The Chilling Effect of Abusive Preemption on LGBTQ+ Rights
Throughout the history of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, local governments have been leaders in securing new rights for LGBTQ+ individuals and families. However, the ability of local officials to lead on LGBTQ+ equality and protect transgender youth is increasingly under assault.
Recent Legislative Sessions
2023: Of the anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in the 2023 legislative session, at least one-third included preemption provisions that would limit the authority of local governments and lawmakers to pass measures protecting LGBTQ+ individuals and families or otherwise advancing LGBTQ+ rights. The Equality Federation tracked 575 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced by state lawmakers in 2023, with more than 414 of them targeting transgender individuals.
2024: By February 2024, sixteen states had passed some form of state law that censors or restricts LGBTQ+ inclusive curricula or requires parental notification. Other states continued harmful attacks on the LGBTQ+ community. To name just a few examples, Idaho banned schools from using students’ proper pronouns, and lawmakers in North Carolina and Ohio overrode vetoes from their respective governors to force through bans on transgender girls and young women playing school sports.
These legislative ‘wins’ emboldened state lawmakers across the country to continue abusing preemption to intentionally harm LGBTQ+ youth and deprive them of safe and nurturing educational environments.
2025 Legislative Session
As of March 13, Local Solutions Support Center was tracking 83 bills – across 27 states – that attack local authority on LGBTQ+ rights. Since the 2025 legislative session began, two states – Texas and Missouri – have been particularly hostile to LGBTQ+ people and transgender youth. Collectively, these two states have attempted to prevent or punish public school employees for supporting LGBTQ+ youth (TX HB 1655 and MO HB 38), restrict access to restrooms (TX HB 1015 and MO SB 212), and shut down drag shows (TX SB 18 and MO SB 295). Their extremist state lawmakers are sending a clear message that LGBTQ+ people are not welcome.
Categories of anti-LGBTQ+ state measures from the 2025 state legislative session include:
Erasing the identities of LGBTQ+ people:
Bills like MT HB 400 are laser-focused on legislating the usage of preferred pronouns, some through so-called “Free to Speak Acts,” which have popped up in states including Mississippi, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. Other states with similar proposed bills include: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee.
In a similar mean-spirited fashion, proposed bills including SD HB 1177, WA SB 5136, FL HB 1495/FL SB 440 and IA HF 80/IA SF 8 hamstring school employees from using preferred pronouns or names aligning with students’ expressed gender identities.
Preventing transgender student athletes from participating in sports:
In Virginia, HB 1809 and SB 749 would block transgender girls and women from participating in girls and women’s sports at K-12 schools and higher education institutions and impose punishment for violations.
Similarly, MO SB 595, NH SB 211, NJ A 775/NJ S 1331, OR HB 3740, and RI HB 5842 would require students to participate in athletic teams based on biological sex.
Banning gender-affirming healthcare:
NH HB 377 and NM HB 466 would prohibit health care providers from administering gender-affirming care to minors.
Censoring and restricting LGBTQ+ curricula:
AL HB 244, IA HSB 84, MO SB 117, and WV HB 2071/WV SB 154 would prohibit instruction about gender identity or sexual orientation in public schools.