News + Updates
Updates on our work
The 603 Equality Civic Education Initiative creates a multi-pronged approach to engaging, informing, and empowering voters who care about LGBTQIA issues. An important part of that is by Tracking legislation that touches the LGBTQIA+ community and providing updates and information on how NH residents can effectively engage with proposed legislation at every stage.
HB1132: Bill Hearings & Public Record
HB1132 - School Censorship
Official Title: prohibiting the display of certain flags in public schools and public charter schools and establishing penalties for the display of prohibited flags.
Bill Sponsors: (Prime) Freeman (R), Colcombe (R), Ford (R), Harvey-Bolia (R), Litchfield (R), Miner (R), Thibault (R), Avard (R)
This bill only allows official flags in school buildings, effectively banning pride flags. Also important to note - this bill additionally bans flags that are not state, United States, or school-specific. This means no flags that honor a student’s heritage, celebrate a cherished sports team, or reference someone’s favorite charity. The committee hearings & public record of the bill can be watched and reviews at the “Bill Hearings & Public Record” linked above.
🪦HB1345: Bill Hearings & Public Record
HB1345 In addition to many flag rules, this bill only allows official flags to be flown in schools, effectively banning pride flags. (House Education Policy Committee)
Official Title: requiring schools to establish rules related to the display of flags and designate students at each school to serve as the school's color guard.
Bill Sponsors: (Prime) Thibault (R), Moffett (R), Morse (R), Nadeau (R), Perez (R), Ulery (R), Plante (R), Litchfield (R), Innis (R), Pearl (R)
HB1376: Bill Hearings & Public Record
HB1376 - Anti-Trans Affirming Environments for Foster Children
Official Title: relative to a parent's ability to raise their child in a manner consistent with the child's biological sex.
Bill Sponsors: (Prime) Korzen (R), Kesselring (R), Litchfield (R), Mazur (R), Prudhomme-O'Brien (R), Reinfurt (R), Sabourin dit Choinière (R), Sirois (R), Thibault (R), Keith Murphy (R), Avard (R)
Summary: This bill provides legal justification for parents to raise their trans children against the child's intended gender. This is especially important when considering placements for children in foster care. The sponsor of the bill spoke to their intentions during public testimony that they didn’t want a potential parent’s views on gender “ideologies” to preclude them from being able to foster a child. As we’ve seen with other pieces of legislation, “gender ideologies” is a catch-all term utilized to other trans folks and assign their gender as a fictitious aspect of belief, and not a core part of their identity. The original bill text can be read by clicking the bill number. The committee hearings & public record of the bill can be watched and reviews at the “Bill Hearings & Public Record” linked above.
SB459: Bill Hearings & Public Record
SB459 - Anti-Trans Locker Room Ban / Prison Segregation
Official Title: relative to biological sex in student athletics and prisons.
Bill Sponsors: (Prime) Gannon (R), Victoria Sullivan (R), Pearl (R), Abbas (R), McGough (R), Keith Murphy (R), Innis (R), Bernardy (R), Litchfield (R), Mark Pearson (R), Lilli Walsh (R)
Summary: SB 459 is a multi-faceted bill that limits access for trans folks in locker restrooms, in sports settings, and designates that “biological sex” must be the determining factor in prison placement. This bill sponsor defines as “biological sex” like many of the other proposed bathroom and locker room bans this legislative season on a binary, despite the fast number of variations to biological sex that exist. This bill is another example of the state legislature attempting to police the movements of trans people in New Hampshire, despite two separate Governors vetoing three similar bills already. The original bill text can be read by clicking the bill number. The committee hearings & public record of the bill can be watched and reviews at the “Bill Hearings & Public Record” linked above.
🪦HB1778: Bill Hearings & Public Record
HB1778 This bill prohibits teaching public school students about "Personal Identity Ideology" including DEI, race, color, biological sex, sexual orientation, religion or gender identity. (House Education Policy Committee) Track
Official Title: relative to prohibiting the use of personal identity ideology in public school instruction and policies.
Bill Sponsors: (Prime) Litchfield (R), Nalevanko (R), Wherry (R), DeRoy (R), Thibault (R), Freeman (R), Mazur (R), Moffett (R), Gannon (R), Keith Murphy (R)
HB1447: Bill Hearings & Public Record
HB1447 - Anti-Trans Bathroom Ban
Official Title: restricting the use of certain public and private facilities on the basis of sex and establishing that such restriction does not qualify as discrimination.
Bill Sponsors:(Prime) Mazur (R), DeVito (R), Harvey-Bolia (R), Kelley (R), Korzen (R), Litchfield (R), McGrath (R), Mary Murphy (R), Prudhomme-O'Brien (R), Reinfurt (R), Victoria Sullivan (R)
Summary: HB 1447 is a bathroom ban bill. This bill seeks to restrict access to “private spaces” on the basis of what the bill sponsor defines as “biological sex” like many of the other proposed bathroom and locker room bans this legislative season. Additionally, the bill sponsor also singled out trans women, and references the SRY gene as a way to scientifically define sex to a binary, despite the vast number of variations to biological sex that exist. This bill is another example of the state legislature attempting to police the movements of trans people in New Hampshire, despite two separate Governors vetoing three similar bills already. The original bill text can be read by clicking the bill number. The committee hearings & public record of the bill can be watched and reviews at the “Bill Hearings & Public Record” linked above.