Laws and Bills Targeting the LGBTQ+ Community in the Midwest

Although there are currently no laws in place, Missouri has 34 bills advancing in the state legislature that target LGBTQ rights: nine limiting healthcare, 17 limiting rights inside of schools and what can be taught, four directly impacting free speech or expression, three focused on civil rights and three others that can considered "miscellaneous."

34 Missouri Bills

- Wisconsin has zero bills or laws limiting LGBTQ rights and actions.- Recently three bills targeting LGBTQ people were vetoed. - Two bills required transgender students to play sports only on the team corresponding to the sex they were assigned at birth. - The other bill tried to create a system where parents could "opt" their students out of education surrounding LGBTQ "ideals."

Sports, Sex and Schooling

0 Wisconsin Bills and Laws

- Nebraska has one bill targeting each of the following topics: civil rights, free speech or expression, healthcare and education. - The education-related bill is called the Sports and Spaces Act; a bill that we see in a lot of other states as well. It requires students to play sports in only the team corresponding with the sex they were assigned at birth. - The health care bill titled the "Let them Grow Act," bans gender-affirming procedures for children under 19.

04 Nebraska Bills and Laws

- Out of 29 bills in Iowa, two have been passed into law and 14 have been defeated. - One law passed prohibits members of the LGBTQ community from accessing bathrooms in schools that are not in accordance with their birth sex. - The second law bans gender transition procedures for minors.

29 Iowa Bills and Laws

- Three of these eight bills that target the LGBTQ community have been passed into Arkansas law.- SB 294, a bill now signed into law, prohibits teachers from teaching about gender in schools K-12. - SB 270, an advancing bill, relates to public bathrooms and classifies "misuse" of gendered bathrooms as public indecency. - The SAFE Act originated in Arkansas and was introduced in 13 other states this year.

Home of the SAFE Act

08 Arkansas Bills and Laws

- Currently advancing nine bills that affect medicine and healthcare for LGBTQ persons, especially minors. - Advancing a bill that bans HRT therapy for people of all ages. - 5 advancing bills regarding banning or limiting the education of anything regarding gender or sexuality, restricting transgender students from participating in school sports and not allowing teachers to acknowledge student pronouns or names. - Indiana also has its equivalent of the "Don't Say Gay Bill."

18 Indiana Bills and Laws

UCLA labels 18 bills as a "Slate of Hate"

- HB 454 is a bill that bans healthcare that affirms transgender and non-binary minors. It would also ban insurance from covering the cost of any of these treatments for youths. - "Save Women's Sports Act," (HB 6) prevents biological males from participating in women's sports as transgender females. - HB 68 is the SAFE Act which is currently a bill in Ohio and many other states that we discussed in this article.

04 Ohio Bills

Advancing into Adversity

- Tennessee's 26 bills consist of six healthcare bills, eight school and education bills, four free speech and expression bills, two civil rights bills, and six additional bills labeled as others under American Civil Liberties Union's categories. - Healthcare: SB 1, a law passed in March of 2023, prohibits medical procedures that would enable a minor to live as an identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex.

26 Tennessee Bills and Laws

- Although Kansas has not passed any of these 12 bills yet, Kansas is one of the few states to currently have bills on public accommodations. - The Child Mutilation Prevention Act criminalizes performing gender reassignment surgery or prescription of hormone replacement therapy for persons of all ages. - The Fairness in Women's Sports Act is currently a bill or a law in at least 12 states including Kansas.

12 Kansas Bills and Laws

Illinois appears to be one of the most progressive states in the United States at this point in time. The state government has no current or recent bills introduced targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

00 Illinois Bills and Laws

- Kentucky is one of only seven states who have advancing bills related to government identification. - This bill requires birth certificates to label a baby as a male or a female. It can not be labeled as non-binary, or with an "X" - Another bill basically states that healthcare providers do not have to perform a procedure that violates their conscience and prohibits discrimination against these providers.

11 Kentucky Bills and Laws