LGBTQ Equality Maps Updates: May 2025
In this rapidly changing landscape, MAP’s LGBTQ Equality Maps provide a detailed snapshot of the current state of LGBTQ laws and policies in the United States. See below for a listing of state level policy changes, plus MAP’s bill tracking and policy research updates, as of May 14, 2025.
▸▸ State Policy Updates
Bans on transgender people’s use of bathrooms and facilities
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
There are now 19 states with a law or policy banning transgender people from using bathrooms according to their gender identity in various government-owned settings. Now, more than 1 in 4 (26%) transgender people nationwide live under some form of these policies.
- March 31: Idaho expanded its existing K-12 bathroom ban to apply to higher education, state-operated correctional facilities and domestic violence shelters. This occurred just over a week after the state’s existing ban was upheld by the Ninth Circuit. Idaho’s expanded ban will not go into effect until July 1.
- April 2: Montana’s recently enacted bathroom ban was blocked by a court order.
- April 21: Arkansas expanded its existing K-12 bathroom ban to apply to all other government buildings. It will not go into effect until 90 days after the legislature adjourns.
Parental opt-out/opt-in for LGBTQ-related curriculum
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
- March 31: Idaho enacted a law requiring schools to notify parents in advance of any instruction about, among other terms, “sexual attraction, sexual orientation, or any form of sexual identity, gender identity, gender ideology, or gender conversion.” The law also requires parents to opt children in to such content. It applies to all grades K-12 and will not go into effect until July 1.
“Don’t Say LGBTQ” curriculum censorship laws
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
- March 31: Idaho became the 10th state with a “Don’t Say LGBTQ” law. It applies to all grades K-12 and will not go into effect until July 1.
- April 30: West Virginia became the 11th state with a “Don’t Say LGBTQ” law. It applies to all grades K-12, though it contains some limited exceptions. It will not go into effect until July 11.
Forced outing of transgender youth in schools
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
- April 30: West Virginia’s new “Don’t Say LGBTQ” law also requires school staff to out transgender youth.
Bans on transgender kids playing school sports
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here, including a chronology of laws and vetoes, a breakdown of grade applicability, and further analyses.
There are now 28 states that ban transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity. More than 2 in 5 (42%) transgender youth live in states with these bans.
- April 16: Indiana expanded its existing K-12 sports ban to apply to higher education. It will not go into effect until July 1.
- April 28: Georgia became the 28th state with a ban on transgender youth’s participation in school sports. It applies to K-12 and higher education and will go into effect on July 1.
Bans on medical care for transgender youth
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here, including a chronology and details on effective dates, exceptions, lawsuits, and more.
- April 29: In Ohio, the State Supreme Court allowed Ohio’s ban on best practice medical care for transgender youth to go back into effect. Just last month, an appellate court temporarily blocked the ban while the lawsuit unfolded, but the State Supreme Court has paused that ruling, allowing it to be enforced while the lawsuit continues.
- April 30: West Virginia expanded its existing ban by removing its previous exception that allowed some transgender youth, under very restrictive circumstances, to receive new hormone prescriptions. The new law also directs the state’s health care board to propose new emergency regulations that would, among other provisions, prevent out-of-state telehealth providers from prescribing hormone medication to minors in West Virginia.
Repealing bans on marriage equality
See our Equality Map here. Note that all these bans remain unenforceable due to the 2015 Supreme Court ruling.
- April 7: Colorado repealed its legislative ban on marriage equality, following its repeal of its constitutional amendment ban this past November. Now there are no remaining bans in Colorado.
Religious exemptions for public officials solemnizing marriages
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
- April 16: Arkansas approved a new law allowing public officials to refuse to perform or solemnize marriages “based upon or in a manner consistent with a belief about biological sex or marriage.”
Religious exemptions for private businesses providing marriage-related services
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
- April 16: Arkansas approved a new law allowing private businesses that provide marriage-related services to refuse to serve individuals “based upon or in a manner consistent with a belief about biological sex or marriage.”
Religious exemptions for medical providers
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
- April 22: Arkansas expanded its existing religious exemption for medical providers to include medical researchers, as well as to add language specifically about transgender-related medical care and “whistleblower” protections.
- April 29: Tennessee expanded its existing religious exemption for counselors and therapists to now apply to all medical providers, including insurance companies.
Gender marker changes on birth certificates
See our Equality Map here and our supporting citations and additional information here.
- May 2: Arizona’s governor vetoed a bill that would have banned gender marker changes on birth certificates.
Changes in MAP’s Policy Tally categorizations
See our Overall, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity Policy Tally maps here, summarizing states’ scores across all the 50+ laws and policies we track.
- Idaho’s new school censorship laws dropped the state to “Negative” on our Sexual Orientation Tally. It was already “Negative” on both our Overall and Gender Identity Tallies.
- Georgia’s new sports ban dropped the state to “Negative” on our Overall Tally.
- West Virginia’s new discriminatory laws dropped the state to “Negative” on our Overall Tally, following a similar drop to “Negative” on our Gender Identity Tally last month.
▸▸ LGBTQ Bill Tracking Updates
To continue highlighting trends across the country, included below are our current bill tracking counts for anti-LGBTQ bills in state legislatures.
Note that these counts may differ from other organizations or public counts for a variety of reasons, and this work is greatly facilitated by the work of other organizations including the ACLU, Trans Formations Project, and the Equality Federation and their member state groups.
As of May 9, 2025, MAP is tracking roughly 700 anti-LGBTQ bills across 49 states — i.e., every state but Vermont.
▸▸ MAP Policy Research Updates
Given renewed and escalating attacks on identity documents, MAP recently released several new related resources based on our 2022 report, which remains a relevant resource on ID access.
- March 2025 fact sheet: Identity Documents & Transgender People
- April 2025 fact sheet: The ID Divide: How Obstacles to IDs Impact Us All
- April 2025 fact sheet: Identity Documents & People with Disabilities
Read more about these resources via our new blog here or below.
More and more school censorship laws have been enacted across the country in recent years. As a result, MAP’s policy team has revised and expanded the Equality Maps that track these laws for easier viewing and better understanding.
Click above or below to view our newly organized Equality Maps:
- LGBTQ Curricular Laws: Summary Equality Map shows states with any inclusive law or any of the school censorship laws we track.
- Inclusive Curricular Standards Equality Map focuses specifically on states that require LGBTQ inclusion in state curricular standards.
- “Don’t Say LGBTQ” Equality Map, highlights states with laws that censor discussions of LGBTQ people and issues throughout school curricula, including older-style “No Promo Homo” laws.
- Parental Notification and Opt-In/Opt-Out Equality Map details the distinction between laws that require parents to opt their children in to LGBTQ-related curricula, versus those that allow them to opt their children out. Opt-in laws are even more harmful because they make it even harder for youth to access an inclusive, accurate curriculum.
▸▸ Learn more
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