are against transgender youth. And so we have not seen that type of 'anti' sentiment, anti — against this community in decades. We also need to make sure that we let the community know that the President has their back and we're going to continue to fight for them. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, quoted in Biden announces new LGBTQ+ initiatives amid state rollbacks https://www.axios.com/2023/06/08/biden-lgbtq-initiatives-state-rollbacks June 8, 2023 Axios Anita Bryant, the singsongy beauty queen who spun her folksy Oklahoma charm into a career hawking orange juice and campaigning against gay rights, died last month at 84. When the news broke on Thursday, some of my friends were surprised — not that she’d died, but that she hadn’t died a long time ago. After all, this is the era of gay marriage, which the majority of Americans, including nearly half of Republicans, support. Bryant seemed like an artifact of a bygone era when casting gay men as salivating predators was a successful political message. If she herself hadn’t died a quiet death decades ago, when her politics sank her entertainment career, surely her political project already lay in an unmarked grave.But Bryant might have died happy.Despite the tectonic cultural reset around mainstream LGBTQ+ issues like gay marriage and military service (hardly the priorities of gay liberationists from back in Bryant’s day), her ideological project of convincing voters that queer people pose a threat to children is more politically potent than at any time since the period when gay activist Thomas Higgins pied Bryant in the face on live television — a moment that came to symbolize the humiliating decline of her reputation following her entrée into politics. From the proliferation of “Don’t Say Gay” laws and bans on gender-affirming care for minors in red states to President-elect Donald Trump’s apocalyptic rhetoric about “child sexual mutilation,” Bryant’s method of curbing LGBTQ+ rights by appealing to parental fears has once again become a powerful political weapon for conservatives. In short, Bryant might have lost a short-term political battle, but she won a much longer war that many people thought had been decided conclusively in her enemy’s favor. Dylon Jones, "Anita Bryant Is Dead. Her Ideology Is Alive and Well.", Politico, 14 January 2025 Indeed, politicians who have benefited from the ongoing anti-LGBTQ+ backlash owe a deep debt to Bryant. Witness their accomplishments: In just a few short years, trans bathroom bans have gone from a radioactive folly that could help topple a red-state governor to the law of the land for schools in at least 13 states, not to mention the U.S. Capitol. More than 1,000 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have popped up in state houses in the last five years, focusing particularly on schools and youth, with 26 states and counting passing bans on gender-affirming care for trans minors, though some of those laws were mired in the courts. Even kid-friendly drag performances have become the subject of legislation in multiple states, two of which — Tennessee and Montana — passed bans on “adult performances” in public or anywhere minors are present. The Montana law, which a federal judge blocked on the grounds that it targeted free speech, specifically outlawed “drag queen story hour” events, in which drag queens read books to kids, even if the performances were devoid of sexual content. Dylon Jones, "Anita Bryant Is Dead. Her Ideology Is Alive and Well.", Politico, 14 January 2025 The federal right to abortion was predicated on the privacy rights outlined in the 14th Amendment — similar to the legal justification that secured marriage equality in Obergefell v. Hodges. When the conservative majority ended Roe on June 24, 2022, Justice Clarence Thomas issued a concurring opinion arguing for the court to reconsider Obergefell, as well as Griswold v. Connecticut (which codified the right to contraceptives) and Lawrence v. Texas (which legalized homosexuality on June 26, 2003, exactly 12 years to the day before Obergefell). And Thomas isn’t the only justice who worries Obergefell. In his confirmation hearing, Justice Brett Kavanaugh refused to answer then-Sen. Kamala Harris’ questions about whether Obergefell was decided correctly. In 2024, Justice Samuel Alito, who opposed the decision, said he was worried about how the government could label those opposed to gay marriage “as bigots.” Chief Justice John Roberts also opposed Obergefell in 2015. “Just who do we think we are?” he said from the bench in a blistering dissent.Following the marriage equality case, whenever Obergefell walked past the Supreme Court, a feeling of solemn pride swelled in his chest. “Our legal system worked the way we’re told it’s supposed to,” he says. “I don’t feel that anymore. When I walk past this building now, I feel fear.” Dylon Jones, "He Made Gay Marriage the Law of the Land. Now He’s Fighting a Larger War.", Politico, 26 June 2025 Obergefell and other activists worry that marriage equality itself, a freedom much less established than Roe, is under threat. And the movement to dismantle Obergefell extends beyond the court. In early June, the Southern Baptist Convention, representing America’s largest Protestant denomination, endorsed overturning gay marriage, indicating that the long-term battle it waged against the federal right to abortion could extend, next, to Obergefell. Republican lawmakers in multiple states have introduced measures to overturn or undermine the decision. And while those efforts haven’t amounted to much, there may be a growing appetite for them among Republican voters. While public support for gay marriage remains strong at around 68 percent, Republican approval has dropped from its 55 percent peak in 2021 to only 41 percent, its lowest point since 2016. Combined with the conservative drift on the court, that has supporters of gay marriage concerned. Obergefell believes the current makeup of the court would have ruled against him. He also believes it could very well overturn the decision now.A broader range of LGBTQ+ rights is being curtailed. In June, the court voted in United States v. Skrmetti to preserve Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, such as puberty-blocking drugs that delay physical development and hormone replacement therapy. That means the 27 states with similar restrictions or bans will continue to deny transition-related care to minors — a situation Obergefell calls “horrendous.” And then there are bathroom bans, the removal of books with LGBTQ+ themes from school libraries, legislation targeting drag artists and curtailing classroom instruction on LGBTQ+ identity and history. Dylon Jones, "He Made Gay Marriage the Law of the Land. Now He’s Fighting a Larger War.", Politico, 26 June 2025 K The reason we are singling out drag performances is there are drag performances out there that are targeting children, and that needs to stop. The problem is that children are being targeted in many areas, and it is evil against good... and we’ve got to push back on evil. I will do everything I can as a senator in this chamber to protect Arizona children from perversion (and) grooming. Arizona state Sen. Anthony Kern, quoted in Arizona Republicans approve bill to criminalize ‘evil’ drag shows https://www.azmirror.com/2023/02/02/arizona-republicans-approve-bill-to-criminalize-evil-drag-shows/ February 2, 2022 AZ Mirror The explosion of legislation is in part the culmination of efforts by a trio of conservative organizations, which are helping state legislators write and promote the bills. One of the most active — the Alliance Defending Freedom — has a decades-long history of fighting LGBTQ rights, including in battles to preserve state laws criminalizing consensual sex between gay adults, court records show. Kimberley Kindy, stated in GOP lawmakers push historic wave of bills targeting rights of LGBTQ teens, children and their families https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/25/lgbtq-rights-gop-bills-dont-say-gay/ March 25, 2022 The Washington Post There's something really exciting happening with Target everybody. So Target has a target on their back. Target is freaking out. Target is holding emergency meetings. They're worried that they're losing their customer base. Everybody keep the pressure on. We need to go after Target in a very serious way. It is time for decent, ordinary Americans who do not believe in radical ideas in either direction to just say I will not allow my kid to be corrupted by this trans agenda and look Target - it looks like they're caving. They say they're putting the clothes in the back. I don't want - I want Target to go bankrupt. I want them to close. I want Chapter 11, okay? I want them to go Chapter 11. People say what does success look like? Chapter 11, okay? I want skull and bones all the way down to the absolute nails of the stores. That's the only thing they understand is force. Pain is a teacher and the pain of crossing the line to perverting our children and grooming them, it's going to be a lesson I hope corporate America watches because ordinary America is pushing back. We must push for the bankruptcy of Target. Make it happen everybody. Charlie Kirk, quoted in 'Pain is a teacher': Charlie Kirk encourages his audience to bankrupt Target for selling Pride merchandise https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-encourages-his-audience-bankrupt-target-selling-pride-merchandise May 24, 2023 Media Matters I never want to put anyone in a position to be at risk or in danger in any way. But also where is the line of being silenced? How do we navigate these absurd threats and laws against our community?... We deserve to have a safe space to be ourselves while we navigate the evil that is threatening our own existence. We will not be silenced. We will find ways to continue to be our authentic selves, no matter what. We will not give up. No matter how hard they make it. Hayley Kiyoko, quoted in Hayley Kiyoko Defies TN Police, Features Drag Queens At Concert https://www.out.com/celebs/hayley-kiyoko-tennessee-drag May 3, 2023 Out For the good of society ... transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely — the whole preposterous ideology, at every level. Michael J. Knowles, quoted in CPAC Speaker Michael Knowles Says “Transgenderism Must Be Eradicated” https://www.them.us/story/michael-knowles-transgenderism-cpac March 6, 2023 them L There’s something so unique about — the LGBTQ community has become this cult and it’s so captivating and it pulls people in so strongly unlike anything we’ve ever seen and they brainwash people to join. They convince them of all of these things. And it’s really hard to get out of it... I think they’re evil. And sometimes we try to break it down a lot and we discuss why this is happening, what’s happening, whatever, and I think sometimes the simplest answer is they’re just evil. They’re bad people. They’re evil people. And they want to groom kids. They’re recruiting. Libs of TikTok, quoted in Libs of TikTok tells Tucker Carlson: LGBTQ+ are a poisonous cult https://www.losangelesblade.com/2022/12/27/libs-of-tiktok-tells-tucker-carlson-lgbtq-are-a-poisonous-cult/ December 22, 2022 Los Angeles Blade In light of recent and tragic events and current events, I was told by people on the internet, ‘Cancel your shows in Tennessee,’ ‘Don’t go to Tennessee.' Their reason was valid, but why would I not come to the people who need to hear this message the most? Why would I not create a safe space in Tennessee where we can celebrate drag entertainers and celebrate our differences? Lizzo, quoted in Lizzo Brings Out Drag Queens During Tennessee Show to Protest Anti-Drag Law https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/lizzo-drag-tennessee#rebelltitem1 April 23, 2023 Advocate M I am deeply alarmed by a widespread, profoundly negative riptide created by deliberate actions to roll back the human rights of LGBT people at state level. The evidence shows that, without exception, these actions rely on prejudiced and stigmatising views of LGBT persons, in particular transgender children and youth, and seek to leverage their lives as props for political profit. Victor Madrigal-Borloz, quoted in United States: UN expert warns LGBT rights being eroded, urges stronger safeguards https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/08/united-states-un-expert-warns-lgbt-rights-being-eroded-urges-stronger August 30, 2022 United Nations So this art form I’ve devoted my life to is being used as a scapegoat for people to get votes. This is what they always do. They just take some random cause that they know people will vote for - based on nothing. But there’s no way to combat it with data, because this isn’t even a group of people that care about data… I was looking for information on stats on drag queens being pedophiles. Zero. There’s no drag queens being arrested for sexual assaults of children. That doesn’t happen. You know where that happens? The church. Okay? That’s where. This whole country mollycoddles Christians, and I’m fucking tired of it. Trixie Mattel, stated in Tweet by @hunnyyed. Twitter. June 27, 2023. Pride just almost got to a place where it felt like, ‘Do we really even need to this anymore?’ But now our rights are being threatened again. Shane Mayson, quoted in D.C. Pride parade: Thousands celebrate LGBTQ community, trans rights https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/06/10/dc-pride-parade-lgbtq/ June 10, 2023 Washington Post Reverse policies that allow transgender individuals to serve in the military. Gender dysphoria is incompatible with the demands of military service, and the use of public monies for transgender surgeries or to facilitate abortion for servicemembers should be ended. Christopher Miller, "Department of Defense," Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise: 2025 Presidential Transition Project (2023), edited by Paul Dans & Steven Groves, Washington: The Heritage Foundation, paperback, p. 104 What would you do if your government identification suddenly ceased to exist? In the state of Kansas last month, hundreds of residents received a notice that their driver’s licenses had been revoked. They hadn’t done anything wrong to warrant this action – except change their gender identity. Under a new state law that was passed on Feb. 26, Kansans are now forced to have their documentation reflect their biological sex at birth. As a result, the trans community in Kansas has been left reeling. Forcing trans individuals to renounce their own gender identity is deeply wrong, and it reflects a wider assault on trans rights in the U.S. that serves to dehumanize and minimize their existence.To understand the law’s harmful impact, we must dig deeper into the details. Known as S.B. 244, it orders that gender markers on a driver’s license or birth certificate must reflect someone’s assigned sex at birth. Previously, Kansas allowed people to change their gender on government IDs. S.B. 244, however, instantly changed that rule as soon as it became law, affecting about 1700 people in the state. It’s also worth mentioning that Kansas bills usually become law on July 1, in the year that they are passed, but this one was specifically ordered to take effect just a few days after it was signed. The application of the law was so sudden that those affected had to have friends or family drive them to the DMV so that they could get new licenses. If they had tried to drive themselves, they would have already risked getting pulled over. Patrick Minnerly, "Patrick’s Politics: Trans people aren’t welcome in Kansas anymore, Toto ", The Daily Campus, 12 March 2026 The law also prohibits trans people from using bathrooms in public places according to their preferred gender identity and allows citizens to sue for up to $1000 in damages if they believe someone has violated these rules. According to the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), 20 states currently have laws that prohibit in some form the ability of trans people to enter the bathroom of their choice. With this law, Kansas has put itself near the top of these states in discriminatory severity, since it applies to all public spaces and violations represent a criminal offense. When you add in the amount people can ask for in so-called “damages,” S.B. 244 represents a particularly draconian and disgusting law. It weaponizes the government and the state’s own citizens to discriminate against trans individuals.These restrictions on trans rights have already spurred many members of the trans community to think about leaving Kansas. Those who stay are now essentially considered nonexistent until they comply, since their current gender identity has been invalidated. To Kansas, there is no such thing as transitioning anymore – only your initial biology matters. It is especially notable that the law defines gender as a person’s “biological sex at birth,” even though gender is a social construct and not biological. At the same time, while genetics cannot be altered, some aspects of one’s biological sex can change. The law’s language therefore fundamentally misunderstands the actual science and social aspects in favor of catering to anti-trans sentiment. Patrick Minnerly, "Patrick’s Politics: Trans people aren’t welcome in Kansas anymore, Toto ", The Daily Campus, 12 March 2026 Kansas’ law follows the growing efforts of the American right to restrict the rights of trans people and LGBTQ+ individuals in general. In the past few years, especially after Trump was elected to a second term, Republicans have honed in on attacking trans rights. Several Republican states, including Florida and Texas, have already passed laws prohibiting trans individuals from officially changing their gender identity in the future. Kansas is simply the first state to take a drastic step and revoke documents that were already on file.Trans people have had to deal with an increasing amount of discriminatory legislation. According to Trans Legislation Tracker, 2025 saw the highest number of anti-trans bills both considered and passed. Just through the first couple of months in 2026, 15 bills restricting trans rights have already been passed. In addition, the ACLU has tracked 489 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that are currently waiting on votes. This surge in restrictive legislation is in line with the Trump administration, which prevented transgender, intersex and nonbinary people from updating their gender designation on his first day in office.The onslaught on trans rights, both at the state and federal level, represents a concerted effort from Republicans to eliminate their legal standing. Kansas’ law should serve as a fresh reminder that the right will not stop in its attempt to roll back the protections trans individuals had just started to enjoy. By forcing trans people to go against their own identity, Kansas is throwing the weight of the state against their ability to simply live their lives comfortably. Policing bathroom use while revoking driver’s licenses and birth certificates is a clear sign that trans people are no longer welcome in the state of Kansas. If the law is allowed to stand, anti-trans discrimination and dehumanization will continue to get worse. Patrick Minnerly, "Patrick’s Politics: Trans people aren’t welcome in Kansas anymore, Toto ", The Daily Campus, 12 March 2026 For months now, I have been scared to leave my house. I have been ridiculed in public. I have been followed, and I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I’m not telling you this because I want your pity. I’m telling you this because if this is my experience from a very privileged perspective, know that it is much, much worse for other trans people. Dylan Mulvaney, quoted in Influencer Dylan Mulvaney condemns Bud Light’s response to transphobia https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/29/dylan-mulvaney-bud-light-transgender June 29, 2023 The Guardian [Gender transition] is a major problem. I will be actively lobbying to criminalize making severe, irreversible changes to children below the age of consent. Shame on those who advocate this! It is utterly contemptible. Elon Musk, quoted in Elon Musk Calls to Imprison Therapists Helping Trans Kids https://newrepublic.com/post/173201/elon-musk-calls-imprison-therapists-helping-trans-kids June 2, 2023 New Republic In an interview at Catholic University last week, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said what he’s clearly been thinking for the past 30 years: Supreme Court precedents don’t matter, and he’s making things up as he goes along to fulfill his own political agenda. He didn’t say it in that way, of course. People would have noticed that. Instead, he couched his self-serving philosophy in legal jargon that will fly under the radar of most people, including journalists. Here’s what he said: “At some point we need to think about what we’re doing with stare decisis.… [I]t’s not some sort of talismanic deal where you can just say ‘stare decisis’ and not think, turn off the brain, right?”To translate: “Stare decisis” is a foundational legal principle in this country and all countries that follow a “common law” system. What it means, in simple terms, is that prior judicial rulings govern future judicial rulings. If a court rules, for instance, that “gay people have the same basic rights as everyone else in this country, including the right to marry other people,” then that ruling is supposed to govern all future cases concerning the rights of gay people.Thomas, apparently, doesn’t agree. Instead of respecting stare decisis and precedent, he is saying that older cases shouldn’t have the power to control newer ones. For Thomas, just because courts ruled that LGBTQ people should have rights in the past, including the right to marry, doesn’t mean he feels compelled to rule that they should keep them. Elie Mystal, "Clarence Thomas Admits That He’s Coming for Our Rights", The Nation, 2 October 2025 We’ve seen this in Thomas’s opinions in recent years. In 2022, he declared, in a separate but supporting opinion in the Dobbs case, that Roe v. Wade was not respectful of our legal traditions, but Loving v. Virginia is. Why? Well because Roe gave women rights, while Loving gave Thomas the right to marry his white wife, and if you have a better legal difference between those cases other than Thomas’s own personal preferences, I’d love to hear you explain it. Thomas has also decided (in this case, writing for the majority) that simple gun registration laws are not respectful of our traditions in this country, but he signed on to an opinion giving the president the powers of the very king we revolted against. You simply cannot chart a course through what passes for logic in Thomas’s head without understanding his preferred policy outcomes.If Thomas were the only justice who thought like this, it would be a containable problem. But the entire Republican cabal on the Supreme Court rules exactly in the way Thomas is talking about, with no respect for precedent or stare decisis. This coming term, the Republicans on the court are likely to overturn a voting rights precedent they set for themselves only a couple of years ago. The Republicans literally cannot be trusted to respect their own rulings. Elie Mystal, "Clarence Thomas Admits That He’s Coming for Our Rights", The Nation, 2 October 2025 N CEO of Target Brian Cornell selling out the LGBTQ+ community to extremists is a real profile in courage. This isn’t just a couple stores in the South. There is a systematic attack on the gay community happening across the country. Wake up America. This doesn’t stop here. You’re black? You’re Asian? You’re Jewish? You’re a woman? You’re next. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, quoted in Newsom knocks Target CEO for pulling LGBTQ merchandise from stores https://thehill.com/homenews/4018653-newsom-knocks-target-ceo-for-pulling-lgbtq-merchandise-from-stores/ May 24, 2023 The Hill O They have gone after trans kids in every conceivable dimension. They’re trying to take their parents’ support away, they’re trying to take doctors’ support away, they’re trying to take teachers’ support away, and they’re trying to take their teams and coaches away. Cathryn Oakley, quoted in GOP lawmakers push historic wave of bills targeting rights of LGBTQ teens, children and their families https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/25/lgbtq-rights-gop-bills-dont-say-gay/ March 25, 2022 The Washington Post It's not about the children. It's about pushing the LGBTQ community back into the closet. If it were about the children, they would focus on all these other issues that are going on with foster care, gun control. Obsinity (drag queen) speaking in opposition to the Tennessee drag ban, quoted in We Talked to Drag Queens About Being Banned: ‘We’re Not Going Anywhere’ https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjvpm5/tennessee-banned-drag-shows-anti-trans-bills April 6, 2023 Vice News Of course, I have been covering the wonderful month of Pride, for which I feel no pride for at all. I think it should be called shame month. It’s absolute debauchery. I spoke about this last week and when you believe when you start to see that your government is sponsoring that, when they’re putting real dollars behind things like drag queen story hour in New York City, you should realize that something nefarious is going on because the government does not care about your children. No, the government does not love your children. The government does not want your children to be accepted. The government wants your children to be enslaved to government for the rest of their life. And right now, as we’re seeing, there is a marriage between government and big pharma. It is my belief that that is the push behind this effort to tell children that they can pick their gender and to confuse them. And you’re seeing right now that adults are getting behind this narrative so they can have a woke T-shirt on and say I love my children. I allowed my child to pick their gender and pick their species. And they feel proud of themselves because they can go and they can say this on Facebook that they are wonderful, accepting, and loving adults. When, in reality, they are underqualified to have children. They should have their children taken away from them because it’s child abuse. Candace Owens, quoted in Candace Owens absurdly says parents who are cool with drag queens are ‘underqualified to have children’ https://sports.yahoo.com/candace-owens-absurdly-says-parents-203303533.html June 17, 2022 Independent P I named SB 12 to be one of my top priorities this session because someone must push back against the radical left’s disgusting drag performances which harm Texas children. It is shocking to me that any parent would allow their young child to be sexualized by drag shows. Children, who cannot make decisions on their own, must be protected from this scourge facing our state. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, quoted in Does Texas’s ‘drag ban bill’ target transgender Texans? https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/4033290-does-texas-drag-ban-bill-target-transgender-texans/ June 5, 2023 The Hill R We need to just pause, we need to understand what these emerging therapies actually may potentially do to our kids. My heart goes out to them. I’m a parent, I’m a grandmother, I know how difficult this is. This is an extremely uncomfortable position for me to be in. I don’t like it. But I have to do what I believe right now is in the best interest of the kids. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, quoted in Kim Reynolds says Iowa ban on gender-affirming care is in the 'best interest of the kids' https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/21/kim-reynolds-says-iowa-should-pause-gender-affirming-care-to-trans-kids/70034427007/ March 21, 2023 Des Moines Register A conservative parents’ group is suing a Minnesota school district over its transgender-inclusive bathroom policy, one month after the Trump administration announced its own suit against the state’s Department of Education. New Richmond Parents for Strong Schools (NRPSS) filed a lawsuit against the New Richmond School District (NRSD) on April 10, alleging that the district violated Title IX anti-discrimination law by allowing trans students to use bathrooms and locker rooms which match their gender identity. The suit refers to trans girls as “biological males” and “men” throughout, including in reference to one unnamed trans high school student. NRPSS is represented in the suit by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), a conservative legal group which previously fought against coronavirus mask mandates. They are asking for a permanent injunction forcing the school to separate its bathrooms and locker rooms for “females” and “males,” as well as unspecified compensatory damages. Them emailed NRSD’s communications department for comment, but did not receive a reply at time of writing on Monday. Samantha Riedel, "Conservative Parents Are Suing a Minnesota School District for Letting Trans Kids Use Bathrooms", Them, 13 April 2026 Founded just last month, NRPSS is a nonprofit group for parents of current and former NRSD students with the specific purpose of “preserv[ing] sex-segregated bathrooms and locker rooms in public school districts in Wisconsin,” according to its publicly available bylaws. The group’s lawsuit claims that several members’ children have felt afraid to use bathrooms in their schools, but does not make specific claims of misconduct. One member’s child is said to worry that the unnamed trans high schooler “may be taking photos or videos of the female students” with her cell phone while in the girls’ bathroom, but the suit does not provide further evidence for such an allegation. (Recording a person without their consent is already a violation of NRSD rules, according to the district’s bylaws.) Samantha Riedel, "Conservative Parents Are Suing a Minnesota School District for Letting Trans Kids Use Bathrooms", Them, 13 April 2026 The NRPSS suit comes just over a month after the Department of Education announced its own Title IX investigation into the NRSD, in a release that also misgendered trans girls as “biological men.” That investigation itself followed a March 5 announcement that the Justice Department had filed suit against both the Minnesota Department of Education and State High School League, claiming that Minnesota schools violated Title IX by allowing trans students to compete in sports leagues which match their gender. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed the trans-inclusive policies “unfairly undermine girls on the playing field.”Minnesota has emerged as a major battleground in the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign against trans students’ rights, which Trump has waged since the first day of his second term. The president’s offensive against Minnesota also comes on the heels of this year’s disastrous “Operation Metro Surge,” during which ICE agents swarmed Minneapolis neighborhoods and killed at least two people, including queer resident Becca Good. Samantha Riedel, "Conservative Parents Are Suing a Minnesota School District for Letting Trans Kids Use Bathrooms", Them, 13 April 2026 Donald Trump had recently finished a familiar riff about banning gender transition surgery for children when the former president, speaking to an audience of Evangelical voters, moved on to something new: a policy that would affect transgender adults. “I will ban all taxpayer funding for sex or gender transitions at any age,” said Trump, receiving thunderous applause at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington last month. The Republican leader, who moments earlier had also pledged to reinstate a ban on transgender men and women serving in the military, paused for several seconds to soak in the crowd’s adulation. It’s the kind of moment — and the type of policy — increasingly common on the GOP presidential campaign trail this year. A Republican Party that in recent years has emphasized transgender issues related to children, teenagers and student-athletes is becoming more and more comfortable now also focusing on transgender adults, led by a field of GOP presidential candidates who, through rhetoric and policy proposal, have denounced elements of the transgender movement as a farce and sought to limit the ways in which these adults can have the medical procedures performed. Alex Roarty, "It’s trans adults, too: GOP candidates now back trans medical restrictions for all ages", Miami Herald, 14 July 2023 It’s a shift led by Trump, whose proposed federal funding ban is just one of an array of policies designed to position himself as the Republican candidate most fiercely opposed to transgender rights. But the change isn’t confined to the former president’s candidacy, with many of Trump’s rivals also offering blunt assessments about the legitimacy of medical procedures that help people transition to their self-identified gender while adopting many of the former president’s own positions, including a ban on federal funds for gender transition surgery that LGBTQ advocates call a dramatic new front for the party’s anti-transgender agenda. Alex Roarty, "It’s trans adults, too: GOP candidates now back trans medical restrictions for all ages", Miami Herald, 14 July 2023 In statements to McClatchyDC, the campaigns of many of the primary’s leading contenders — including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson — said they also support bans on the use of federal taxpayer money for gender transition surgeries for all ages. “Taxpayer money should not be used for transgender surgery,” said Hutchinson, who as a candidate has been generally more reluctant to embrace the sharp-elbowed culture-warrior persona of other GOP contenders. “It is an individual choice to undertake transgender surgery and it is objectionable to many taxpayers. Taxpayers should not foot the bill.”Other candidates supportive of the ban offered an even broader condemnation of all gender-reassignment surgeries as a treatment option. “It’s wrong to treat anorexia with a liposuction, just as it’s inhumane to treat a person who suffers from gender dysphoria with genital mutilation,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for Ramaswamy’s campaign, told McClatchyDC in a statement this week. “These are mental health illnesses and should be treated as such.” Alex Roarty, "It’s trans adults, too: GOP candidates now back trans medical restrictions for all ages", Miami Herald, 14 July 2023 Because of Ron DeSantis and his frenzied appeal to extremists, LGBTQ+ people in Florida are finding themselves in a state of emergency every single day. Since the day he took office, Governor DeSantis has weaponized his position to weave bigotry, hate, and discrimination into public law for his own political gain... Those who visit must join us in their vocal opposition to these dangerous policies. Kelley Robinson, quoted in LGBT Travel Advisory to the State of Florida. Human Rights Campaign. May 23, 2023. Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and a prominent figure in the American conservative movement, was fatally shot during a live event at Utah Valley University on 10 September. His death has reignited scrutiny over his controversial political stances, particularly his outspoken opposition to LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion.Kirk, aged 31, built his reputation as a staunch supporter of right-wing ideologies, often courting controversy with inflammatory remarks. His views on LGBTQ issues were among the most divisive. He frequently described progressive stances on gender and sexuality as “sexual anarchy” and condemned LGBTQ-inclusive education, arguing that it eroded cultural identity.In multiple broadcasts and public appearances, Kirk used anti-transgender slurs and celebrated being able to do so on platforms like Rumble. He labelled transgender individuals as “groomers” and advocated for banning gender-affirming care, even suggesting that providers should face “Nuremberg-style trials”.His rhetoric aligned with broader efforts in right-wing media to roll back LGBTQ+ protections, including celebrating Supreme Court rulings that allowed businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ+ customers on religious grounds. Graham Robson, "Charlie Kirk: A legacy of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric", Scene, 11 September 2025 Kirk’s comments extended to dangerous misinformation. Just moments before his fatal shooting, he responded to a question about trans mass shooters by saying “Too many,” despite data showing the vast majority of such incidents are committed by cisgender men.His influence was not limited to media. Kirk played a key role in shaping conservative youth discourse through Turning Point USA, a platform that has been criticised for hosting events and promoting narratives hostile to LGBTQ+ communities. Despite this, he was invited as the first guest on California Governor Gavin Newsom’s podcast earlier this year, a move that drew backlash given Kirk’s history of incendiary remarks.While tributes from political allies, including President Donald Trump, praised Kirk as “legendary,” critics argue that his legacy is marred by a pattern of bigotry and harmful rhetoric. Graham Robson, "Charlie Kirk: A legacy of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric", Scene, 11 September 2025 Hey, look over there! A classic distraction technique, distracting us away from the real issues that they were voted into office to focus on: jobs, healthcare, keeping our children safe from harm at their own school. But we know that bullies are incompetent at solving real issues. They look for easy targets so they can give the impression of being effective. They think our love, our light, our laughter and our joy are signs of weakness. But they’re wrong because that is our strength. Drag queens are the Marines of the queer movement. Don’t get it twisted and don’t be distracted. Register to vote so we can get these stunt queens out of office and put some smart people with real solutions into government. RuPaul, quoted in RuPaul slams 'stunt queen' politicians for banning drag shows https://www.today.com/popculture/news/rupaul-responds-drag-queen-ban-rcna74075 March 8, 2023 Today S The 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will stop providing tailored support options to LGBTQ+ youth and young adults on July 17, according to a statement on a federal agency’s website. The decision preempts the Trump administration’s 2026 budget proposal to cut funding for 988’s LGBTQ+ youth and young adult services, and is raising alarm bells among LGBTQ+ advocates.Federal data shows the LGBTQ+ youth program has served nearly 1.3 million callers since it started in September 2022. The services were accessible under the “Press 3” option on the phone or by replying “PRIDE” via text.The decision was was made to “no longer silo” the services and “to focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) said in a statement dated Tuesday on its website. News of the LGBTQ+ service shutting down comes as the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors on Wednesday. Devi Shastri, "Trump administration removing 988 hotline service tailored to LGBTQ+ youth in July", Associated Press, 18 June 2025 Studies have shown that LGBTQ+ youth are at higher risk of suicide, including a 2024 analysis by the CDC that found 26% transgender and gender-questioning students attempted suicide in the past year. That’s compared with 5% of cisgender male and 11% of cisgender female students. Young transgender people flooded crisis hotlines with calls after President Donald Trump was re-elected. Trump made anti-transgender themes central to his campaign and has since rolled back many civil rights protections and access to gender-affirming care. Devi Shastri, "Trump administration removing 988 hotline service tailored to LGBTQ+ youth in July", Associated Press, 18 June 2025 On July 17, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will no longer silo LGB+ youth services, also known as the “Press 3 option,” to focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, "SAMHSA Statement on 988 Press 3 Option", 17 June 2025 One of the big issues that we have heard today and we've talked about lately is that without surgery the risk of suicide goes way up. Well, I am one of those parents who lived with a daughter who was suicidal for three years. Someone once asked me, "Wouldn't I just do anything to help save her?" And I really had to think and the answer was, "No." I was not going to give in to her emotional manipulation because she was incapable of making those decisions and I had to make those decisions for her. I was not going to let her tear apart my family and I was not going to let her tear apart me. Montana state Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, quoted in Montana Republican suggests she would prefer daughter die by suicide than allow her to transition https://www.salon.com/2023/05/01/montana-suggests-she-would-prefer-daughter-by-than-allow-her-to-transition/ May 1, 2023 Salon Goal #3: Promoting Stable and Flourishing Married Families. Families comprised of a married mother, father, and their children are the foundation of a well-ordered nation and healthy society. Unfortunately, family policies and programs under President Biden’s HHS are fraught with agenda items focusing on “LGBTQ+ equity,” subsidizing single-motherhood, disincentivizing work, and penalizing marriage. These policies should be repealed and replaced by policies that support the formation of stable, married, nuclear families. Roger Severino, "Department of Health and Human Services," Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise: 2025 Presidential Transition Project (2023), edited by Paul Dans & Steven Groves, Washington: The Heritage Foundation, paperback, p. 450 The CDC should immediately end its collection of data on gender identity, which legitimizes the unscientific notion that men can become women (and vice versa) and encourages the phenomenon of ever-multiplying subjective identities. Roger Severino, "Department of Health and Human Services," Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise: 2025 Presidential Transition Project (2023), edited by Paul Dans & Steven Groves, Washington: The Heritage Foundation, paperback, p. 456 The U.S. Education Department has threatened two school districts in Michigan and Maryland with federal funding cuts over their transgender policies, the latest action by President Donald Trump's administration to limit transgender rights.It said in a statement on Monday it was partnering with the Department of Justice in looking at the issue, and that enforcement actions could include "applicable judicial proceedings and potential loss of federal funding."The Education Department is accusing Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland of violating the Family Educational Rights ⁠and Privacy Act by classifying information about a student's gender identity as "confidential medical information" that cannot be shared with parents.It also said that Ann Arbor Public Schools in Michigan is likely violating the same law with a policy it described as requiring "school employees to hide a child's transgender status from his or her parents." Kanishka Singh, "US threatens funding cuts for two school districts over transgender policies", Reuters, 27 July 2026 In a statement cited by an NBC affiliate, Anne Arundel County Public Schools said it first learned of the Education Department's assertions through the department's statement, adding it did not receive any formal correspondence or documents to support the findings. It added that it will carefully review such information once received and will "respond through the appropriate process." Ann Arbor Public Schools had no immediate comment. Kanishka Singh, "US threatens funding cuts for two school districts over transgender policies", Reuters, 27 July 2026 The Education Department said the Trump administration will take enforcement action against Anne Arundel County Public Schools and gave Ann Arbor Public Schools until August 10 to demonstrate why the government should not move forward with similar action.Trump has cast the gender identity of transgender people as a lie, issued a series of executive actions targeting their rights and stated in a directive that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes: male and female.Trump has also attempted to freeze ​federal funding for educational institutions over other issues such as climate initiatives, pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's assault on Gaza and diversity programs. Kanishka Singh, "US threatens funding cuts for two school districts over transgender policies", Reuters, 27 July 2026 Today is a sad day in American constitutional law and in the lives of LGBT people... The immediate, symbolic effect of the decision is to mark gays and lesbians for second-class status. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissent in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis ‎ Christian parents don’t think the schools should be evangelizing children into sexual ideologies they don’t agree with. So that’s what the bill is about, to try to get schools to stop doing that… I’m empowering the parent that is directly affected by what they see as overriding their beliefs. Oklahoma state Sen. Rob Standridge, quoted in GOP lawmakers push historic wave of bills targeting rights of LGBTQ teens, children and their families https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/25/lgbtq-rights-gop-bills-dont-say-gay/ March 25, 2022 The Washington Post Kirk adopted a traditional Christian conservative stance in his approach to many contemporary issues, telling an audience at a Trump election rally in Georgia last fall that Democrats “stand for everything God hates” and adding: “This is a Christian state. I’d like to see it stay that way.”He also lashed out at the gay community, denouncing what he called the “LGBTQ agenda,” expressing opposition to same-sex marriage and suggesting that the Bible verse Leviticus 20:13, which endorses the execution of homosexuals, serves as “God’s perfect law when it comes to sexual matters.”“I don’t agree with your lifestyle,” Kirk told a gay Wisconsin college student last September. “I don’t think you should introduce yourself just based on your sexuality because that’s not who you are.”He also argued against gender-affirming care for transgender people and insisted there are only two genders, sporting a T-shirt at one Arizona rally last year that read: “xy = man.”More recently, he discussed the burning of Pride flags, writing on X (Twitter): “We should work to overturn every conviction for those arrested, fined, or otherwise harassed for the ‘hate crime’ of doing donuts over Pride flags painted on public streets. Joe Summerlad, "Where Charlie Kirk stood on guns, the LGBT+ community and the future of the United States", Independent, 11 September 2025 T We love you queens! We're in your corner and we've got you, and I will fuck anybody up who's trying to fuck with anything with you guys. There are so many things that are hurting and, really, killing our kids — and we all know what I'm talking about right now — and it ain't no drag queen. Because if you've ever seen a drag queen lip-sync for her life, it only makes you happier, it only makes you love more, it makes you a better person. Charlize Theron, quoted in Charlize Theron says she'll 'f--- anybody up' who goes after drag queens: 'No more room for hate' https://ew.com/celebrity/charlize-theron-defends-drag-queens-telethon/ May 11, 2023 Entertainment Weekly Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to take the rare step of renaming a ship, one that bears the name of a gay rights icon, documents and sources show. Military-dot-com reviewed a memorandum from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy -- the official who holds the power to name Navy ships -- that showed the sea service had come up with rollout plans for the renaming of the oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk. A defense official confirmed that the Navy was making preparations to strip the ship of its name but noted that Navy Secretary John Phelan was ordered to do so by Hegseth. The official also said that the timing of the announcement -- occurring during Pride month -- was intentional. Konstantin Toropin, "Hegseth Orders Navy to Strip Name of Gay Rights Icon Harvey Milk from Ship", 3 June 2025 Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House Speaker who represents much of San Francisco, in a statement Tuesday called the decision to rename the ship "a surrender of a fundamental American value: to honor the legacy of those who worked to build a better country."The Harvey Milk is a John Lewis-class oiler, a group of ships that are to be named after prominent civil rights leaders and activists. CBS reported Tuesday that the Navy is also considering renaming other John Lewis-class oilers including the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and USNS Harriet Tubman. Both Marshall and Ginsburg were Supreme Court justices, and Tubman was a Black abolitionist who helped slaves escape the South via the Underground Railroad. Unlike the Milk, though, some of the ships being considered for renaming have yet to be completed.Pelosi called that possibility "a shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American Dream." "Our military is the most powerful in the world -- but this spiteful move does not strengthen our national security or the 'warrior' ethos," she added. Konstantin Toropin, "Hegseth Orders Navy to Strip Name of Gay Rights Icon Harvey Milk from Ship", 3 June 2025 On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 6-3 ruling to uphold state laws that prohibit transgender women and girls from playing on school sports teams that match their gender identity in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox. The key question in both cases asked whether or not these state bans violate Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in school programs. Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, federal courts had blocked the enforcement of both laws.The West Virginia v. B.P.J case centered on an 11-year-old (now 15-year-old) West Virginian named Becky Pepper-Jackson and her family. In 2021, West Virginia passed a law (House Bill 3293) banning transgender girls and women from participating on girls’ school sports teams, from middle school through college. Because she is transgender, Becky was prohibited from joining her school’s running team – and her family took legal action to challenge the state law. Becky’s family successfully blocked House Bill 3293 in the lower courts, however, the state asked the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s decision, and re-litigate the case at our country’s highest judicial level. It’s important to note that Pepper-Jackson was the only openly transgender athlete in the state of West Virginia. Trevor Project, "What you need to know about the U.S. Supreme Court Cases on Transgender Sports Bans", 30 June 2026 When you start saying, ‘I’m a man, I become a woman, I’m now winning national championships, setting weightlifting world records, displacing women who’ve worked their entire lives to get to a point in their careers, I think that’s wrong. Donald Trump Jr., quoted in The Wedge Issue That’s Dividing Trumpworld https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/07/wedge-issue-dividing-trumpworld-392323 August 7, 2020 Politico I will sign a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programmes that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age. I will then ask congress to permanently stop federal tax-payer dollars from being used to promote or pay for these procedures and pass a law prohibiting child-sexual mutilation in all 50 states – it’ll go very quickly. I will declare that any hospital or healthcare provider that participates in the chemical or physical mutilation of minor youth will no longer meet federal health and safety standards for Medicaid and Medicare and will be terminated from the programme immediately. Furthermore I will support the creation of a private right of action for victims to sue doctors who have unforgivably performed these procedures on minor children. Donald Trump, quoted in Donald Trump vows to ban gender-affirming healthcare for kids in stinging attack on LGBTQ+ rights https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/02/01/donald-trump-trans-healthcare-lgbtq-rights/ February 1, 2023 Pink News It’s amazing how strongly people feel about that. You see I’m talking about cutting taxes, people go like that. I talk about transgender, everyone goes crazy. Who would have thought? Five years ago, you didn’t know what the hell it was. Donald Trump, quoted in Trump Checks Crowd Over 'Crazy' Ovation: You 'Didn't Know' About This 5 Years Ago https://news.yahoo.com/trump-checks-crowd-over-crazy-063513389.html June 11, 2023 Yahoo! News Across the country, ideologues who deny the biological reality of sex have increasingly used legal and other socially coercive means to permit men to self-identify as women and gain access to intimate single-sex spaces and activities designed for women, from women’s domestic abuse shelters to women’s workplace showers. This is wrong. Efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex fundamentally attack women by depriving them of their dignity, safety, and well-being. The erasure of sex in language and policy has a corrosive impact not just on women but on the validity of the entire American system. Basing Federal policy on truth is critical to scientific inquiry, public safety, morale, and trust in government itself.This unhealthy road is paved by an ongoing and purposeful attack against the ordinary and longstanding use and understanding of biological and scientific terms, replacing the immutable biological reality of sex with an internal, fluid, and subjective sense of self unmoored from biological facts. Invalidating the true and biological category of “woman” improperly transforms laws and policies designed to protect sex-based opportunities into laws and policies that undermine them, replacing longstanding, cherished legal rights and values with an identity-based, inchoate social concept.Accordingly, my Administration will defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male. Donald Trump, Order 14168: "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government", 20 January 2025 It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality. Donald Trump, Order 14168: "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government", 20 January 2025 “Gender ideology” replaces the biological category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity, permitting the false claim that males can identify as and thus become women and vice versa, and requiring all institutions of society to regard this false claim as true. Gender ideology includes the idea that there is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one’s sex. Gender ideology is internally inconsistent, in that it diminishes sex as an identifiable or useful category but nevertheless maintains that it is possible for a person to be born in the wrong sexed body. Donald Trump, Order 14168: "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government", 20 January 2025 Agencies shall remove all statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications, or other internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology, and shall cease issuing such statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications or other messages. Agency forms that require an individual’s sex shall list male or female, and shall not request gender identity. Agencies shall take all necessary steps, as permitted by law, to end the Federal funding of gender ideology. Donald Trump, Order 14168: "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government", 20 January 2025 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:Section 1. Policy and Purpose. Across the country today, medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions. This dangerous trend will be a stain on our Nation’s history, and it must end.Countless children soon regret that they have been mutilated and begin to grasp the horrifying tragedy that they will never be able to conceive children of their own or nurture their children through breastfeeding. Moreover, these vulnerable youths’ medical bills may rise throughout their lifetimes, as they are often trapped with lifelong medical complications, a losing war with their own bodies, and, tragically, sterilization.Accordingly, it is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called “transition” of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures. Donald Trump, Order 14187: "Protect Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation", 28 January 2025 The phrase “chemical and surgical mutilation” means the use of puberty blockers, including GnRH agonists and other interventions, to delay the onset or progression of normally timed puberty in an individual who does not identify as his or her sex; the use of sex hormones, such as androgen blockers, estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone, to align an individual’s physical appearance with an identity that differs from his or her sex; and surgical procedures that attempt to transform an individual’s physical appearance to align with an identity that differs from his or her sex or that attempt to alter or remove an individual’s sexual organs to minimize or destroy their natural biological functions. This phrase sometimes is referred to as “gender affirming care.” Donald Trump, Order 14187: "Protect Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation", 28 January 2025 Sec. 3. Ending Reliance on Junk Science. (a) The blatant harm done to children by chemical and surgical mutilation cloaks itself in medical necessity, spurred by guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which lacks scientific integrity. In light of the scientific concerns with the WPATH guidance:(i) agencies shall rescind or amend all policies that rely on WPATH guidance, including WPATH’s “Standards of Care Version 8”; and(ii) within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall publish a review of the existing literature on best practices for promoting the health of children who assert gender dysphoria, rapid-onset gender dysphoria, or other identity-based confusion.(b) The Secretary of HHS, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, shall use all available methods to increase the quality of data to guide practices for improving the health of minors with gender dysphoria, rapid-onset gender dysphoria, or other identity-based confusion, or who otherwise seek chemical or surgical mutilation. Donald Trump, Order 14187: "Protect Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation", 28 January 2025 Sec. 4. Defunding Chemical and Surgical Mutilation. The head of each executive department or agency (agency) that provides research or education grants to medical institutions, including medical schools and hospitals, shall, consistent with applicable law and in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, immediately take appropriate steps to ensure that institutions receiving Federal research or education grants end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children. Donald Trump, Order 14187: "Protect Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation", 28 January 2025 Sec. 6. TRICARE. The Department of Defense provides health insurance, through TRICARE, to nearly 2 million individuals under the age of 18. As appropriate and consistent with applicable law, the Secretary of Defense shall commence a rulemaking or sub-regulatory action to exclude chemical and surgical mutilation of children from TRICARE coverage and amend the TRICARE provider handbook to exclude chemical and surgical mutilation of children. Donald Trump, Order 14187: "Protect Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation", 28 January 2025 Imprinting anti-American, subversive, harmful, and false ideologies on our Nation’s children not only violates longstanding anti-discrimination civil rights law in many cases, but usurps basic parental authority. For example, steering students toward surgical and chemical mutilation without parental consent or involvement or allowing males access to private spaces designated for females may contravene Federal laws that protect parental rights, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), and sex-based equality and opportunity, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX). Similarly, demanding acquiescence to “White Privilege” or “unconscious bias,” actually promotes racial discrimination and undermines national unity. Donald Trump, Order 14190: "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling", 29 January 2025 Within 90 days of the date of this order, to advise the President in formulating future policy, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall provide an Ending Indoctrination Strategy to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, containing recommendations and a plan for:(i) eliminating Federal funding or support for illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology(ii) protecting parental rights, pursuant to FERPA, 20 U.S.C. 1232g, and the PPRA, 20 U.S.C. 1232h, with respect to any K-12 policies or conduct implicated by the purpose and policy of this order.(b) The Ending Indoctrination Strategy submitted under subsection (a) of this section shall contain a summary and analysis of the following:(i) All Federal funding sources and streams, including grants or contracts, that directly or indirectly support or subsidize the instruction, advancement, or promotion of gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology:(A) in K-12 curriculum, instruction, programs, or activities; or(B) in K-12 teacher education, certification, licensing, employment, or training;(ii) Each agency’s process to prevent or rescind Federal funds, to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, from being used by an ESA, SEA, LEA, elementary school, or secondary school to directly or indirectly support or subsidize the instruction, advancement, or promotion of gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology in:(A) K-12 curriculum, instruction, programs, or activities; or(B) K-12 teacher certification, licensing, employment, or training;(iii) Each agency’s process to prevent or rescind Federal funds, to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, from being used by an ESA, SEA, LEA, elementary school, or secondary school to directly or indirectly support or subsidize the social transition of a minor student, including through school staff or teachers or through deliberately concealing the minor’s social transition from the minor’s parents. Donald Trump, Order 14190: "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling", 29 January 2025 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to protect opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Policy and Purpose. In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports. This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.Therefore, it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth. Donald Trump, Order 14201: "Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports", 5 February 2025 The Secretary of State, including through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ Sports Diplomacy Division and the Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, shall:(i) rescind support for and participation in people-to-people sports exchanges or other sports programs within which the relevant female sports category is based on identity and not sex Donald Trump, Order 14201: "Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports", 5 February 2025 Merry Christmas to all, including the Radical Left Scum that is doing everything possible to destroy our Country, but are failing badly. We no longer have Open Borders, Men in Women’s Sports, Transgender for Everyone, or Weak Law Enforcement. What we do have is a Record Stock Market and 401K’s, Lowest Crime numbers in decades, No Inflation, and yesterday, a 4.3 GDP, two points better than expected. Tariffs have given us Trillions of Dollars in Growth and Prosperity, and the strongest National Security we have ever had. We are respected again, perhaps like never before. God Bless America!!! President DJT Donald Trump in dual posts on Twitter and Truth Social on 25 December 2025 W The Left has taken away all of the neutral cultural ground. This is why brands like Bud Light and Nike are giving endorsement deals to a dude in a dress... They can be baptized into wokeism and openly worship at the LGBT altar, or they can by default align themselves with conservatives... Here's what we should do: Pick a victim, gang up on it, and make an example of it. We can't boycott every woke company or even most of them. But we can pick one, it hardly matters which, and target it with a ruthless boycott campaign. Claim one scalp then move onto the next. Matt Walsh, quoted in Gay and trans people deserve to live without persecution in the US. Why is that so hard? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/01/gay-and-trans-people-deserve-to-live-without-persecution-why-is-that-so-hard April 5, 2023 The Guardian The U.S. Department of Education urged the NCAA and the NFHS on Tuesday to restore female athletes' records and awards that were "wrongfully erased" by biological males, who "unfairly competed" in women's sports. The letter, sent to the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the National Federation of State High School Associations, comes one week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to ban transgender women from competing in women's sports "as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity and truth." The NCAA updated its policies Thursday to comply with the order and limit "competition in women's sports to student-athletes assigned female at birth only." The Education Department called restoring female athletes' records the "next necessary step.""The next necessary step is to restore athletic records to women who have for years been devalued, ignored and forced to watch men steal their accolades," said Candice Jackson, deputy general counsel. "The Trump Education Department will do everything in our power to right this wrong and champion the hard-earned accomplishments of past, current and future female collegiate athletes." Sheri Walsh, "Education Department urges NCAA to erase records set by transgender athletes", 11 February 2025 As of Thursday, transgender people in Kansas whose driver’s licenses do not reflect their sex assigned at birth are breaking the law if they drive, after the Republican-controlled legislature stripped them of previously valid credentials by overriding Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a sweeping new measure. More than 1,500 residents are affected, and the change took effect immediately with no grace period. “This is what fascism looks like," the Human Rights Campaign said in a post on Instagram. The letters notifying trans residents of the move are blunt, bureaucratic, and devastating in their implications. “If you have received this notice,” the Kansas Division of Vehicles tells transgender residents, “your current Kansas credential will no longer be valid.” Christopher Wiggins, "Kansas immediately revokes transgender residents’ driver’s licenses", Advocate, 26 February 2026 According to Reuters, the change affects transgender residents whose gender markers on driver’s licenses and birth certificates had previously been corrected. Kansas officials have estimated roughly 1,700 driver’s licenses and a similar number of birth certificates are impacted, according to the Kansas City Star. The law also bars future changes to gender markers on those documents and requires residents to pay for replacement credentials.Kansas now stands apart nationally. While several GOP-controlled states have blocked future updates to gender markers, Kansas is retroactively voiding documents already issued in a rare and expansive step that effectively erases prior legal recognition.Kansas’s current stance marks a dramatic reversal from where the state stood just seven years ago. In June 2019, after a federal lawsuit, Kansas agreed to allow transgender residents to update the sex listed on their birth certificates to match their gender identity. That policy was one of the last in a series of incremental legal recognitions of transgender rights in the state before subsequent litigation and Republican-led legislation began rolling it back. Christopher Wiggins, "Kansas immediately revokes transgender residents’ driver’s licenses", Advocate, 26 February 2026 The law extends beyond identification cards. It requires transgender people to use bathrooms and locker rooms in public buildings that correspond to their sex assigned at birth. “Instead of meeting the needs of their constituents, Kansas lawmakers have prioritized cruelty,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said after the legislation’s passage.For many residents, the consequences are immediate and practical. A driver’s license is not merely permission to operate a vehicle; it is a key to employment, housing, air travel, and voter participation. Kansas requires photo identification to vote, meaning the sudden invalidation of IDs could disrupt civic participation.The policy also places people in legal limbo. Under Kansas law, driving without a valid license is a misdemeanor that can carry fines or possible jail time. The state’s own letter emphasizes that filing an appeal “will not preserve the validity of your current credential and associated driving authority.” For transgender Kansans now scrambling to replace essential documents, the inconvenience is anything but abstract. “We apologize for the inconvenience this causes you,” it concludes. Christopher Wiggins, "Kansas immediately revokes transgender residents’ driver’s licenses", Advocate, 26 February 2026 You don’t get progress without backlash. So it’s not a coincidence that we’re seeing these anti-trans bills in the states at the same time as we’re seeing growing support. They can feel like contradictory trends, but really they are two sides of the exact same coin. Hannah Willard, quoted in GOP lawmakers push historic wave of bills targeting rights of LGBTQ teens, children and their families https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/25/lgbtq-rights-gop-bills-dont-say-gay/ March 25, 2022 The Washington Post Voting rights are being gutted. Women’s rights are being dismantled, books are being banned, history is being rewritten. The Supreme Court is being corrupted… the LGBT+ community is under attack. Oprah Winfrey, quoted in Oprah Winfrey declares that LGBTQ+ people are ‘under attack’ in powerful graduation speech https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/10/oprah-winfrey-lgbtq-supreme-court-graduation-speech/ May 10, 2023 Pink News The White House has officially declared that June will no longer be LGBT-Pride Month. This comes as GOP leaders in Congress head in the same direction and more companies back away from pushing rainbow flags and other LGBT-themed items in retail stores. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday the White House has "no plans" to issue a proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month. "There are no plans for a proclamation for the month of June," Leavitt said, "but I can tell you this president is very proud to be a president for all Americans, regardless of race, religion, or creed."Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education published a new report Monday declaring that June will now be recognized as "Title IX" Month, in honor of the 53rd anniversary of Title IX of the Educational Amendments (1972) being signed into law. "June will now be dedicated to commemorating women and celebrating their struggle for, and achievement of, equal educational opportunity. Throughout the month, the Department will highlight actions taken to reverse the Biden Administration's legacy of undermining Title IX and announce additional actions to protect women in line with the true purpose of Title IX," the declaration reads.GOP lawmakers have plans to go a step further, announcing a resolution that will declare June as "Family Month," the Daily Wire first reported. Congresswoman Mary Miller (R-IL) introduced the resolution that points out the foundational importance of the nuclear family in building a strong nation while at the same time condemning Pride Month as "perverse" celebrations that "denigrate the nuclear family." Talia Wise, "Trump Admin Declares June Is No Longer 'Pride Month', Retail Stores Backtrack on LGBT Displays", Christian Broadcasting Network, 4 June 2025 In 1999, former President Bill Clinton named June "Gay and Lesbian Month." A decade later, then-President Barack Obama expanded it by including bisexual and transgender people and renamed it "LGBT Pride Month." In 2021, the Biden administration further expanded the observance to include Queers – dubbing the observance "LGBTQ+ Pride Month."During his first term, President Trump declined to issue a proclamation for Pride Month but instead became the first Republican president to shine a light on his administration's effort to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide, The Hill reports. "As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation," Trump wrote on the social platform X, then Twitter, in 2019. "My Administration has launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality and invite all nations to join us in this effort!" During his second term, the president has taken a more aggressive approach in pushing back against gender ideology as transgender issues have dominated headlines regarding public schools, women's sports, and parental rights. Talia Wise, "Trump Admin Declares June Is No Longer 'Pride Month', Retail Stores Backtrack on LGBT Displays", Christian Broadcasting Network, 4 June 2025 As CBN News reported, within the first 10 days of office, Trump declared, "There are only two genders: male and female," and signed an executive order titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government." The executive order outlined that "radical gender ideology has devastated biological truth and women's safety and opportunity," and will protect Americans' First Amendment and statutory rights to recognize the biological and binary nature of sex. "Men and women are equal but have obvious sexual differences," it reads. "If federal policies promote such an obvious falsehood that men can become women, the government will forfeit all credibility. The government must maintain a commitment to recognizing biological reality to maintain the trust of the American people." Talia Wise, "Trump Admin Declares June Is No Longer 'Pride Month', Retail Stores Backtrack on LGBT Displays", Christian Broadcasting Network, 4 June 2025 Early moves by the administration to roll back DEI initiatives in the federal government were followed by retailers shutting down DEI programs — an optional decision. This year, many retail chains and major brands have remained fairly quiet about promoting LGBT-related campaigns at the start of the month of June. According to a survey of more than 200 corporate executives conducted by Gravity Research, 39% of companies report scaling back their Pride Month engagements this year. Retailers, like Target and Bud Light, say boycotts and protests by conservatives from major outlets and companies are finally being felt in the bottom line. As CBN News reported, Target lost $9 billion in one week in 2023 after it began advertising gay pride products, including items for transgender women, in early May. "It's clear that the administration and their supporters are driving the change," Luke Hartig, the president of Gravity Research, told CNN. "Companies are under increasing pressure not to engage and speak out on issues." Target appears to be taking a different approach this year by launching fewer LGBT "inclusive" products in "select stores." Talia Wise, "Trump Admin Declares June Is No Longer 'Pride Month', Retail Stores Backtrack on LGBT Displays", Christian Broadcasting Network, 4 June 2025 Y Kansas is one of five states to prohibit trans people from changing the gender marker on their licenses, but it is the first to pass a law that retroactively cancels licenses that were already changed. The law also invalidated birth certificates for those who updated their gender markers.Hundreds of trans drivers already received letters from the state informing them their documents were “invalid immediately” and they “may be subject to additional penalties” if they continue to drive, unless they surrender the license to the Kansas Division of Vehicles and receive a new one with their birth sex. “I’m pretty heartbroken,” said Jaelynn Abegg, a 41-year-old trans woman living in Wichita who received a letter. She said she will not turn in her license and plans to move this month to another state.“It is a continuation of the message that the Legislature has been sending out for years now, and that is that transgender people are not welcome in Kansas,” she said.Two anonymous trans residents sued Kansas last month, arguing that the law violates state protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality, due process and freedom of speech. On Tuesday, Douglas County District Judge James McCabria declined to grant a temporary restraining order against the law while the case proceeds.McCabria wrote in his decision that there isn't enough evidence to show that trans people will face harassment and discrimination if they have to use bathrooms or show IDs that conflict with their gender identities. Jo Yurcaba, "Kansas revoked 1,700 transgender drivers’ licenses. Some are leaving the state", NBC News, 11 March 2026 Over the last five years, dozens of states have considered bills targeting transgender people, but the majority of those have targeted people’s ability to play on school sports teams that align with their gender identities and minors’ access to transition-related care. In the last few years, state and federal policies have shifted to focus on changing legal definitions of sex and restricting access to updated identity documents.Logan Casey, director of policy research at the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank that tracks legislation, described these broader laws as “gender regulation laws” that attack the fundamental rights and identity of trans people. “The point all along for the people pushing these bills and these attacks has been to single out transgender people and create a license to discriminate against transgender people and remove them from public life,” he said. “In effect, trying to get them to stop being transgender.” Jo Yurcaba, "Kansas revoked 1,700 transgender drivers’ licenses. Some are leaving the state", NBC News, 11 March 2026 Kansas’ law took effect immediately after it was published in the register Feb. 26. A spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Revenue told the Kansas Reflector that the law invalidated about 1,700 licenses. The department did not respond to a request for comment. During the court hearing Friday, Kobach said the department had so far sent letters to 275 Kansans and 138 had received new licenses. Andrea Ellis, a 34-year-old trans woman living in Wellington, said she received a letter Wednesday even though she never changed the gender marker on her license — she only legally changed her name on it in December. She drove to the DMV the next day, where she said staff were confused about what to do and said her license had a “flag” on it.They cut the corner off her license and gave her a temporary one. But later that day, they called her and said she had to return to the DMV because they made an error. When she went back, she said they gave her another temporary license that looked the same as the first. “They claim that it was thought out, and everything else, but there was no grace period unlike any other kind of rollout program,” Ellis said. “There was no plan whatsoever.” Jo Yurcaba, "Kansas revoked 1,700 transgender drivers’ licenses. Some are leaving the state", NBC News, 11 March 2026 Z I hope the next time there's an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands. Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr speaking in opposition to an anti-trans law, quoted in ‘Blood on your hands’: Montan words not unusual https://apnews.com/article/montana-transgender-lawmaker-zooey-zephyr-e44017dee7bb3a86cc06eb407533cf4f# April 27, 2023 AP News See also LGBT in the United States External links Category:2020s anti-LGBT movement in the United States Category:Homophobia Category:Transphobia Category:Conservatism Category:Politics of the United States anti-LGBT Category:LGBT in the United States