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Timeline

Every entry in the archive, ordered by event date. Page 38 of 41, showing May 8, 2023 to April 9, 2024. Pages contain 50 entries each; entries for a given date may continue on the next or previous page.

2024 Events (57)

April(6)

Idaho Gov. Little signed HB 421, defining sex and gender as binary biological categories across state code

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 421 on April 9, 2024, inserting binary biology-based definitions of "sex," "male," "female," and "gender" into Idaho Code section 73-114, the general statutory-terms section that applies by default across all state statutes unless a specific law defines otherwise. The law declares there are "two, and only two, sexes," fixes sex at conception or birth rather than self-identification, defines "gender" as a synonym for biological sex that explicitly excludes gender identity, and amends Idaho's birth-certificate, vulnerable-child, and school changing-facility statutes to point to the new definition. It passed the House 54-14 and the Senate 26-8 and took effect as Session Law Chapter 322 on July 1, 2024.

Idaho Gov. Little signed H0538 barring compelled use of preferred pronouns for government employees and students

On April 8, 2024, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 538 into law, enacting Idaho Code section 67-5909B after the Legislature passed it earlier that session. The law bars adverse action against government employees and public-school students who decline to use a name, title, or pronoun inconsistent with a person's biological sex, prohibits school and higher-education staff from addressing an unemancipated minor by an affirmed name or pronoun without written parental permission, and creates a private cause of action for violations. It took effect July 1, 2024, as Session Law Chapter 314.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed state Religious Freedom Restoration Act after Republican majority rejected anti-discrimination carve-out

On April 2, 2024, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 2095, a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act, into law at a private event hosted by the conservative Christian group The Family Leader. The law, enacted as Iowa Acts Chapter 1003, sets a strict-scrutiny standard for government actions that burden religious exercise; Republican legislators had rejected a Democratic amendment (S-5018) that would have barred the law from overriding civil-rights, disability, and anti-discrimination protections. The bill passed the Senate 31-16 and the House 61-33 along party lines.

March(10)

Idaho Gov. Little signed H0668, barring public funds and Medicaid coverage for gender-transition care

On March 27, 2024, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 668 into law after the Legislature passed it, prohibiting the use of state, county, and local public funds for gender-transition procedures for minors and adults and barring Idaho Medicaid from covering such care. The law also bars publicly employed physicians from providing the care in the scope of employment and forbids use of state property to provide it. It took effect July 1, 2024, as Session Law Chapter 209.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed HB4233, barring "non-binary" sex designation on birth certificates

On March 27, 2024, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed House Bill 4233 into law, amending the state's vital-statistics code to require that birth certificates list a child's sex as male or female and to prohibit the use of "non-binary" as a sex designation. The measure, passed by the West Virginia Legislature, was enacted as Chapter 217 of the 2024 Acts and took effect on May 29, 2024.

Idaho Gov. Little signed HB 578 shielding faith-based adoption and foster agencies that refuse service

On March 25, 2024, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 578, enacting Idaho Code section 16-1648 to bar the state and its subdivisions from taking discriminatory action against adoption or foster-care agencies or individuals who decline to provide a service based on a sincerely held religious belief. The law, effective July 1, 2024, created a private right of action with damages and attorney's fees against the state. Committee testimony warned the shield could enable discrimination against prospective foster and adoptive parents based on sexual orientation.

Wyoming Gov. Gordon signed SF 99 banning gender-transition care for minors

On March 22, 2024, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed Senate File 99, the "Children Gender Change Prohibition," barring physicians and health care providers from performing gender-transition procedures — including sterilizing surgeries, mastectomies, and puberty-blocking or cross-sex hormone prescriptions — on anyone under 18 to affirm a gender identity differing from sex assigned at birth. The same drugs and procedures remain permitted for minors treated for precocious puberty or intersex conditions, and a violation is grounds for suspension or revocation of a provider's license. The law took effect July 1, 2024.

Idaho Gov. Little signed law shielding counselors' belief-based service refusals from licensing discipline

On March 21, 2024, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed Senate Bill 1352, enacting Idaho Code section 54-3416, which lets licensed counselors and marriage-and-family therapists decline to provide counseling that supports goals, outcomes, or behaviors conflicting with their sincerely held religious, moral, or ethical principles. The law immunizes such refusals from civil suit, criminal prosecution, and professional-licensing-board discipline. It passed the Senate 23-11 and the House 59-10, became Session Law Chapter 152, and took effect July 1, 2024.

Utah Gov. Cox signed SB 219 adding a gender-identity screening test and sealing transgender-athlete eligibility proceedings

On March 21, 2024, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed Senate Bill 219, "School Activity Eligibility Commission Modifications," amending the commission that determines whether transgender students may participate in sex-designated interscholastic athletics. The law adds a requirement that the commission consider whether a student's assertion of a gender identity is consistent with the statutory definition, and it removes individual eligibility proceedings from Utah's open-meetings law while expanding confidentiality to records held by schools. It also directs the Attorney General to defend, and the state to indemnify, persons enforcing the law.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed SB129, banning DEI offices and programs at public colleges and mandating sex-based restrooms

On March 20, 2024, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed SB129 into law, prohibiting public colleges, state agencies, and local school boards from maintaining diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or sponsoring DEI programs and barring the promotion of eight enumerated "divisive concepts," with discipline or termination authorized for violators. The act also requires every public higher-education institution to designate multiple-occupancy restrooms by "biological sex," displacing access based on gender identity. Passed by the Alabama Legislature and signed in Montgomery, the law took effect October 1, 2024.

Utah Gov. Cox signed HB316, requiring jail and prison housing by birth sex and restricting transgender inmate placement

On March 18, 2024, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed House Bill 0316, "Inmate Assignment Amendments," which bars the Department of Corrections and county jails from housing inmates with others of the opposite biological sex at birth. Sponsored by Rep. Karianne Lisonbee and carried in the Senate by Sen. Heidi Balderree, the law lets a transgender inmate seek gender-matching placement only after a discretionary multi-factor security analysis required of no other inmate. The measure took effect May 1, 2024.

Utah Gov. Cox signed HB157 barring a parent's stance on a child's gender identity as a custody or removal factor

Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed House Bill 157, "Child Custody Factor Amendments," into law on March 14, 2024. The law amends Utah Code 30-3-10 to prohibit courts from considering a parent's agreement or disagreement with a minor child's asserted or expressed gender identity when awarding custody or parent-time, and amends Utah Code 80-2a-202 to bar peace officers and caseworkers from removing a child from parental custody solely on that basis. Chief sponsor Rep. Stephanie Gricius carried the bill, which passed the House 73-0 and the Senate 16-7 before the House concurred 63-0.

Wyoming enacted SEA 8, requiring parental opt-in before instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity

On March 6, 2024, Wyoming Senate Enrolled Act 8 (Senate File 9) took effect after Gov. Mark Gordon allowed it to become law without his signature. The law requires public schools to obtain written or electronic parental permission at least one day in advance before a student may participate in any class or training that addresses sexual orientation or gender identity — a restriction not applied to other subjects.

February(3)

Federal judge held journalist Catherine Herridge in civil contempt and imposed an $800-a-day fine for refusing to reveal a confidential source

On February 29, 2024, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper held former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge in civil contempt and ordered an $800-a-day fine, escalating over time, for her refusal to identify the confidential source behind her 2017 reporting on an FBI investigation of scientist Yanping Chen. Cooper ruled that Chen's need for the information in her Privacy Act lawsuit against the federal government overcame Herridge's asserted First Amendment reporter's privilege. The fine was stayed pending appeal.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed HB0878 letting officials and officiants refuse to solemnize any marriage

On February 21, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed HB0878, enacted as Public Chapter 511, adding to Tennessee Code 36-3-301 that "a person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage." Because notaries, government officials, and religious officials are all authorized to solemnize marriages in Tennessee, the law creates a blanket right for any authorized officiant to decline to perform a marriage. The bill's sponsor said it would let officiants refuse marriages "contrary to their beliefs" as views change about "what constitutes a marriage."

York County PA jail failed to charge inmate's defibrillator vest and ignored chest-pain reports; he died within 48 hours of intake

Todd Sidesinger was booked into York County Prison in Pennsylvania on February 18, 2024 — three days after being discharged from a heart-failure hospitalization during which two cardiac stents were inserted. Staff noted at intake that his prescribed defibrillator vest needed charging but that no charger was available; the vest was never charged during his detention. On February 19, Sidesinger submitted a medical request reporting chest pain; an EKG showing Premature Ventricular Contractions was deemed "normal" and he was given acetaminophen. On February 20 he reported chest pain again and was sent back to his cell; he was found unconscious at approximately 5:25 a.m. and died after hospitalization. His sister filed a wrongful-death suit against PrimeCare Medical, the jail's for-profit medical contractor, York County, and the warden.

January(2)

Utah Gov. Cox signed HB257 mandating birth-sex facility use in schools, public buildings, and prisons

Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed House Bill 257, "Sex-based Designations for Privacy, Anti-bullying, and Women's Opportunities," into law on January 30, 2024. The act requires restrooms, showers, and locker rooms in public K-12 schools and government-owned or controlled buildings to be used according to sex assigned at birth, creates new and enhanced criminal penalties for using a facility inconsistent with that designation, and extends the birth-sex standard to government athletic programs and to correctional facilities. It is codified at Utah Code 63G-31-201 et seq.

Ohio legislature overrode DeWine's veto to enact HB68, banning trans youth gender-affirming care and trans athletes in girls' sports

On January 24, 2024, the Ohio Senate voted 24-8 to override Governor Mike DeWine's veto of House Bill 68, the "Saving Ohio Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act," completing an override the Ohio House began on January 10 and enacting the bill over the governor's objection. HB68 bans gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery for transgender minors and bars transgender women and girls from female K-12 and collegiate sports. The law was set to take effect roughly 90 days later, on April 24, 2024.

2023 Events (77)

December(1)

President Biden signed the FY2024 NDAA, codifying DoD's facially neutral 'approved flags' policy that excludes the Pride flag

On December 22, 2023, President Biden signed H.R. 2670, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, into law as Public Law 118-31. Section 1052 of the law prohibits display of any flag other than an enumerated "approved flag" list in Department of Defense workplaces and public areas; the Pride flag is not among the categories on that list, codifying the exclusionary policy the Pentagon adopted under a 2020 Esper memo. An explicit provision banning Pride flag displays, passed by the House, was removed during conference negotiations, leaving only the facially neutral approved-flags list in the enacted law.

October(1)

North Carolina enacted SB452, barring transgender girls from girls' school sports and adding state enforcement of the ban

On October 3, 2023, North Carolina enacted Senate Bill 452 (Session Law 2023-133), an omnibus insurance bill amended late in the session to rewrite the state's high school athletics statute. The law requires K-12 interscholastic and intramural teams to be designated by "biological sex," bars students of "the male sex" from female teams, and defines sex by reproductive biology and genetics at birth, excluding transgender girls from girls' school sports. It also directs the State Board of Education to monitor schools for compliance and report violators to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee.

August(4)

North Carolina overrode Cooper's veto to enact S49, restricting K-4 gender-identity instruction and mandating parental notice of pronoun changes

On August 16, 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly voted along party lines to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of Senate Bill 49, the "Parents' Bill of Rights," enacting it as Session Law 2023-106. The law bars instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality in kindergarten-through-fourth-grade classrooms and requires school personnel to notify a parent before any change in the name or pronoun used for a student.

North Carolina legislature overrode Cooper's veto to enact H808 banning gender-affirming care for minors

On August 16, 2023, North Carolina's Republican-led General Assembly overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of House Bill 808, enacting Session Law 2023-111. The law prohibits medical professionals from initiating puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, or surgical gender-transition procedures for anyone under 18 not already receiving such care as of August 1, 2023. The House completed its override 73-46 and the Senate 27-18, both clearing the required three-fifths margin.

North Carolina legislature overrode Gov. Cooper's veto to enact H574 transgender sports ban

On August 16, 2023, the North Carolina House of Representatives (74-45) and Senate (27-18) voted to override Governor Roy Cooper's veto of House Bill 574, the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act," enacting it as Session Law 2023-109. The law bars students whose sex was recorded male at birth from female and women's middle-school, high-school, and collegiate athletic teams, defines sex by reproductive biology at birth, and creates civil causes of action, effective for the 2023-2024 school year.

Marion Police Department raided Marion County Record newsroom and homes of its publisher and a former city council member

On August 11, 2023, Marion, Kansas police under Chief Gideon Cody raided the offices of the Marion County Record and the homes of publisher Eric Meyer and former city council member Ruth Herbel, seizing computers, cellphones and reporting materials. Cody said he was investigating whether the paper had committed identity theft by checking a local restaurant owner's state driving record, which special prosecutors later found was accessible to the public without falsifying identity. Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey withdrew the search warrants five days later, saying insufficient evidence tied the alleged crime to what was searched and seized.

July(2)

Louisiana Legislature overrode Gov. Edwards' veto to enact HB648, banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors

On July 18, 2023, the Louisiana Legislature overrode Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards's veto of HB648, enacting Act 466, a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The House voted 76-23 and the Senate 28-11 to override, both exceeding the two-thirds threshold. The law bars anyone under 18 from receiving gender-affirming surgery, puberty-blocking medication, or hormone treatment and revokes for at least two years the license of any health professional who provides such care, effective January 1, 2024.

Polk County Attorney Greg Widseth's office misstated drug-conspiracy law to jury in fentanyl trial

During Mohamed Abdulgani Ahmed's July 2023 trial on fentanyl-trafficking charges, Polk County Attorney Greg Widseth's office told jurors in closing argument that they did not need to find Ahmed knew the conspiracy involved drug quantities above the statutory first-degree threshold -- a misstatement of Minnesota conspiracy law. The jury convicted Ahmed on six counts, including first-degree conspiracy and sale, on July 12, 2023, in what was described as the largest fentanyl seizure in Polk County history. The error is part of a two-decade pattern of legally aggressive charging by Widseth, who has run unopposed in every county-attorney election since 2002.

June(7)

Texas Gov. Abbott signed SB 12 restricting drag and other "sexually oriented performances" on public property and before minors

On June 18, 2023, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 12 into law, restricting "sexually oriented performances" on the premises of a commercial enterprise, on public property, or in the presence of an individual younger than 18. The law, authored by Sen. Bryan Hughes, creates a criminal offense for performers and authorizes civil penalties of up to $10,000 against businesses; though its text does not name drag, its sponsors and Abbott described it as targeting drag performances. It took effect only in 2026, after years of litigation in which it was initially struck down as unconstitutional.

Texas Gov. Abbott signed SB 15 barring transgender college athletes from competing under their gender identity

On June 18, 2023, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 15, the "Save Women's Sports Act," requiring students at public institutions of higher education to compete in intercollegiate athletics based on their biological sex assigned at birth. The law bars transgender college athletes from competing consistent with their gender identity and extends a 2021 Texas law that had already imposed the same restriction on K-12 student-athletes. It took effect September 1, 2023.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 17, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion offices at public colleges and universities

On June 17, 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 17, enacted by the 88th Legislature and authored by state Sen. Brandon Creighton, barring public colleges and universities from maintaining diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices, mandating DEI training, or requiring diversity statements in hiring and admissions decisions. The law, which took effect January 1, 2024, tasks the Texas State Auditor with compliance enforcement and puts noncompliant institutions at risk of losing eligibility for state funding increases. Ahead of the deadline, universities closed DEI and related offices, including multicultural and LGBTQ+ resource centers.

Texas Gov. Abbott signed HB 900, requiring vendors to rate and pull sexually explicit books from public school libraries

On June 12, 2023, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 900, the READER Act, into law at a Texas Capitol bill-signing ceremony. The law requires book vendors, as a condition of selling to Texas public schools, to rate the titles they sell for sexual content and to recall any rated "sexually explicit," which must then be removed from school library shelves, while books rated "sexually relevant" require written parental consent to check out. The Texas Education Agency was given authority to overrule a vendor's ratings, and vendors that refuse to comply are barred from selling to Texas schools.

Missouri enacted SB39 barring transgender students from K-12 and college sports by birth-certificate sex

On June 7, 2023, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed Senate Bill 39 (Senate Substitute No. 2), enacting Section 163.048 RSMo to bar any student from competing in an athletics competition designated for the biological sex opposite to the sex on their official birth certificate, at both K-12 and postsecondary institutions. Private schools, public school districts, public charter schools, and public or private colleges that violate the law lose all state aid. The provisions took effect August 28, 2023, and are set to expire August 28, 2027.

Missouri Gov. Parson signed SB 49 SAFE Act banning gender-affirming care for minors and Medicaid coverage

On June 7, 2023, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed Senate Bill 49, the "Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act," barring health care providers from performing gender-transition surgeries on minors and, until Aug. 28, 2027, from prescribing cross-sex hormones or puberty blockers to minors for gender transition. The law also bars the state's MO HealthNet (Medicaid) program from covering gender-transition care for transgender people of any age and prohibits such surgeries in state prisons and jails. Passed by the Republican-controlled Missouri General Assembly, it took effect Aug. 28, 2023, with narrow carve-outs and grandfathering for minors already in treatment.

Texas Gov. Abbott signed SB 14 banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors

On June 2, 2023, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 14, prohibiting physicians from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or transition surgery to transgender minors and barring the use of public money to pay for such care. The law, which took effect September 1, 2023, required minors already in treatment to be weaned off it and directed the state to revoke the licenses of providers who continued the care. Texas became the most populous state to enact such a ban.

May(24)

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed HB261, extending the state's transgender sports ban to public colleges

On May 30, 2023, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed HB261 into law, amending Section 16-1-52 of the Code of Alabama to bar transgender women and girls from athletic teams designated for females at public two- and four-year colleges and universities. The law extended the state's existing K-12 transgender sports ban to higher education and added provisions shielding institutions that comply and students who report violations.

Iowa enacted SF496, barring K-6 gender-identity and sexual-orientation instruction and requiring parental notification of students' gender requests

On May 26, 2023, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 496, an omnibus education law passed by the 90th General Assembly on party lines. The law bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through sixth grade, requires school employees to notify parents when a student asks to be addressed by a different name or pronouns, and requires removal of library books depicting sex acts. Republicans framed it as expanding parental rights; LGBTQ-rights groups, educators, and Democrats said it targeted and endangered transgender and LGBTQ students.

Oklahoma Gov. Stitt signed SB26, adding funding-cut and civil-liability penalties to the school transgender bathroom ban

On May 25, 2023, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 26 into law, amending the state's 2022 school-facilities law (SB615) to define "sex" by original birth certificate and add new enforcement mechanisms. The law authorizes a 5% cut in state funding for a noncompliant public school district or charter school and creates a private cause of action allowing a parent or guardian to sue a district over noncompliance. SB26 passed the Senate 46-0 and the House 86-0 before Stitt approved it with an emergency clause and a July 1, 2023 effective date.

Tennessee Gov. Lee signed SB1440 defining 'sex' as immutable at birth, ending gender-marker updates on state IDs

On May 24, 2023, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed SB1440 (Public Chapter 486) into law, adding a statutory definition of "sex" as "a person's immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth" throughout Tennessee code. The measure had passed the Senate 27-6 and the House 71-21. Citing the new definition, the Tennessee Department of Safety stopped updating gender markers on driver's licenses for transgender residents.

Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB 359 banning drag story hours and restricting drag performances before minors

On May 22, 2023, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 359 into law, banning "drag story hours" at state-funded schools and libraries and restricting "sexually oriented performances" in front of minors on public property or at businesses. The law defines a covered drag performer by a "flamboyant or parodic" persona and "glamorous or exaggerated costumes and makeup," and imposes an outright ban at any location receiving state funding. It was sponsored by Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, and heavily amended before passage.

Nebraska Gov. Pillen signed LB574, restricting gender-affirming care for minors under 19

On May 22, 2023, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed LB574, a bill barring anyone under 19 from receiving gender-altering surgery and authorizing the state's chief medical officer to restrict minors' access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy, effective October 1, 2023. The Nebraska Legislature had passed the measure 33-15 on May 19, 2023, bundling the "Let Them Grow Act" with a separate 12-week abortion ban that took effect immediately. The gender-affirming-care provisions singled out transgender minors for exclusion from medical treatments otherwise available to their peers.

Montana Gov. Gianforte signed SB 458 defining sex as binary, eliminating legal recognition of transgender and intersex residents

On May 20, 2023, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 458 into law, inserting binary, reproduction-based definitions of "male," "female," and "sex" into roughly 40 sections of state code. The statute defines sex strictly by chromosomes and gamete production "under normal development," eliminating legal recognition of transgender, nonbinary, and many intersex Montanans on documents such as birth certificates and driver's licenses. The bill, drafted in part by the Montana Family Foundation, passed the Legislature largely along party lines.

Montana Gov. Gianforte signed SB518, requiring parental permission for affirming pronouns and enabling forced outing of trans students

On May 19, 2023, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 518, a "parental rights" measure requiring school personnel to obtain written parental permission before using a name or pronoun for a student that does not align with the student's sex. The law also protects staff who refuse to use a student's affirmed pronouns and bars schools from withholding information about a child's health, including gender-identity information, from parents. Advocates warned the measure enables schools to out transgender and non-binary students to their families without the student's consent.

Florida Gov. DeSantis signed HB 1521 restricting facility access to birth sex and mandating birth-sex prison placement

On May 17, 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1521, the "Facility Requirements Based on Sex" act, requiring restrooms and changing facilities in schools, colleges, and government buildings to be designated for exclusive use by a person's sex assigned at birth. The law makes willful entry into a facility for the opposite sex, plus refusal to leave when asked, a criminal trespass, and requires domestic-violence shelters and correctional facilities to house people by birth sex rather than gender identity. Enacted as Chapter 2023-106, it took effect July 1, 2023.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1069, extending classroom gender-identity restrictions through grade 8 and mandating sex-based pronoun rules

On May 17, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed CS/CS/HB 1069 into law, expanding the state's 2022 "Parental Rights in Education" law by extending its restriction on classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity from grades K-3 through grade 8. The law defines sex in the state education code as an immutable biological trait, bars teachers and school employees from providing students their preferred pronouns or titles when inconsistent with their sex, and prohibits requiring students or staff to use pronouns that do not correspond to a person's sex. It also broadened the process for challenging school library and instructional materials.

Florida Gov. DeSantis signed SB 254 banning gender-affirming care for minors and letting courts seize custody over such care

On May 17, 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed CS/SB 254, "Treatments for Sex Reassignment" (Chapter 2023-90), prohibiting gender-affirming prescriptions and procedures for patients under 18 and barring public entities from spending state funds on such care. The law also grants Florida courts temporary emergency jurisdiction over a child present in the state who has been or may be subjected to such care, and defines being subjected to it as "serious physical harm" for child-custody enforcement. DeSantis signed the measure alongside related bills at a ceremony at a Tampa evangelical school.

Florida Gov. DeSantis signed SB 1438 restricting minors' access to drag and 'adult live' performances

On May 17, 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 1438, the "Protection of Children" act, creating criminal penalties and business-licensing sanctions for admitting minors to "adult live performances." Though facially neutral, the law was framed and widely understood as targeting drag performances and LGBTQ+ expression, and Orlando's Hamburger Mary's sued within days. DeSantis signed the measure at a Christian school in Tampa during the 2023 regular legislative session.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB0466, shielding public-school employees who refuse transgender students' pronouns

On May 17, 2023, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed SB0466 into law as Public Chapter 448, specifying that a teacher or other public-school employee is not required to refer to a student by a preferred pronoun inconsistent with the student's sex assigned at birth. The law insulates employees from civil liability and adverse employment action for instead using the pronoun consistent with that biological sex, taking effect immediately on signing.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1443/HB727 requiring parental opt-in consent for LGBTQ curriculum and school club membership

On May 17, 2023, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1443/HB727 into law as Public Chapter 353, after the Senate passed it 25-5 and the House 74-24. The law requires a student's parent or guardian (or the student, if 18 or older) to give written opt-in consent before the student receives instruction of a "sexual orientation curriculum or gender identity curriculum," and separately bars any minor from joining or participating in any school club without prior dated, written parental consent. The club-consent provision, added by floor amendment, functions as a forced-outing mechanism for students who wish to join LGBTQ-support clubs such as Gender-Sexuality Alliances.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed medical-conscience law excluding LGBTQ+ patients from anti-discrimination protections

On May 11, 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed CS/SB 1580, the "Protections of Medical Conscience" Act, at a news conference in Destin, Florida, giving health care providers and payors a right to opt out of any health care service on the basis of a conscience-based religious, moral, or ethical objection. The law's anti-discrimination clause bars providers from refusing care based on a patient's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin but omits sexual orientation and gender identity. It took effect July 1, 2023, as Chapter 2023-57.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed HB1474, codifying a binary "sex" definition that bars LGBTQ+ discrimination claims

On May 8, 2023, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum signed House Bill 1474, which the state's 68th Legislative Assembly passed to amend the North Dakota Century Code's master definitions section with binary statutory definitions of "female," "male," and "sex." The law defines sex by "nonambiguous sex organs, chromosomes, or endogenous hormone profiles at birth" and conforms four other 2023 bills to the same wording. Advocates said the definitions bar sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination claims in employment, housing, and public accommodations.

North Dakota enacted HB 1522 restricting transgender students' restroom use and barring schools from concealing their status from parents

On May 8, 2023, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed House Bill 1522, which requires public school boards to prohibit students from using restrooms that do not coincide with their "biological sex," allowing separate accommodations only with parental approval. The law also bars schools and teachers from adopting policy on a student's transgender status or withholding that status from the student's parents, and prohibits government entities from requiring or forbidding employees' use of colleagues' preferred pronouns. The measure passed the Legislative Assembly with an emergency clause and took effect immediately.