LGBT Nondiscrimination and Anti-LGBT Bills Across the Country

Updated every Wednesday

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in America face discrimination in their daily lives.  Currently, 19 states plus DC ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in employment, housing, and public accommodations, and an additional four states provide incomplete statewide nondiscrimination protections. All people – including those who are gay or transgender – should be treated fairly and equally by the laws of their state, and should have the opportunity to earn a living, access housing, and participate fully in society.  

There are bills in state legislatures across the country and in Congress – some that would protect LGBT people from discrimination, and others that would roll back existing protections or open the door to discrimination against gay and transgender people.  

VIEW THE NUMBER AND variety OF ANTI-LGBT RELIGIOUS Exemption BILLS CURRENTLY PENDING IN STATES 

Click on the links below to learn more about the kinds of bills being introduced and what they mean, and if they are moving toward passage.

Types of bills:

•  Affirmative Nondiscrimination Bills
• Comprehensive Protection
• Incomplete Protection
   
• Harmful Anti-LGBT Bills
• Religious Exemptions Bills
•  Bills Pre-empting Local Protections
• Anti-Transgender Bills
• Other Anti-LGBT Bills

*Active: A bill is marked Active if it was originally introduced or prefiled in 2015 and will be carried over into the 2016 legislative sesion. The date indicates when the 2016 session will begin.

Affirmative Nondiscrimination Bills

a.    Comprehensive Protection

Comprehensive nondiscrimination bills prevent discrimination based on both sexual orientation and gender identity (or only gender identity if state law already covers sexual orientation), and does so in a range of contexts, including employment, housing, and public accommodations.  Comprehensive bills do not have overly broad religious exemptions or other carve-outs.

b.    Incomplete Protection

Incomplete nondiscrimination bills include those that leave out gender identity protections, those that do not prevent discrimination in all key contexts, and those that contain broad religious exemptions language or carve-outs for sex-segregated facilities.

Harmful Anti-LGBT Bills

We see several types of harmful bills introduced in state legislatures that either erode existing protections for LGBT people or open the door for greater discrimination.

a.    Religious Exemptions Bills

There are a variety of types of bills that would allow religion to be used to discriminate against gay and transgender people in virtually all aspects of their lives. Click here for our page that tracks these bills across the country.

b.    Bills Pre-Empting Local Protections

These bills prevent cities and other local government entities from passing nondiscrimination protections that are greater than the protections offered at the state level, including protections for LGBT people.   

c.    Anti-Transgender Bills

We are also increasingly seeing bills that target transgender people for discrimination, such as barring access to or even criminalizing the use of appropriate facilities, including restrooms, or restricting transgender students’ ability to fully participate in school. 

d.     Other Anti-LGBT Bills