North Carolina Passes 3 Anti-Trans Laws In One Day, Overriding Vetoes

North Carolina undertook a veto override session to pass a gender-affirming care ban, a don't say gay or trans bill, and a sports ban for trans youth all in a single day.

On Wednesday, the North Carolina legislature convened to override several of the governor's vetoes, including several targeting the transgender community. The passed bills are carbon copies of other anti-trans laws in other conservative states with Republican supermajorities this year. They prevent transgender students from participating in sports aligned with their gender identity and compel schools to disclose a student's transgender status to their parents. Additionally, they limit classroom instruction on gender and sexuality, commonly referred to as the “don’t say gay or trans” law. They also deny transgender youth access to gender-affirming care, contrary to established medical guidelines. This shift in the legislative landscape became possible after Representative Cotham switched from the Democratic to the Republican party, giving Republicans the supermajority needed to pass such measures against governor’s vetoes.

The bills that received veto overrides are as follows:

House Bill 808 - Gender-Affirming Care Ban: House Bill 808 prohibits gender-affirming care for transgender youth, including hormone therapy and puberty blockers. These treatments are universally endorsed by all U.S. medical organizations and are the global standard of care for trans youth. This bill mirrors legislation in several other states that also ban such care. While there are allowances for those already undergoing treatment to continue, the bill's aggressive stance on medical providers may discourage many doctors from maintaining this care. Consequently, numerous families might face the difficult choice of relocating to access the necessary medical support.

House Bill 574 - Transgender Sports Ban: House Bill 574 bans transgender girls from playing girl’s sports, including middle schoolers. It does not spell out exactly how gender will be confirmed - in other states, gender challenges have resulted into lengthy investigations and even genital inspections have been proposed. The bill only targets transgender girls - transgender boys are left out of the provisions.

Senate Bill 49 - “Don’t Say Gay Or Trans”/Forced Outing: Senate Bill 49 mandates that if transgender students change their name or pronouns in school, their parents must be informed, effectively outing them. Additionally, the bill restricts classroom discussions surrounding LGBTQ+ identities. In regions with comparable laws, educators have even resigned after simply screening a Disney film featuring an LGBTQ+ character. Alarmingly, by compelling schools to out transgender students, it could expose them to potential abuse, especially given the high rates of mistreatment faced by transgender youth in the U.S. from unaccepting families.

Bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community remained stagnant for the initial months of North Carolina's legislative cycle. However, the landscape shifted when Democratic Representative Tricia Cotham, elected from a district which voted for her, a Democrat, by +19points, switched to the Republican party. This gave the GOP the crucial 72 votes required to override a governor's veto. Subsequently, these bills were promptly slated for hearings and aggressively advanced by the state's Republican leadership.

At least two of these laws might not withstand legal scrutiny. Recently, measures barring transgender participation in sports have faced setbacks in courts. In states like Montana, Idaho, Utah, West Virginia, and Arizona, such bans have either been completely or partially blocked. The situation in West Virginia is particularly relevant for North Carolina; both states fall under the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. This court has already blocked a transgender sports ban in West Virginia. Following that decision, West Virginia's governor made an unusual emergency appeal—typically reserved for national security issues—to the Supreme Court. However, the court, in a 7-2 decision, upheld the block. Given this precedent, it's probable that North Carolina's sports ban will be similarly halted.

Map of states with sports bans - Movement Advancement Project. States with (*) indicate bans that are currently enjoined in court.

Likewise, gender-affirming care bans have generally struggled in court settings. Out of six cases decided, judges in four instances found such bans likely unconstitutional. While judges in Kentucky and Tennessee also deemed the bans probably unconstitutional, their decisions were overridden by the predominantly Republican Sixth Circuit Court. Although the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has not ruled on it, a federal court has determined that the state must continue to provide health insurance benefits to trans employees. This prior judgment may bolster arguments against the fairness of these bans targeting transgender youth in North Carolina.

In the immediate future, these laws will take effect in North Carolina. Transgender youth will grapple with their repercussions until any protracted legal challenges are resolved. No lawsuit has been announced in the immediate aftermath of the legislative session as of yet. With this shift, North Carolina will be listed among states with the most stringent anti-trans laws in the upcoming legislative risk assessment map.