Two Newly Passed Anti-Trans Bills Are As Vague as They Are Horrifying

(Photo in feature image by Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

This week, the Florida state House of Representatives and the Florida state Senate both voted to pass two equally dangerous and horrifying bills through each of their floors. The bills — HB743 and SB1010 — expand current restrictions on trans healthcare and by making it possible for any medical practitioner who “aids and abets” trans patients in getting gender-affirming care to incur legal liability for doing so. The bills also include more restrictions for anyone they consider an “employee of the state,” such as public school teachers, and put more limitations on school programming, class curriculum, and using a student’s chosen names and pronouns.

Besides the more obvious implications of the bills, both of them are written so unclearly that it is difficult to know exactly how they will be enforced. But what we do know is that the bills expand the power and ability of the state Attorney General, James Uthmeier, to condemn and target private physicians as well as “investigate and sue health care practitioners who give puberty blockers, hormones or other prescriptions to minors, or perform surgical procedures.” As S. Baum points out, the bills’ “vague and undefined standards embolden Attorney General James Uthmeier to further antagonize trans Floridians, their families, and the doctors who provide them with life-saving care.”

The bills allow for legal punishments of felony charges — with up to 20 years of imprisonment attached — and $100,000 fines for any physicians found guilty of providing gender-affirming care or helping people access gender-affirming care in any way. Since the language of the bills is not sufficiently specific, it’s difficult to know right now exactly how they will be enforced if they become laws in the state.

As I’ve written in the pages of this publication many times and in many ways, Florida has been and will continue to be the testing ground for a variety of virulently anti-trans and fascist policies that will likely be adopted in some capacity in other states and at the federal level in the very near future. Potential laws like these are created in the hopes that doctors, teachers, and other care workers will be less inclined to give trans people the treatment, healthcare, and dignity they deserve, and these potential laws threaten to destroy so many lives. We’ll be tracking the developments of these bills as they make their way through the legislature. Remember, what is enacted in Florida is often quickly adopted by other places, so it is important to keep your eyes on legislative actions happening in the state.

Youth soccer club forms teams based on skill level – not sex or gender: “The kids let go of the binary.” Here’s some great sports-related news in the midst of all the anti-trans sports-related news we’ve been hit with over the last few weeks. The Portland Community Football Club is organizing players into teams that most closely match their skill levels and their playing experience.

Democrats successfully strip all anti-trans riders from final appropriations bills. In news that is very shocking to me, the Democrats managed to get all of the anti-trans legislation contained in the final appropriations bills for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education taken out before they go to Congress. Apparently, they will likely pass as they are currently written. This is obviously good trans news, but the bills still contain a lot of legislation that will impact everyone materially in negative ways.

These trans collectives are fighting hate with a lot of laughter & a little lube wrestling. This Florida story is the perfect antidote to this week’s main story on the terrifying bills that were just passed in the state legislature. In Tampa Bay, two groups called Swamp Bois and Doll Dynasty are throwing community-wide events, like lube wrestling matches, and working on ways to help other trans people access the gender-affirming care they need. I love when my fellow Floridians prove over and over again that despite the horrors, Florida is the most beautiful place.

“No investigation will stop us from taking care of our kids”: school districts respond to latest anti-trans threats from Trump admin. The 18 school districts that the Trump administration is currently investigating for allowing trans girls to compete on girls’ sports teams aren’t giving into the administration’s threats.

Women gamers boycott global esports tournament over trans ban. Apparently, the trans sports bans are extending to video games now, which just goes to show that trans sports bans aren’t really about protecting anyone. But I digress…this story isn’t about that exactly. It’s about the fact that the producers of a Dead by Daylight tournament decided trans women couldn’t compete in the competition, so a group of gamers decided to protest by boycotting the tournament all together.

Transgender youth who receive hormone therapy are less suicidal: study. Another edition of “water is wet” news here, but still worth reporting every time a new study confirms what we already know.

New website tracks which GPs are refusing HRT prescriptions. Trans people in the UK have taken matters into their own hands when it comes to finding reliable gender-affirming care. They launched an app called MyTransGP, “a community-driven database of which NHS General Practitioners (GPs) provide vital gender-affirming services, and which don’t.”

News I Wish I Didn’t Have to Report

Lurie Children’s Hospital pauses gender-affirming meds for new patients under 18 after feds threaten probe. We’ve been tracking all the hospitals that are capitulating to the Trump administration’s threats, and Chicago’s Lurie Children’s is the latest one to give in after the administration threatened to investigate the work they’re doing.

EEOC rescinds LGBTQ-inclusive guidance on workplace harassment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has taken away guidance that explained how to address and prevent harassment in the workplace — and in truly absurd far-right fashion, they’re blaming the fact that the guidance included information on gender identity and sexual orientation as the reason they’re ending these protections for everyone.

U of Arkansas withdraws offer to new law school dean because she supported trans athletes. I suppose it’s not surprising that this happened in one of the most legislatively anti-trans states in the country, but at the same time, it does ring a lot of alarms. The offer was withdrawn as a result of the new dean having signed “on to a friend-of-the-court brief supporting transgender athletes.” They’re withdrawing job offers and opportunities for advancement because of cis support for trans people now, and this is likely not the last situation like this one that we’re going to see.

One year in, the Gender Liberation Movement is upping its fight for trans rights. This new profile on the Gender Liberation Movement provides some great highlights into all of the work they’ve been doing over the last year.

SIX the Musical condemns Dylan Mulvaney bullying after casting backlash. Dylan Mulvaney’s casting as Anne Boleyn in SIX The Musical caused quite a transphobic stir online. Now, the producers of the production are standing up for Mulvaney and standing by their decision to cast her.

“Illegal” comic book movie with 96% Rotten Tomatoes score now streaming for free. One of movies and favorite cinematic experiences of the last few years The People’s Joker is now available to stream online – FOR FREE. Y’all should watch it as soon as possible.

We are being harmed, and we are not powerless. This post from Queer Resilience provides some much needed reminders for our current moment. Read it, then read it again, and then more after that.

Wayward star Mae Martin confirmed as Juno Awards 2026 host. This week, they announced that Mae Martin will host the 55th annual Juno Awards — also known as “Canada’s Biggest Night in Music” — which should be an absolute blast to watch.

Even Barrett seemed alarmed by the implications of anti-trans arguments at SCOTUS. Not really sure how to classify this bit of news, but this quote from Amy Coney Barrett — the most anti-trans Justice on the Court right now — after SCOTUS heard the anti-trans arguments in Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. BPJ was pretty intriguing: “Your whole position in this case depends on there being inherent differences. I’d be a little bit concerned about what the ramifications of that might be.”