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. Colorado - Anti-trans ballot initiatives fail to gather enough signatures. A proposed ballot measure to ban trans athletes from girls sports teams and another which would have forced educators to out their students to the student’s parents both failed to gather enough signatures before the August 5th deadline. Monica M. Márquez becomes Colorado Supreme Court’s first Latina, openly gay chief justice. Chief Justice Márquez was sworn in as Chief Justice on July 26th. She was first appointed to the state Supreme Court in 2010, becoming the court’s first openly gay member. Louisiana - Anti-LGBTQ+ and voting restriction laws go into effect. A “Don’t Say Gay/Trans” law as well as new restrictions on absentee voting went into effect on August 1st. Massachusetts - State Senate passes Parentage Act. This bill clarifies the definition of parentage to explicitly include those who use IVF and other reproductive technologies to become parents. This is especially important for LGBTQ+ couples who wish to become parents. Minnesota - Trans woman sues Catholic school for employment discrimination. The woman alleges that the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield fired her after she came out as transgender. Ohio - Franklin County judge rules ban on gender-affirming care, anti-trans athlete ban can take effect. Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook ruled that HB68 could go into effect. The ACLU of Ohio plans to appeal the decision. Utah - Thirteen books are now banned from all Utah public schools. A new law, which went into effect on July 1st, requires that books be removed from the shelves in every public school in the state if three or more school districts object to them. The newly banned books include works by Judy Blume and Sarah Maas. | 
