By New Year’s Day 2023, dozens of anti-LGBTQ+, and especially anti-Trans, legislative bills had already been drafted for introduction across the country. In our region, from Southern Oregon to Northern Alaska, classrooms, clinics, court rooms, and school boards continued to erupt into battles bleeding onto the legislative floor, no less than in businesses and individual homes.
However, the legislation only tells one story. Indeed, from the Westernmost edges of Washington to Eastern Montana and beyond, Trans people and our communities continue to make space for mourning and magic, longing and loving, for truth and transformation. To be sure, this is not a new battle for the Pacific Northwest: we are home to the first anti-Trans Sports Bill signed into law in the country back in 2020 in Idaho. However, we are also home to some of the first Pro-Trans bills getting signed into law. This year, Washington State is becoming a sanctuary for recipients of gender-affirming care with the signing of SB 5599.
In the face of all this, at Pride Foundation, we have rooted ourselves in care and collaboration, while spending dozens of hours alongside our community in legislative sessions. We are reimagining how we fuel advocacy, research, and education, while we gather stories from BIPOC Trans, Nonbinary, Intersex, and Two-Spirit Northwesterners to TRANSform Culture (Contact our Director of CARE to share your story if you are BIPOC and Trans, Nonbinary, Intersex, or Two-Spirit!). We are finding new ways to provide support ‘beyond the check’, from meals and transportation to chanting “My body is my own, I am in control” in the depths of the legislature in Helena, MT.
We have dared to imagine that another world is not only possible, but already here.
Below you will find a legislative story of the region , but make no mistake: Trans kids have always existed, and we will celebrate Trans Joy at every moment.
Special thanks to the ACLU, Montana Free Press, and The Trans Legislation Tracker for their work in tracking this legislation.
Alaska
Legislative Session: January 17 – May 17 (the first session has adjourned, yet Alaskan Governor Dunleavy has issued a proclamation for a special session from May 18 to June 18 for the House and Senate to finalize the 2024 Fiscal Year Budget).
- As of May 2023, at least four explicitly anti-Trans bills were formally introduced in the Alaskan legislature. However, none of these bills have moved past committee as of yet.
Idaho
Legislative Session: January 09 – April 06 (the session has adjourned)
- House Bill 0071: Prohibits gender-affirming medical and surgical care for transgender minors.
- Signed by the Governor into law. Effective on 01/01/2024.
- House Bill 163: Amends existing law to provide for certain disclosures and school policies, including, but not limited to, changes in a student’s gender and sexual identity.
- Signed by the Governor into law. Effective on 07/01/2023.
- House Bill 242: Amends existing law to create and provide for a new category of crime referred to as “abortion trafficking.”
- Signed by the Governor into law. Effective on 05/05/2023.
- Senate Bill 1016: Authorizes Public Contractors to withhold services based on ethical, moral, or religious beliefs (for example, withholding the construction of a gender-neutral restroom).
- Signed by the Governor into law. Effective on 07/01/2023.
- Senate Bill 1100: Prohibits Trans students from accessing restrooms in public schools that align with their gender-identity.
- Signed by the Governor into law. Effective on 07/01/2023.
Montana
Legislative Session: January 02 – May 02 (the session has adjourned)
- House Bill 234: Amends existing laws concerning “obscene materials” and minors.
- Signed by the Governor into law.
- House Bill 303: Authorizes medical providers to withhold services based on ethical, moral, or religious beliefs.
- Signed by the Governor into law.
- House Bill 359: Prohibits minors from attending drag shows.
- Signed by the Governor into law.
- House Bill 361: Provides that use of a name and sex assigned at birth by a student or students toward another student or students is not discrimination.
- Signed by the Governor into law.
- Senate Bill 99: Prohibits gender-affirming medical and surgical care for transgender minors.
- Signed by the Governor into law. Effective on 10/01/2023.
- Senate Bill 458: Defines “sex” in Montana law.
- Signed by the Governor into law.
- Senate Bill 518: Revise parental rights laws to increase parental involvement in education.
- Signed by the Governor into law.
Oregon
Legislative Session: January 17 – June 25 (the session is still active)
Oregon has the longest running legislative session in our region. This year, Oregon was host to one of the highest numbers of introduced anti-trans bills in our region with at least 10 explicitly anti-Trans bills formally introduced. However, as of May 2023, most of these bills have effectively died in committee. Learn more here: link.
Washington (one of the only states in the country with a successful Pro-Trans bill!)
Legislative Session: January 09 – April 23 (the session has adjourned)
- SB 5599: Sanctuary Bill for Gender-Affirming Care among youth and young adults.
- Signed by the Governor into law. Effective on 07/23/2023.