First, Republicans used bathroom bills to go after transgender youth. Now, conservatives have opened up a new front in their assault on transgender rights even as Democrats seek to expand civil rights protections for the LGBTQ+ community.
Republicans in Washington and statehouses around the country have unleashed a barrage of legislation and rhetoric aimed at preventing transgender children from participating in sports that match their gender identity.
Nationwide, at least 37 current state bills aim to curtail transgender athletes from participating in sports using their preferred gender are making their way through state legislatures, according to data provided to Insider by the Human Rights Campaign.
Two pieces of legislation — in South Dakota and Mississippi — are on their way to becoming law.
There are 35 more active bills targeting transgender people in other ways, according to HRC.
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