North Dakota introduces record 10 anti-LGBTQ bills in one day, advocates say

The North Dakota Legislature introduced 10 bills Tuesday that it claims target the state’s LGBTQ community, and the Human Rights Campaign, the state’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, said one such bill was set a record for

The state Senate on Monday passed all 10 bills that have already passed the House. Eight of them will head to Republican Gov. Doug Burgham for signature or veto power.

8 of them are included wide scale It bans “adult performances” in public places and in front of minors and could limit many forms of drugs. , Restrict gender-affirming medicine Some also prohibit transgender students in public and private K-12 schools and colleges from playing sports on teams in schools that match their gender identity.

After the Senate added amendments, two bills were returned to the House.they will ban trans people in state From updating the gender on the birth certificate ban state establishments From enabling trans people to use restrooms and changing rooms that correspond to their gender identity.

Kathryn Oakley, state attorney general and senior counsel for the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement that the 10 bills “have the sole purpose of pushing LGBTQ+ people back into the closet,” urging Burgham to reject them. urged.

“Instead of spending the day grappling with the real problems facing North Dakota, Bismarck’s extremist legislators were working tirelessly to anger the far-flung perimeter of their base. It’s a shame, but not a surprise, pay the price,” Oakley said in a statement.

It is unclear whether Burgum will support this move.last week he refused invoice It allowed school officials to misgender transgender students and prohibited school districts from adopting “policies or practices regarding expressed gender.” The House failed to obtain the two-thirds majority necessary to maintain its nullity.

and Letter to Senate Speaker Tammy Miller On the veto, Bulgham said the bill’s ambiguity “will invite litigation and put teachers in a precarious position trying to decide how to refer to their students without violating the law.” ” he said.

“The teaching profession is challenging enough without state governments forcing teachers into the role of pronominal police,” he wrote.

North Dakota’s laws are part of a nationwide wave. Legislators have introduced more than 450 bills targeting the LGBTQ community so far this year. American Civil Liberties Union and another group of researchers Follow the legislative process.

More than half of them target transgender youth by restricting access to gender reassignment-related care (pubertal blockers, hormone therapy, surgery, etc.) or school sports teams.

If North Dakota’s health care and sports restrictions become law, it will become the 14th state to limit health care for minors in transition and the state to limit transgender students’ participation in school sports. 20th.

During debates on the health care bill on Monday, Republican Senator Keith Boehm falsely claimed that puberty blockers permanently sterilize children and called transition-related care “child mutilation.” According to KFGOa local public radio station.

“If you want to be sterilized or have parts of your body removed as an adult, you have the right to do so, not as a child,” Boehm said, according to KFGO.

Democratic Sen. Ryan Braunberger opposed the bill on Monday, saying laws restricting LGBTQ rights as gay youth contributed to his decision to attempt suicide.

“I was lucky to survive my suicide attempt and be here, but not many others have survived and I will never,” Braunberger said. If the bill is passed, “kids like me across the state will feel like the world is turning against them. They will ultimately feel they can’t go on any longer.” “

Associated Press contributed.