About
In 2023, over 500 bills were introduced in the United States that target transgender people in public life, ranging from access to medical care, the ability to change legal names and gender markers, access to public restrooms, and the ability to play sports and perform publicly. In the first 5 days of 2024, 125 similar bills were filed, and grew to 586 by the end of 2024. Before 2025 even started, another 120 bills were filed. Legal processes can be complicated, and it is easy for misinformation to spread.
In this guide, you will find:
- Resources for tracking anti-trans bills
- A guide to understanding the legislative process
- Resources for transgender people and their allies
- A guide to critically evaluating information
Maps and Visualizations
- March 2025 Anti-Trans Legislative Risk MapCompiled and supported by Erin Reed, regularly updated.
Erin Reed's March 2025 Anti-Trans Legislative Risk Map with adult and youth maps, as of March 25, 2025. Used with permission
- Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State LegislaturesACLU's maps and tracking on anti-LGBTQ rights laws.
- Anti-Trans Legislation TrackerEquality Federation's interactive mapping of anti-transgender legislation.
- Trans Rights Indicator Project (TRIP)TRIP provides insight into the legal situation transgender people faced in 174 countries from 2000 to 2021.
- LGBT Equality Maps from the Movement Advancement ProjectView by topic or by state. There is a whole section that is devoted to gender identity issues.
Tracking Legislation
- State Legislation Tracker on LGBTQ+ RightsUp-to-the-minute tracking of legislation affecting LGBTQ+ people.
- State LegislatorsLinks to all state legislature websites.
- Trans Formations Project's Them.Us page"The Trans Formations Project is a small, grassroots 501(c)(4) nonprofit dedicated to tracking and educating about the anti-trans legislative crisis currently sweeping the United States."
- Trans Legislation Tracker"We track legislation that seeks to block trans people from receiving basic healthcare, education, legal recognition, and the right to publicly exist."
- Impact of 2024 Anti-Transgender Legislation on YouthApril 2024. A report on the impacts, statistics, and other information around Anti-Trans legislation.
Executive Orders
What is an executive order? A signed statement from the president about how they want the federal government to be managed. Orders do not require congressional approval and can't be directly overturned by lawmakers. However, both Congress and the courts can potentially block executive orders.
Since his inauguration, President Trump has released several anti-trans executive orders:
- A Line By Line Analysis Of Trump's Big Anti-Trans Executive Order
- A Line By Line Analysis Of Trump's Youth Care Ban Executive Order
- Tracking legal challenges to the Executive Orders
Suggested Books
To trace the history and development of trans rights, search the catalog for the subject heading "Transgender people > Legal status, laws, etc." or "Transgender people > Civil Rights > United States." Keep in mind that it can take up to 5 years or more for a book to be published, so these books will not address the most recent legislation.
Public opinion of transgender rights in United States by Call Number: ebookPublication Date: 2019Report on public opinion on transgender people and their rights in the United States. Part of the HeinOnline LGBTQ+ Rights collection.
The Remarkable Rise of Transgender Rights by Call Number: ebookPublication Date: 2018-10-17While medical identification and treatment of gender dysphoria have existed for decades, the development of transgender as a "collective political identity" is a recent construct. This book explains the growth of the transgender rights movement despite its marginalized status within the current political opportunity structure.
Transforming Prejudice: identity, fear, and transgender rights by Call Number: ebookPublication Date: 2020-04-13Since the mid-1990s, there has been a seismic shift in attitudes toward gay and lesbian people. However, support for transgender individuals lags far behind. In this book, Melissa R. Michelson and Brian F. Harrison examine what tactics are effective in changing public opinion regarding transgender people.
Transgender Rights: From Obama to Trump by Call Number: ebookPublication Date: 2019-07-24This book examines the transgender community's struggle for equality over the last decade, comparing the Obama and Trump administrations' stance on transgender rights policies. The study contrasts the Obama administration's efforts to expand equal rights for the transgender community with the Trump administration's determination to rescind the Obama-era initiatives.
Transgender Rights and Politics: groups, issue framing, and policy adoption by Call Number: ebookPublication Date: 2014-10-14With transgender activism becoming more visible, policymakers in the United States and around the world have begun to respond to demands for more equitable treatment. This book brings together new research employing the concepts and tools of political science to explore the politics of transgender rights in the U.S. and in Latin America, and the implementation of transgender public policy.
Sex Is As Sex Does by Call Number: HQ77.95.U6 C87 2022Publication Date: 2022-05-31Every government agency in the United States has the authority to make its own rules for sex classification. Many transgender people find themselves in the bizarre situation of having different sex classifications on different documents. Whether you can change your legal sex depends on what state you live in, what jurisdiction you were born in, and what government agency you're dealing with. This book explores this deeply flawed system, showing why it fails transgender and non-binary people.
