Senate Bill 14, which is set to take effect on Sept. 1, bans transition-related care for minors. Parents of transgender kids say it blocks their ability to support their children.
LGBTQ+ Texans
About 1.8 million Texans are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender — the second-highest such population for any U.S. State — according to the Public Policy Institute of California. In recent years, state officials and lawmakers have pursued legislation and policies that could dramatically affect LGBTQ+ Texans’ lives. Texas Tribune reporters are covering LGBTQ+ Texans’ lives and how these bills, laws and directives impact them.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
“Unbearable”: Doctors treating trans kids are leaving Texas, exacerbating adolescent care crisis
Texas doctors fear a new era of government intrusion into medicine as lawmakers ban transition care for kids following prohibitions on abortion.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
LGBTQ+ community in Lubbock protests their city council’s failure to pass a Pride proclamation
In the conservative High Plains city, LGBTQ leaders and activists say they feel unseen and unsupported by their elected officials.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
Twenty years after a breakthrough Texas case launched a new era of gay rights, trans people are still in the fight
The U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for major civil rights victories for queer Americans in the 2003 decision that decriminalized homosexuality. But progress for LGBTQ+ people has been uneven.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
LGBTQ+ Texans move forward with Pride plans despite tense political environment and fears of violence
Organizers across Texas are balancing a focus on security and a celebration of community after state lawmakers pushed scores of bills that threatened to upend the lives of LGBTQ+ Texans.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Gov. Greg Abbott signs legislation barring trans youth from accessing transition-related care
Texas joins 17 other states restricting transgender minors from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapies. Opposing legal groups have vowed to sue to stop the new law from taking effect.
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2023 Session Recap
Texas lawmakers pursued dozens of bills affecting LGBTQ people in 2023. Here’s what passed and what failed.
The Legislature banned puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans kids, restricted the college sports teams trans athletes can join and expanded the definition of sexual conduct to include some drag shows. But a “Don’t Say Gay” provision for schools missed key deadlines.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
This class president is the model of a successful Texas teen. After a ban on trans health care, she can’t wait to leave the state.
For one Round Rock teen, getting accepted to Harvard was her ticket out of a state that she says is hostile to trans youth. Now Texas will ensure young people like her no longer have access to gender-affirming care.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
Bill restricting sexually explicit performances in front of children heads to the governor
Originally pitched as an effort to restrict children from seeing certain drag shows, the House and Senate agreed on a version of the bill that could still ensnare LGBTQ performers.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas House passes bill aimed at keeping kids from seeing sexually explicit performances
The bill no longer targets drag performers, but LGBTQ advocates say the legislation’s vague language could still be used to criminalize such shows.