NBC News: State laws targeting LGBTQ Rights have a new foe: federal judges

A record number of bills aimed at restricting the rights of LGBTQ people have become law recently, but the majority of them that have faced legal challenges haven’t held up in court, according to the NBC News story "State laws targeting LGBTQ Rights have a new foe: federal judges". The story relied upon NBC News analysis, legal experts and information from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Just this year, state representatives introduced 591 bills aimed at restricting LGBTQ rights, with 77 of them becoming law, according to the ACLU in the NBC News story. The majority of bills proposed and passed focused on limiting the ability of transgender youth to received gender transition care and play school sports.

Many of these laws have been successfully fought—with restrictions completely or partially blocked by federal judges. But, according to many sources, including University of Cincinnati College of Law’s Professor Ryan Thoreson, legal victories can provide only so much protection.

“The laws do so much damage when they’re passed that I think it’s difficult to see even the court victories as a good thing on balance,” said Ryan Thoreson, a UC Law professor and former researcher for Human Rights Watch. “The sheer number of these laws has been significantly disruptive to the care that transgender children are receiving. They’ve had a chilling effect on providers who are now much more cautious about providing some of these services to kids and their families.” Read the full story.

Professor Thoreson spoke with several news outlets about this topic and LGBTQ rights. He spoke with Foreign Policy (FP) about the rejection of LGBTQ rights around the world in the news story “In Seoul, Pride Strikes Back”. He commented that “The fight in Korea over gay rights is right where the line between freedom of worship collides with civil rights. Religious freedom tips into discrimination when it starts to be used as a sword rather than a shield to deprive others of their rights.”   Read the full story here.

He also commented in the Bloomberg Law article “Transgender Care Fight in Alabama Risks Wide Chilling Effect” (paywall).  Thoreson published the blog post “Florida and the New Assault on LGBT Rights” in Verfassungs blog.  Finally, he published the editorial “People of Faith Should be Alarmed by Recent SCOTUS Ruling” in the Cincinnati Enquirer.  (subscriber wall).

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