Self-care note: While some of the following stories celebrate and affirm LGBTQ+ people, many cover legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community, particularly trans and nonbinary youth. Please be kind to yourself and use your discretion while reading this section. Advisory: State news is representative but not exhaustive due to space constraints; feel free to forward news about your state to advocacy@pflag.org to consider for inclusion. Half of all states ban gender-affirming care. No such bans existed prior to 2021. California - Governor signs first-in-the-nation ban on forced outing policies. Gov. Newsom signed the SAFETY Act into law, banning school districts from forcing school faculty and staff to out trans and non-binary youth to their parents. Bill introduced to create statewide LGBTQ commission. Assemblyman Alex Lee introduced AB 3031 in the hopes that a statewide LGBTQ commission could combat rising anti-LGBTQ+ activity on the local level. Maryland - Baltimore street renamed after trans activist. A section of 21st Street in Baltimore was renamed in honor of Maryland Safe Haven Executive Director, Iya Dammons. Michigan - Lawsuit filed to overturn ban on so-called “conversion therapy.” Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties is suing over Michigan’s ban on conversion therapy, which Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law last July. The suit argues the ban violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution. Ohio - State House passes anti-trans bathroom ban. A bathroom ban was added to an unrelated bill, which then passed on the last day of session before lawmakers went on summer recess. Pennsylvania - State House passes bill repealing same-sex marriage ban. The bill repealing the state’s unenforceable same-sex marriage ban passed 133-68, with bipartisan support. Tennessee - White supremacist group marches in downtown Nashville. Over 100 people marched with the Patriot Front, a white supremacist group, on July 6th. | 
