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. Some providers are halting gender-affirming care for minors, even where it remains legal. In some states like Missouri and North Dakota, where bans on medically necessary gender-affirming care for trans and nonbinary youth have become law, certain medical facilities have stopped providing gender-affirming care altogether despite provisions that allow minors to continue care if they had already been receiving treatment before the ban is effective. California - Governor Gavin Newsom vetoes bill requiring custody courts to weigh affirmation of gender identity. The bill would have required judges to consider gender affirmation when making custody decisions. The governor said in his veto message that he was concerned that “Other-minded elected officials, in California and other states, could very well use this strategy to diminish the civil rights of vulnerable communities.” Governor Gavin Newsom signs trio of bills supporting LGBTQ+ youth. The bills require LGBTQ+ competency training for public school teachers and staff, establish a task force to identify needs for LGBTQ+ students, and require state courts to keep petitions to change the gender marker on state documents confidential. Missouri - Missouri State University will reopen its LGBTQ+ resource center after student protests. The administration of Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) closed the resource center the week of September 10th, citing insufficient staffing and low usage by students. Students protested the closing, saying the resource center was critical for many, and the administration listened, announcing the center would remain open. Montana - State District Court blocks Montana’s ban on medically necessary gender-affirming care. On August 27th, District Court Judge Jason Marks blocked SB99 from taking effect. The bill would have banned medically necessary gender-affirming care for trans and nonbinary youth, but the judge ruled that SB99 was likely unconstitutional and its implementation would have caused harm to trans and nonbinary youth in the state. Virginia - School Board delays vote on adopting anti-transgender model policies. The Virginia Beach School Board postponed its vote to adopt the Virginia Department of Education's 2023 model policy, which requires students to use their assigned sex for bathrooms and school activities and mandates parents to give consent for students to request changing names or pronouns. The model policy will be considered again on October 10th. | 
