Safeguard Rural LGBTQ+ Rights
Background
In today’s polarized political and cultural environment, conservative politicians and pundits have used attacks on LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer) people to stoke division and fear and distract the public from real issues. This has not happened by accident: a coordinated campaign[1] of wealthy Christian Nationalists has built a movement[2] demonizing drag, trans kids, gender nonconformity, and LGBTQ+ rights, under the guise of “protecting the children,” has actually been a way to build support for “traditional values,” ranging from Christian gender roles to right-wing pro-business ideologies. They pioneered many of these tactics in rural communities, where residents may not know LGBTQ+ people personally.
In the 2024 legislative session, the ACLU tracked more than 530 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced at the state level.[3] Using a broader data set, translegislation.com tracked nearly 675 state-level anti-trans bills, with 50 of these passing across 17 states. These included bills to ban access to gender affirming care; drag shows; books with LGBTQ+ representation and curriculum that acknowledges the existence of LGBTQ+ issues.
That said, while there is truth to the stereotypes that rural LGBTQ+ people want to leave these communities or that they feel less safe there,[4] the full reality is far more complicated. A 2019 study[5] estimates 2.9 to 3.8 million[6] LGBTQ+ Americans live in rural areas or 15-20% of the LGBTQ+ population,[7] roughly equivalent to the 19% of total Americans who live rurally. Many LGBTQ+ people who grow up rural leave for a nearby city to find community and opportunities, but many find that they miss rural life and return to their roots, creating community in new ways in their hometown.
State policymakers must ensure protections for sexual orientation and gender identity/expression are included in their state’s antidiscrimination laws, including in education, employment, housing, and health care – and policymakers must push back against divisive and discriminatory initiatives like “bathroom bills,” bills regulating trans athletes’ participation in sports, and those allowing businesses to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In some states, preemption bills are being advanced to undermine local or county protections.[8] Beyond these basics, state legislators can proactively support rural LGBTQ+ communities in a variety of ways,[9] from changing old discriminatory laws to efforts to make state agencies more inclusive. For example, more than half of all states do not include both sexual orientation and gender identity in hate crime laws,[10] and in many states, a so-called LGBTQ+ “panic” defense[11] can still be used in court to explain or excuse an assault on a LGBTQ+ person, up to and including murder. Many states permit “conversion therapy”[12] for minors, despite consensus in the mental health community that these practices, which attempt to change sexual orientation or gender identity, are harmful or abusive. Decriminalization of HIV and expansion of access to HIV treatment have public health benefits far beyond the LGBTQ+ community. Finally, many states are creating commissions, offices, and state agencies to proactively advise policymakers and executive officials on equitable policies for LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities. [1] https://translash.org/podcasts/the-anti-trans-hate-machine/ [2] https://www.axios.com/2023/03/31/anti-trans-bills-2023-america [3] https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights-2024 [4] Eaton, Kristi. “Survey: Almost Half of the Rural LGBTQ Youth Doesn’t Feel Accepted in Their Communities.” The Daily Yonder, 2 Dec. 2021, https://dailyyonder.com/survey-almost-half-of-the-rural-lgbtq-youth-doesnt-feel-accepted-in-their-communities/2021/12/03/. [5] Movement Advancement Project. 2019, Where We Call Home: LGBT People in Rural America, https://www. [6] Fadel, Leila. New Study: LGBT People a ‘Fundamental Part of the Fabric of Rural Communities’. NPR, 4 Apr. 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/04/04/709601295/lgbt-people-are-a-fundamental-part-of-the-fabric-of-rural-communities. [7] https://dailyyonder.com/rural-queer-history-hidden-in-plain-sight/2021/04/09/ [8] https://www.equalityfederation.org/post/report-preempting-lgbtq-rights-how-states-undermine-local-leadership-and-innovation-on-lgbtq-equality [9] Movement Advancement Project. How Policymakers Can Support LGBT People in Rural Communities. 2019, https://www.lgbtmap.org/file/rural-lgbt-policymakers-recommendations.pdf. [10] Movement Advancement Project. “Hate Crime Laws.” Movement Advancement Project, https://www.lgbtmap.org [11] The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. “LGBTQ+ ‘Panic’ Defense.” The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association, 6 Dec. 2021, https://lgbtqbar.org/programs/advocacy/gay-trans-panic-defense/. [12] Movement Advancement Project. “Conversion ‘Therapy’ Laws.” Movement Advancement Project, https://www.
lgbtmap.org/file/lgbt-rural-report.pdf.
/equality-maps/hate_crime_laws.
lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/conversion_therapy.
Policy Priorities
- State: Reject anti-LGBTQ+ bills, including those regulating use of bathrooms, sports participation, and health care and those that permit denial of services to LGBTQ+ individuals. Legislators should prioritize the repeal of any existing barriers.
- State: Include sexual orientation and gender identity in state antidiscrimination laws and protections for LGBTQ+ youth and students.
- State: Include sexual orientation and gender identity in hate crime law and ban the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense.
- State: Ban “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ minors.
- State: Create cross-sector/agency entities to proactively advise on equitable policies for LGBTQ+ communities.
State Examples
- Vermont (2023 VT SB 37) and Oregon (2023 OR HB 2002) worked on omnibus bills to increase, and protect, access to gender-affirming care.
- Hawaii (2018 HI HB 1489) passed a law to establish state school nondiscrimination protections for students on the basis of gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation in any educational program or activity.
- In New Mexico (2019 NM SB 288), legislators enacted a comprehensive anti-bullying law that provides protections for students against bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
- Vermont (2021 VT HB 128) and Colorado (2020 CO HB 1307) have banned the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense.
- Virginia (2020 VA HB 276) and Georgia (2020 GA HB 426) broadened their hate crime laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
- Nebraska (2021 NE LB 231), Pennsylvania (2021 PA HB 729), and Wisconsin (2021 WI AB 312), attempted to limit or fully ban “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ minors.
- Georgia (2021 GA SB 164) considered steps to decriminalize HIV, while Maine (2021 ME LD 1115) expanded access to HIV-prevention drugs.
- Vermont (2021 VT HB 210) formed a Health Equity Advisory Commission, and Minnesota (2021 MN HF 1924) proposed a Council on LGBTQI Minnesotans.
- Nevada (2023 NV SB 163) and Maine (2023 ME HB 676) enacted bills requiring Medicaid to cover gender-affirming care and to prohibit insurance discrimination based on gender identity or expression.
Toolkits
Inspired? Ready to dig in on these issues with your rural neighbors? Our practical communications toolkits will help you connect with new communities through common values. The toolkits provide examples on narrative framing, press release templates, sample talking points, and more.
Click here for the communications toolkit on Providing Healthcare for All.
For additional specific guidance on how to counter anti-trans rhetoric and disinformation, check out resources from Political Research Associates.