LGBT

Transgender and Nonbinary Candidates for State Legislature are Poised to Gain Ground This Year

Prompted to run by a wave of anti-transgender legislation, they are running for statehouse seats in at least eight states, but remain underrepresented in legislative chambers around the country.

  • By Daniela Altimari

How Texas Republicans Moved Beyond a Bathroom Bill to Ban Transgender Athletes From School Sports

In 2017, conservative lawmakers failed to pass legislation targeting transgender Texans. Things were different this year.

  • By Allyson Waller, The Texas Tribune

Arkansas Lawmakers Override Governor’s Veto of Youth Gender-Affirming Care

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has vetoed what would have been the first bill banning gender-affirming medical care for youth.

  • By Kate Sosin, The 19th

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson Vetoes Anti-transgender Bill

The legislation would prohibit doctors from providing gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.

  • By Brent Woodie

Many States Now Require Anti-Bullying Training That Includes a Focus on LGBTQ Students

COMMENTARY | 21 states explicitly prohibit bullying on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity.

  • By Daniel A Cinotti, The Conversation

This Coroner Will Now Track Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

When investigating deaths, the Los Angeles County coroner will start collecting the gender identity and sexual orientation data, along with tracking suicide rates, violent deaths and hate crimes against LGBTQ people.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

D.C. City Council Considers End to ‘Gay Panic’ Legal Defense

Two bills would prohibit a legal defense for murders or attacks that relies on what many consider to be a discriminatory view of the LGBTQ community.

  • By Emma Coleman

The First Drag Queen Elected to Local Office Is Making a Run for Congress

Maebe A. Girl, the self-described “larger-than-life” candidate, is challenging one of the current stars of the Democratic party.

  • By Emma Coleman

States Move to Ban Gay Conversion Therapy

Massachusetts lawmakers approved a bill to outlaw the therapy, which aims to change their sexual orientation, for young people.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

As Trump Mulls A Federal Rollback, States Are Adding Transgender Rights

More and more states are allowing flexibility to people on how they are identified on official government documents, a key issue for transgender advocates.

  • By Mitch Herckis

Rating LGBTQ Equality in American Cities

The Municipal Equality Index rates 506 cities on 49 different metrics.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Why Amazon Can’t Pick Dallas, Austin or Atlanta for Its HQ2

It’s morally imperative that Jeff Bezos throw out these three bids and instead set his sights on a city that will be a home to everyone—one that truly values inclusivity and diversity.

  • By Leo Hindery Jr. , Quartz
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Supreme Court Will Hear 2 Cases Impacting State Government This Week

From the Tenth Amendment to the First, civil rights to states rights, a lot is at stake for state and local governments.

  • By Mitch Herckis

Cities Make LGBTQ Equality Gains Despite More Hostile State Political Climates

A total of 30 states have seen more than 130 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation introduced in 2017, but 24 million people live in cities with more inclusive policies.

  • By Dave Nyczepir

Supposedly Symbolic, State Travel Bans Have Real Bite

Conference and convention planners say there is a powerful stigma associated with state travel bans, even if they only officially apply to state employees.

  • By The Pew Charitable Trusts

The Businesses Against the Texas Bathroom Bill

IBM on Monday said it would send top executives to persuade state lawmakers to drop their cause.

  • By J. Weston Phippen, The Atlantic

Gay Couples Fight to Be Included on Birth Certificates

Lesbian couples in Indiana and Arkansas that have used artificial insemination say they should be treated like heterosexual couples on birth certificates, with both the biological mother and her spouse listed as parents.

  • By The Pew Charitable Trusts

Revived ‘Bathroom Bill’ Tops Texas Gov.’s Agenda for Special Legislative Session

Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: San Diego City Council gets strong-mayor civics lesson; LePage vetoes tiny liquor-bottle bill; and West Virginia’s underutilized state fleet.

  • By Route Fifty Staff

Texas Republicans Attempt to Regulate Transgender Bathroom Use Without the Economic Blowback

Whether they pull it off will depend on how Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick responds to the House’s decision to let local nondiscrimination ordinances stand.

  • By Dave Nyczepir

What's Behind the New Wave of Transgender 'Bathroom Bills'

Lawmakers in Texas, Kentucky, and Virginia are the latest to propose legislation that replicates North Carolina’s controversial law—despite the risk of backlash.

  • By David A. Graham, The Atlantic

How Did North Carolina's Deal to Repeal H.B. 2 Fall Apart?

An attempt to roll back the state’s controversial “bathroom bill” collapsed amid recriminations on Wednesday.

  • By David A. Graham, The Atlantic