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.
HB1442: Bill Hearings & Public Record
HB1442 - Anti-Trans Bathroom Ban
Official Title: limiting the use of certain facilities on the basis of sex and redefining the term "gender identity."
Bill Sponsors:(Prime) Layon (R), Barbour (R), Reinfurt (R), Peternel (R), McGrath (R), Popovici-Muller (R), Sabourin dit Choinière (R), Mazur (R), DeVito (R), Love (R), Birdsell (R), Avard (R), Gannon (R)
Summary: HB 1442 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. One important thing to note about HB1442 is that it would criminally charges trans bathroom users with "willful trespass" for using a bathroom that doesn’t align with the sex designated on their birth certificate. 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 prime sponsor proposed a floor amendment that does nothing to address concerns brought forth in public testimony and committee hearings. Both the original bill text and the amendment can be read by clicking the bill number.
HB1792: Bill Hearings & Public Record
HB1792 - School Censorship, Anti-DEI, Anti-LGBTQIA+
Official Title: prohibiting school districts and personnel from the instruction of critical race theory and LGBTQ+ ideologies in schools as well as establishing a private right of action for violations.
Bill Sponsors: (Prime) Belcher (R), Noble (R), Osborne (R), Corcoran (R), Sabourin dit Choinière (R)
Referred to by the sponsor as the “Charlie Act” and named after Charlie Kirk, HB 1792 is designed to restrict classroom instruction and topics to what the sponsor designates as “neutral” and “patriotic.” The sponsor singles out “gender ideology” and “leftist ideology” as well as a variety of pedogeological categories, specific texts and specific authors, to be excluded from public k-12 classrooms. Despite a similar law from last year currently being held up in NH courts and costing the state tens of thousands of dollars, this bill seeks to further restrict topics discussed and acknowledged in classrooms in both incredibly specific and incredibly vague ways. 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.
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.
🪦HB1615: Bill Hearings & Public Record
HB1615This Republican bill creates an second-class alternative to marriage, in anticipation of a federal attack on marriage equality.
Official Title: permitting consenting adults to enter into contract-based marriage agreements as an alternative to the requirement of a marriage license.
Bill Sponsors: (Prime) Sabourin dit Choinière (R), Farrington (R), Granger (R), Drago (R), Dupont (R), Giasson (R), Love (R), Terry (R), Bailey (R), McFarlane (R), Keith Murphy (R)