As Anti-Trans Legislation Intensifies, A 2025 Snapshot of State Laws

This story was originally reported by The 19th.

Since 2020, a record number of state bills aimed at restricting transgender rights have emerged each year. While many of these proposals have not succeeded in becoming law, LGBTQ+ advocates often manage to defeat the majority. However, the landscape is changing, with Republicans introducing a growing number of increasingly extreme bills aimed at defining gender rigidly.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is currently tracking 575 anti-LGBTQ+ state bills, with a significant focus on transgender individuals. Out of these, 105 have failed, while 54 have been enacted. Recent laws impose restrictions on transgender students regarding restroom access and school sports participation, and some States have banned Pride flags on government property. Additionally, there are increasing limitations on gender-affirming care and the ability to update personal identity documents.

These bills often define sex in exclusionary terms, categorizing men and boys as those capable of producing sperm and women and girls as those who can produce eggs. This reproductive-centric definition is becoming a cornerstone of many new policies, fundamentally addressing how gender is regulated.

As summer approaches and legislative sessions wrap up, The 19th is closely examining the trends and surprises this year, noting that statehouse Republicans have introduced a record volume of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

Republicans are explicitly seeking to differentiate legal definitions of men and women based on birth characteristics, claiming to protect women’s spaces. Currently, 15 states enforce strict definitions based on reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, or hormones. These definitions exclude transgender and nonbinary individuals, increasing the risk for public discrimination against those who do not conform to traditional gender roles.

According to the Movement Advancement Project, 19 states now prohibit transgender individuals from using restrooms that align with their gender identity in various government facilities, including K-12 schools. This year alone, significant bathroom restrictions have been enacted in states like Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

In contrast, some states are expanding existing policies. Idaho and Arkansas have extended their K-12 bathroom bans to cover all government facilities and colleges. Arkansas passed a law dictating that gender must be displayed on all driver’s licenses, while Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton expressed that past updates to gender markers on driver’s licenses and birth certificates should be reverted to reflect sex assigned at birth.

Logan Casey, director of policy research at the Movement Advancement Project, commented on the increasing severity of these anti-trans laws. The current political climate, influenced by figures like Donald Trump, has emboldened state lawmakers to prioritize anti-transgender initiatives.

This year, Iowa became the first state to revoke nondiscrimination protections for transgender individuals, eliminating safeguards that had been in place since 2007. The new law also restricts updates to gender markers on birth certificates and bans educational discussions about LGBTQ+ identities for younger students.

In Texas, a proposed bill would label informing an employer or the government about one’s gender identity as “gender identity fraud,” potentially resulting in felony charges. Although this bill has not moved forward, it represents a troubling trend aimed at criminalizing transgender identities.

The fight against anti-trans bills is also evident in other states. In Georgia, Democrats recently walked out in protest against a bill targeting gender-affirming care for trans prisoners. While that bill did not pass, the level of anti-trans legislation introduced this year is unprecedented.

Democratic resistance to these measures has appeared in various forms, including in Maine, where Governor Janet Mills challenged Trump’s threats against state funding for schools accommodating transgender athletes. In a display of unity, Maine’s administration fought back against federal pressures.

While Republican opposition to certain bills has surfaced, as witnessed in Montana where legislators reversed positions after spirited discussions, significant challenges remain. Several Republican lawmakers express concern over new legislative approaches, reflecting growing bipartisan unease regarding extreme anti-trans measures.

Looking forward, advocates remain persistent. Joelle Bayaa-Uzuri Espeut from the Normal Anomaly Initiative emphasized the importance of visibility amidst the political turmoil. “Visibility is an act of revolution. It shows that they are not going to win,” she asserted, highlighting the resilience within the transgender community.