The Human Rights Campaign, one of the leading LGBTQIA+ civil rights campaigns that has been around since the 1980’s, has declared a national state of emergency for LGBTQIA+ Americans. With over half the states across the country proposing and passing laws that are specifically targeted towards the queer community, it is becoming increasingly dangerous for LGBT individuals.

Nebraska is one of those many states that are bringing heavy focus against the LGBTQIA+ by passing laws that limit them and make things more difficult to thrive. It is important to put these laws into stark focus.

The following acts have been proposed and put into law:

LB574: Let Them Grow Act/Preborn Child Protection Act; the Let Them Grow Act would make it illegal to offer gender-affirming care to any transgender individual nineteen (19) or under. This would include any surgical procedure that would affect the genitals, hormone therapy including procedures that would halt a person going through the incorrect puberty for their gender.

Other surgeries that would be blocked for those under 19 would be  “surgical procedures for biologically male patients such as augmentation mammoplasty, facial feminization surgery, liposuction, lipofilling, voice surgery, thyroid cartilage reduction, gluteal augmentation, hair reconstruction, or various aesthetic procedures…surgical procedures for biologically female patients such as subcutaneous mastectomy, voice surgery, liposuction, lipofilling, pectoral implants, or various aesthetic procedures.”

Any medical practitioner found performing gender-affirming care would lose funding from the state, as well as be at risk for civil action from patients and their families.

Meanwhile, the Preborn Child Protection Act will ban abortion after 12 weeks, from the first day of the last menstrual cycle. While it does include exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the person carrying the fetus, it does not have any exceptions for fetal anomalies, which means that if the fetus should suffer from a medical issue that would mean it could not survive birth there is no case for abortion.

These Legislative Bills were brought to the 2023 session, and will be debated next session:

LB810: Medical Ethics and Diversity Act; this act “protects medical practitioners, health care institutions, and health care payers from discrimination, punishment, or retaliation as a result of any instance of conscientious medical objection.” This allows medical practitioners and the like to be able to turn patients away if they are requesting “elective medical treatment” that the practitioner might find offensive based on their personal morals or religious belief.

LB575: Sports and Spaces Act; this act would have schools “designate each group bathroom and locker room within such school building as either for use by biological females or for use by biological males; no school shall allow a biological male to use a restroom facility/locker room designated for use by biological females; no school shall allow a biological female to use a restroom facility/locker room designated for use by biological males.”

This act would still allow for “biological male coaches, trainers, or authorized individuals to enter a locker room designated for or being used at such time by one or more biological females” and vise versa.

The Sports and Spaces Act would also ensure that “an athletic team or sport designated for males, men, or boys shall not be open to a biological female student unless there is no female team available” with the same being said for teams “designated for females, women, or girls”. Schools would not be given a choice in implementing the Sports and Spaces Act.

LB371: This act would “prohibit an individual under 19 years of age or under 21 years of age from being present at a drag show”. In this act, the term ‘drag show’ is loosely defined as “a performer which exhibits a gender identity that is different than the performer’s gender assigned at birth using clothing, makeup, or other physical markers and sings, lip syncs, dances, or otherwise performaces before an audience for entertainment.”

Any establishment found to be in violation of this act “shall be fined $10,000 for each violation”, which would be for every person under 10 or under 21 if there is alcohol on the premises.

The past 30 years have seen a great deal of advancement for LGBTQIA+ individuals, such as anti-discrimination laws being passed, same-sex marriage being legalized, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell being repealed, and sexuality and gender identity being classified under the categories for hate crimes. It is only in the last few years that we have begun to backslide and remove those protections and have made growing up and living as an LGBTQIA+ individual more dangerous and uncertain.

With these very obvious attacks against queer individuals, it is important to not only fight for equality for all, but it also allows Americans to recognize the breadth of systemic issues that lead to minority groups coming under fire.