Arkansas Bill Would Make “Contributing To Social Transitioning” Of Trans Youth Against The Law

House bill 1668 is one of the most extreme anti-transgender bills of 2025.

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

On March 4, Arkansas lawmakers introduced HB1668, the Vulnerable Youth Protection Act, a sweeping bill that would criminalize support for the social transition of transgender youth. The bill allows parents to sue anyone who affirms a child’s gender identity, defining social transition broadly as “any act by which a minor adopts or espouses a gender identity that differs from the minor’s biological sex… including without limitation changes in clothing, pronouns, hairstyle, and name.” It also serves as a total ban on youth gender-affirming care, prohibiting both surgeries and hormone therapy for transgender minors. But the bill goes even further: it asserts extraterritorial jurisdiction, meaning lawsuits could be brought against people outside of Arkansas if they are deemed to have helped a transgender child transition. The penalties are staggering—minimum damages of $10,000 per defendant, with punitive damages reaching up to $10 million for those involved in medical care.

Social transition is a critical way for transgender youth to affirm their identities. It typically involves changes in name, pronouns, clothing, and hairstyle—steps that help young people feel more comfortable in their own skin. Notably, even by the bill’s own definition, social transition does not involve any medical interventions. Yet HB1668 seeks to criminalize it, despite clear protections under the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, the bill “is a blatant overreach of government power, attempting to control private decisions and to circumvent our constitutional rights, including free speech, religious exercise, due process, and equal protection.” The ACLU also notes that any legal cases brought under this bill would be “extremely unlikely to hold up in court,” calling the suits frivolous and warning that they could target anyone—from cashiers to teachers to hairdressers. “The bill’s intent is to scare people into silence and deter them from providing respect, dignity, and care to LGBTQ youth,” they add.

While the bill includes a grandfather clause, it applies only to transgender youth who began transitioning before June 1, 2025, and who have completed at least 12 therapy sessions over a six-month period. Anticipating legal challenges, the bill’s authors claim it does not violate the First Amendment, despite its clear restrictions on speech and expression. Even more brazenly, the bill asserts that if a lower court strikes it down, any higher court ruling in its favor will retroactively nullify that decision—allowing enforcement even during periods when the law is deemed unconstitutional. Such a provision has no legal standing and directly contradicts long-established judicial precedent, an overreach no unbiased court would uphold.

The bill’s authors extend its retroactive provisions to any federal statute that contradicts it, likely in anticipation of further actions by the Trump administration to restrict transgender youth from transitioning. Trump’s executive order on education already lays the groundwork for such efforts, falsely accusing those who support social transition of “practicing medicine without a license.” While this claim has no basis in fact, it underscores how his administration intends to approach transgender rights—as a target for political gain. The scope of these attacks is staggering. According to the 2025 LGBTQ+ Legislative Tracker, a comprehensive database maintained in part by Erin in the Morning writers, 770 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year alone, surpassing last year’s total of 667—and many states’ legislative sessions are still ongoing. With Trump steering the Republican party, these attacks are expected to escalate, cementing anti-trans policies as a core pillar of the GOP’s political agenda.

The legislative history of the bill’s sponsors makes their broader agenda clear. Republican Rep. Mary Bentley has a long record of pushing far-right Christian fundamentalist ideology into law. She previously authored legislation that would require schools to teach a pseudoscientific view of fetal development and abortion, promoting sexual abstinence despite widespread opposition from public health institutions. Bentley has also championed efforts to introduce creationism into public school curricula, threatened school districts' state funding over transgender-inclusive bathroom policies in 2023, and pushed a transgender sports ban in 2021. Her sponsorship of HB1668 follows a familiar pattern: using state power to enforce an extremist agenda, often at the direct expense of marginalized communities..

Her co-sponsor, Alan Clark, has a similarly troubling record. A former construction executive, Clark was suspended from his positions in the Arkansas State Senate after retaliating against a colleague and defrauding state funds by misrepresenting the purpose of his business trips. He has long championed attacks on transgender rights, pushing for bans on gender-affirming care in 2021, and describes himself as “pro-life.” When asked about his political future by Ballotpedia, he offered a telling response: “I would not rule out [running for a different political office]... You probably have to be a bit of an egomaniac or narcissist to be one of 135 state legislators in the state and to think that you are the one special enough to be elected to statewide or federal office.” His sponsorship of HB1668 aligns with his long-standing efforts to erode LGBTQ+ rights while positioning himself for higher political ambitions.

​​Activists in Arkansas are mobilizing against HB1668. The local advocacy group Intransitive, in collaboration with the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, is urging the public to contact their elected officials in opposition to the bill. The ACLU is also providing resources to track and challenge its progress. While no lawmakers beyond its sponsors have publicly endorsed the legislation, its alignment with the Trump administration’s broader anti-LGBTQ+ agenda suggests it has influential backing. The bill is currently headed to the House Judiciary Committee, where a public hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. CST on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Room 149 of the State Capitol. However, its status remains uncertain, as it was previously on the agenda but delayed. Regardless, activists are preparing a response, with Intransitive offering guidance for those planning to testify. As the bill moves forward, its fate—and the fight against it—remains uncertain.