Warning: While some of the following stories describe legislative actions to celebrate and affirm LGBTQ+ people, many cover legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community, particularly trans and non-binary 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 constraint; feel free to forward news about your state to advocacy@pflag.org to consider for inclusion. California - State Assembly approves resolution to declare August as Transgender History Month. The State Assembly passed the resolution marking August as Transgender History Month by a vote of 58-0. The resolution does not require approval from the Senate or the governor's office and therefore takes immediate effect. Kansas - Department of Health will no longer change transgender people's birth certificates to reflect their gender identities. The decision complies with a new state law, SB 26, which took effect July 1st and defines male and female based on sex assigned at birth, not gender identity. Kentucky - Gay couple who were denied marriage license win $100,000 payout. In 2015, then-County Clerk Kim Davis refused to issue a marriage license to the couple, citing her religious objections to same-sex marriage. She was briefly jailed for contempt for her actions and her office later issued the license on her behalf. In a subsequent legal case that ended on September 20th, the couple was awarded $50,000 each by a jury. North Dakota - North Dakota families sue state over ban on gender-affirming care. On September 14th, three families of transgender minors and a physician, represented by Gender Justice, the Lawyering Project, and Ciresi Conlin LLP, filed a lawsuit seeking to block HB 1254, which prohibits transgender and nonbinary minors from accessing medically necessary gender affirming medications such as puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy. Texas - Students protest outside Katy ISD’s Educational Support Complex over anti- trans policies. On September 1st, about 20 students demonstrated in response to a new policy which mandates that parents must be notified if their child requests to use different pronouns or identifies as transgender; the policy requires students to use restrooms that align with the sex they were assigned at birth. | 
