CONCORD, N.H. - Following New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu’s signing of a slate of anti-LGBTQ+ bills, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the ACLU of New Hampshire denounced the move as not only discriminatory and harmful, but one in stark contradiction to New Hampshire’s values of freedom and fairness for all and in violation of students’ rights to an equal education.
“The bills passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Sununu today are mean-spirited attacks on our LGBTQ+ family members, friends, and neighbors that do nothing but divide communities and single out already vulnerable people for unfair treatment. Our laws should work to eliminate the inequities and negative outcomes created and perpetuated by discrimination, rather than reinforcing them,” said Chris Erchull, GLAD senior staff attorney. “LGBTQ+ students are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect, just like any other student. It is beyond disheartening to see such cruel bills signed into law in New Hampshire. To the Governor and the legislature we say: this is not the last word on any of these matters. We will continue working to defend and protect the rights of all people in the Granite State, including LGBTQ+ people, to live freely and without discrimination. To members of the LGBTQ+ community, and particularly transgender youth we say: you are supported and you belong in New Hampshire. We will never stop fighting for you.”
One of the bills signed, HB 1205, will prohibit transgender girls in grades 5-12 from playing on girls' sports teams and require all girls to show a birth certificate — or “other evidence” — to prove their eligibility, which could include shockingly invasive “sex verification” measures for all girls, such as genital inspections. Multiple courts across the country have recognized that laws categorically banning girls and women who are transgender from school sports unlawfully excludes them from a fundamental part of the educational process while doing nothing to actually promote equal athletic opportunities for other girls and women. Policies developed by local schools and the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association which ensure both transgender students’ equal access and a level playing field for all students have been in operation for years without incident.
“These unconstitutional bills - now signed into law - are cynical attacks on some of the most vulnerable youth in our state and will have devastating impacts on transgender and LGBTQ+ students who already face discrimination and isolation just for being their authentic selves,” said Devon Chaffee, executive director of the ACLU of New Hampshire. “Our politicians are continuing to fail trans youth: these laws are not actually about fair sports, healthy classrooms, or overall wellbeing, but rather imposing discriminatory views and pushing transgender people out of public life. We condemn Governor Sununu’s signing of these bills and stand with transgender and LGBTQ+ Granite Staters and their families - we cannot and will not allow politicians to strip away their rights.”
The second bill signed today, HB 1312, will stigmatize classroom instruction involving LGBTQ+ people by equating any school content related to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression to “objectionable material” and require schools to give parents two weeks’ notice and an opt-out provision for any such content.
The third bill signed by Governor Sununu today, HB 619, will ban access to some healthcare for transgender minors, interfering with the ability of parents, transgender people, and doctors to make individualized health care decisions and opening the door to further restrictions on established standard-of-care medicine that is recognized by every major U.S. medical association as the only evidence-based approach to addressing the physical, mental, and emotional needs of transgender youth.
In addition to signing these bills, Governor Sununu also vetoed HB 396, which would have reversed some of the nondiscrimination protections for transgender Granite Staters signed into law by Governor Sununu himself in 2018. This would have opened the door to broad discrimination in public spaces, including restrooms, and to making transgender people more vulnerable to harassment and violence in carceral settings.