Surge of legislation against LGBTQ youth threatens health: Measures censor lessons, discussions =============================================================================================== * Kim Krisberg ![Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/52/3/1.1/F1.medium.gif) [Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/52/3/1.1/F1) People protest in Columbus, Ohio, in June against a bill that would ban transgender youth from participating in high school sports. State legislation targeting LGBTQ youth is on the rise, including bans on classroom lessons on LGBTQ issues. Photo by Stephen Zenner, courtesy SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images In the 1980s in a small town in New Hampshire, George Wallace, then 17, told a teacher at school he was gay — the first time he had told another person. “It was to my high school art teacher — I just really trusted her,” said Wallace, DBA. “It felt liberating to be able to say it. It was such a weight off my shoulders.” Under a new Florida bill, the same experience might not be possible for the young people Wallace now serves as CEO of The Center, which provides health and support services for the LGBTQ community in Orlando, Florida. In early March, the Florida Senate passed and sent to the governor’s desk a bill — dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by opponents — that bans teachers from discussing LGBTQ issues or people in the classroom. It would also require educators, such as Wallace’s art teacher, to report such conversations to parents, effectively outing students without their consent. “No matter what the politicians are saying, this bill was written to erase LGBTQ people from the classroom,” Wallace told *The Nation’s Health* in March. “Schools are supposed to be safe places for all students.” Advocates such as Wallace are especially concerned about the mental health impacts of the Florida bill, which is part of a larger surge of anti-LGBTQ legislation nationwide, much of it targeting young people and transgender youth. According to the Human Rights Campaign, 2021 marked the country’s “worst year” for anti-LGBTQ legislation in recent history. As of May that year, 17 bills had been signed into law, including seven banning transgender students from participating in sports. ![Figure2](http://www.thenationshealth.org/http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/52/3/1.1/F2.medium.gif) [Figure2](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/52/3/1.1/F2) A student shows support for LGBTQ issues during a graduation event. In a 2021 survey of LGBTQ youth, 94% said recent politics had negatively impacted their mental health. State legislation targeting LGBTQ youth is on the rise. Photo by Spiderplay, courtesy iStockphoto APHA joined with nearly two dozen other health organizations in a February statement to condemn the discriminatory measures against LGBTQ youth, noting that “the erasure of LGBTQ+ people from classroom discussions deprives all students of an inclusive and diverse education.” The school-based changes come even as most Americans say they do not want them: A March ABC News-Ipsos poll found that 62% of Americans oppose legislation that would ban classroom lessons about sexual orientation or gender identity, for example. Whether enacted or not, the legislative attacks can have serious impacts for the well-being of LGBTQ youth, who already face higher risks of mental health conditions and suicide due to stigma and discrimination. A 2021 survey of about 35,000 LGBTQ young people ages 13 to 24 from the Trevor Project, which works to prevent suicide among LGBTQ youth, found that 94% reported that recent politics had negatively impacted their mental health. Overall, 42% said they seriously considered suicide in the last year, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth. LGBTQ youth who learned about LGBTQ issues and people at school had 23% lower odds of reporting a suicide attempt in the last year. Earlier this year, in another Trevor Project poll, 85% of transgender and nonbinary youth, as well as 66% of LGBTQ youth overall, said that recent debates regarding anti-transgender bills had negatively affected their mental health. Ellen Kahn, MSS, senior director of programs and partnerships at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, said 2022 is following the same legislative trend, with two kinds of bills being proposed in particularly high volumes: those discriminating against transgender students in sports, and those preventing transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming health care. “Some of the most vulnerable kids are being targeted and, by extension, their families,” Kahn told *The Nation’s Health.* “Kids can’t handle the burden of discrimination and questioning every day whether they’ll be safe.” Kahn said in March that she and colleagues were hearing from families worried that their communities might be swept up in what Kahn described as an organized, well-funded effort to roll back LGBTQ gains. “Even if these bills don’t pass and even if you don’t live in a place that’s affected, you’re probably feeling the effects of this backlash,” she said. “There’s no way around it.” In Texas, families are already being forced to uproot their lives after a February opinion from Texas state Attorney General Ken Paxton. The opinion led Gov. Greg Abbott to order child abuse investigations into parents who help their kids access evidence-based, medically necessary, gender-affirming health care. A judge temporarily halted the order in March. Ricardo Martinez, MA, CEO of the LGBTQ rights group Equality Texas, said 76 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced during the last session of the Texas Legislature in 2021 — a new record for the state. In comparison, Texas lawmakers introduced about 20 such bills in 2019. Research shows the legislative attacks are having a harmful impact, with 2021 data from the Trevor Project showing that crisis contacts from LGBTQ young people in Texas rose over 150% compared to the same period in 2020. “It’s been a dramatic escalation — one that’s part of a larger coordinated attack,” Martinez said, noting that most of the anti-LGBTQ bills filed in Texas in 2021 targeted young people and transgender youth in particular. Martinez said his organization is helping targeted families find pro bono legal help and working to engage local voters on LGBTQ issues. He noted that just 11 members of the Texas Legislature were responsible for the majority of last year’s anti-LGBTQ bills. “Elections matter,” he told *The Nation’s Health.* At the federal level, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in March the agency was taking several steps to reaffirm its support for transgender youth and their families, including issuing guidance on transgender patients’ right to medical privacy, as well as guidance stressing that denials of health care based on gender identity are illegal. Martinez said enactment of the federal Equality Act, which passed in the U.S. House last year and would prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity across a number of sectors, would help “provide consistent and explicit protections for LGBTQ+ people.” Nick Grant, PhD, a clinical psychologist in Hawaii and president of GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality, said he is especially concerned about transgender youth and adults, who already experience stark disparities in health access and outcomes. “When there is a loss of autonomy, it, of course, will take its toll,” Grant told *The Nation’s Health.* “It’s a prime example of how politics can contribute to health disparities.” Grant said local providers, educators and advocates can support LGBTQ youth during times of heightened legislative attacks by reaffirming and creating welcoming and safe environments for them. “For those who can, it’s time to speak out and advocate against this discrimination,” he said. For more information, visit [www.thetrevorproject.org](http://www.thetrevorproject.org) or [www.hrc.org](http://www.hrc.org). * Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association