The Human Rights Campaign on Tuesday issued its first-ever state of emergency for LGBTQ people in the U.S. amid an unprecedented number of newly signed laws restricting the rights of queer and trans people across the nation.
At least 76 anti-LGBTQ bills have been signed into law in state legislatures this year alone, the civil rights organization said in an alarming report. That’s already more than double the number of laws enacted in all of 2022 — which was previously the worst year for LGBTQ equality in the U.S.
Overall, more than 525 pieces of legislation targeting the rights and freedoms of members of the LGBTQ community and their families — particularly transgender youth — were introduced in 41 states this year.
The hateful rhetoric creates an “imminent threat to the health and safety of millions of LGBTQ+ people and families, who are living every day in uncertainty and fear,” Kelley Robinson, the group’s president, told the Daily News in a statement.
Around 31% of trans youth, aged 13-17, now live in a state where they can’t access gender-affirming care — even though the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers it “a supportive form of health care” that improves “the mental health and overall well-being of gender-diverse children and adolescents.”
Anti-trans bans on sports, bathrooms and even LGBTQ-related books are also dramatically affecting the lives of transgender kids, leading many families to relocate to a different state for their safety, according to the HRC.
The historic report, released as LGBTQ Pride months gets underway, details the 76 anti-LGBTQ bills signed into law in 2023. It also includes a guidebook to ensure safety for LGBTQ residents and travelers across the U.S., including “know your rights” information and various resources designed to support LGBTQ people in all 50 states.
“[Now] it’s more important than ever to have the necessary resources to stay safe no matter where we are,” HRC said in a statement.
According to the organization, the wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation doesn’t appear to reflect a general trend toward LGBTQ acceptance.
On Monday, a new report by Gallup found that more than seven in 10 (71%) U.S. adults believe same-sex unions should be recognized as valid. The data analytic giant has recorded increasing support for gay marriage across all major subgroups since it first recorded the data in 1996 — when only 26% of adults were in favor of marriage equality.