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Timeline

Every entry in the archive, ordered by event date. Page 39 of 43, showing June 12, 2023 to July 4, 2024. Pages contain 50 entries each; entries for a given date may continue on the next or previous page.

2024 Events (57)

July(8)

SFPD officer smashed driver's car window, pepper-sprayed him during 2024 stop based on license-plate error

On July 4, 2024, San Francisco police officers Vinesh Govindbhai and Jonathan Zepeda stopped driver Matthew Ludwig at a red light on O'Farrell Street after entering a Toyota's license plate number instead of his Honda Accord's and wrongly concluding his car was stolen; Govindbhai smashed Ludwig's window with a baton, the officers pulled him to the pavement, and pepper-sprayed him in the face at a distance violating department policy, then cited him for reckless driving and resisting arrest even after realizing their mistake. In March 2026, the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability sustained findings that the officers used unnecessary force and issued the citation without cause; the Public Defender's Office made the findings public on August 10, 2026, after Ludwig died in September 2025.

South Carolina enacted a budget proviso barring transgender K-12 students from restrooms matching their gender identity

South Carolina's FY2024-25 General Appropriations Act (H.5100, ratified as R-252) took effect on July 3, 2024, carrying Budget Proviso 1.120, which requires all K-12 public school districts to designate multi-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, changing facilities, and overnight sleeping quarters for use by students of one biological sex only. The proviso withholds 25 percent of a district's state operating funds for a violation. Gov. Henry McMaster issued 21 line-item vetoes to the budget that day on unrelated appropriations, leaving Proviso 1.120 untouched and in force for the 2024-25 school year.

Florida Department of Education pressured science-textbook publishers to soften or remove climate-change content for 2024 state approval

During Florida's 2024 science-textbook review cycle, the Florida Department of Education directed three publishers -- Savvas Learning, McGraw Hill, and Cengage -- to soften or remove accurate climate-change content from science textbooks as a condition of state approval, including replacing a mortality statistic with vaguer language and cutting references to renewable energy and legislative climate action. A July 2, 2024 email from a McGraw Hill vice president to FDOE's instructional materials office documents the specific changes department officials requested. Textbooks touching climate content were adopted by the state at less than half the rate of other science subjects reviewed that cycle.

Biden administration began funding Panama's deportation of US-bound migrants

The Biden administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Panama on July 1, 2024, under which the U.S. State Department and DHS fund and help run Panama's own deportation flights for migrants transiting toward the United States through the Darién Gap. The Congressional Hispanic and Black Caucuses had urged the administration to halt the funding before it was finalized, warning Panama's asylum system lacked the capacity to screen people — particularly Venezuelans and Haitians fleeing persecution — before returning them to danger.

June(5)

Utah Gov. Cox signed HCR301, invoking the state Sovereignty Act to bar officers from enforcing federal Title IX transgender protections

On June 21, 2024, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed House Concurrent Resolution 301, which the Legislature had passed two days earlier during a special session. The resolution invoked the newly enacted Utah Constitutional Sovereignty Act to direct state officers, elected officials, and public and higher-education employees not to enforce the U.S. Department of Education's 2024 Title IX regulations extending protections to transgender and pregnant students where they conflict with Utah law. It was the first use of the Sovereignty Act mechanism.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed the 'Given Name Act' restricting school use of students' chosen names and pronouns

On June 19, 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed House Bill 121, the "Given Name Act" (Act 680), into law, barring public school governing authorities from adopting policies that require staff or students to use a name or pronoun for a student that is inconsistent with the student's legal name or biological sex -- a standard that, as applied, bars staff from using a transgender student's chosen name or pronouns. The law, sponsored by Rep. Raymond Crews, bars discipline of any employee or student who declines to use a chosen name or pronoun and creates a private civil cause of action for violations. It took effect August 1, 2024.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB122, barring K-12 teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students

On June 19, 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB122, by Rep. Dodie Horton, into law as Act 681, prohibiting public K-12 teachers, employees, and other presenters from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students in any classroom instruction or extracurricular activity that deviates from state-approved content standards, and from discussing their own sexual orientation or gender identity with students at all. The bill passed the House 69-28 and the Senate 28-7 and took effect August 1, 2024. An identical measure had been vetoed by then-Gov. John Bel Edwards in 2023.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed the Women's Safety and Protection Act, mandating birth-sex facility designation in schools, prisons, and shelters

On June 3, 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB608, the "Women's Safety and Protection Act," into law as Act 436, defining "sex" in state law strictly as biological sex "as observed or clinically verified at birth" and specifying that gender identity does not apply across all state law and agency rules. The act requires public schools, correctional and juvenile-detention facilities, and domestic-violence shelters to designate multi-occupancy restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters by biological sex, and creates a private cause of action against non-complying facilities. It passed the House 80-17 and the Senate 29-10 and took effect August 1, 2024.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed HB2310, imposing civil liability on adults who help minors obtain gender-affirming care

On June 3, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed HB2310/SB2782, enacted as Public Chapter 1064, creating a civil cause of action against any person who intentionally recruits, harbors, or transports an unemancipated minor within Tennessee for the purpose of obtaining gender-affirming care that the state already bans for minors. The law, effective July 1, 2024, lets a minor or the minor's parents sue such adults for damages, while exempting the minor's own parents or guardians and common transportation carriers. Reported as a first-in-the-nation measure, it extends Tennessee's 2023 ban on gender-affirming care for minors by penalizing third parties who help trans youth access that care.

May(8)

Oklahoma Gov. Stitt signed HB 1449, writing a binary biological-sex definition into state law and excluding gender identity from recognition

On May 31, 2024, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 1449, the "Women's Bill of Rights," enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature. The law writes binary definitions of "sex," "male," and "female" into Oklahoma statute based strictly on reproductive biology at birth and excludes gender identity from legal recognition of sex, with the stated purpose of restricting sex-segregated spaces to a person's biological sex. It took effect November 1, 2024.

EEOC opened a pattern-or-practice discrimination investigation into Nike over its diversity programs

On May 24, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a charge alleging Nike engaged in a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against white employees, applicants, and training-program participants, opening an investigation into the company's diversity programs. After Nike resisted the agency's document demands through 2025, the EEOC filed a subpoena-enforcement action in federal court in February 2026, which a judge followed with an order for Nike to show cause why the subpoena should not be enforced.

South Carolina Gov. McMaster signed H4624 banning gender-affirming care for minors and requiring schools to out trans students

On May 21, 2024, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed H4624, the Help Not Harm Act, into law, barring physicians from providing gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery to anyone under 18. The law also prohibits public funds and the state Medicaid program from covering gender transition procedures at any age and requires public school staff to notify a minor's parents if the student discloses that their gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. It took effect immediately upon the governor's signature.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed SB 2753 requiring birth-sex-based restrooms and housing in public schools and universities

On May 13, 2024, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed Senate Bill 2753, the "Securing Areas for Females Effectively and Responsibly Act" (SAFER Act), into law. The measure requires public schools, community colleges, and universities to designate restrooms, changing facilities, and student housing by sex "determined solely by a birth" and codifies statewide definitions of "male" and "female" fixed at birth, creating a private civil cause of action to enforce it. Sponsored by Sen. Josh Harkins and passed by the Mississippi Legislature, the law took effect immediately.

Iowa Gov. Reynolds signed SF2435 banning DEI offices at public universities

On May 9, 2024, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed SF2435, an education-appropriations act whose Division IX bars public universities governed by the state Board of Regents from establishing or staffing diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, requiring DEI statements, or spending any funds to support such offices. The law defines prohibited DEI to reach trainings and programming designed with reference to race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, and forbids institutions from taking official positions on contested concepts including "transgender ideology" and "gender theory." Enforcement runs through attorney-general mandamus actions, with the DEI provisions taking effect July 1, 2025.

Shenandoah County, Virginia school board voted to restore Confederate-general names to two public schools

On May 9, 2024, the Shenandoah County School Board in Virginia voted 5-1 to reverse a 2020 decision and restore Confederate-general names to two public schools, renaming Mountain View High School back to Stonewall Jackson High School and Honey Run Elementary back to Ashby Lee Elementary. The Virginia NAACP and the families of affected Black students sued, and a federal judge later found the renaming could not be divorced from racial discrimination and violated students' constitutional and civil rights.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1810 requiring schools to report students' gender-identity requests to parents

On May 9, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1810, enacted as Public Chapter 832, amending Title 49 of the Tennessee Code. The law requires a K-12 public school or charter school employee to report a student's request for an accommodation affirming the student's gender identity — such as a different name or pronouns — to a school administrator, who must then report it to the student's parent. It also bars employees from knowingly giving parents false or misleading information about a student's gender identity and creates a private right of action alongside attorney general enforcement against noncompliant schools.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB2766, removing sexual orientation and other named protected classes from the educator code of ethics

On May 1, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB2766 (Public Chapter 780), which amended the K-12 educator code of ethics. The prior statute barred educators from disadvantaging a student on an enumerated list of protected characteristics including sexual orientation, race, sex, and family, social, or cultural background; as enacted, the bill struck that list and substituted a general prohibition on discriminating against a student "on any basis."

April(6)

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB 2861, barring state funds for gender-affirming care for inmates

On April 29, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB 2861 (Public Chapter 821), prohibiting the state Department of Correction from using state funds to provide hormone replacement therapy or sex-reassignment surgery to inmates held in a state penitentiary, county jail, or workhouse. The General Assembly had passed the measure, with the Senate voting 24-3 on April 4 and the House 71-20 on April 11. The law took effect immediately upon signing.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a law shielding foster and adoptive parents who refuse to affirm a child's LGBTQ identity

On April 17, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1738, the "Tennessee Foster and Adoptive Parent Protection Act," codified as Public Chapter 677 and effective July 1, 2024. The law bars the Department of Children's Services from requiring foster or adoptive parents to affirm any government policy on sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with their religious or moral beliefs, and from denying eligibility or placement on that basis. It passed the Senate 25-6 and the House 73-20.

Idaho Gov. Little signed library-restriction law defining 'homosexuality' as harmful to minors

On April 10, 2024, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed H0710, the "Children's School and Library Protection Act," creating a private cause of action against public and school libraries that fail to relocate materials deemed "harmful to minors" to adults-only sections within 60 days of a complaint. The "harmful to minors" standard the law enforces is defined in Idaho Code to include "homosexuality" as sexual conduct. The law took effect July 1, 2024.

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.