Today is International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day in which we recognize, affirm and honor those whose path of self-recognition challenges “norms” and customs. March 31, 2026 is particularly poignant for our transgender, non-binary and gender diverse siblings because of years of ongoing legal assaults. Since 2023 over 2500 anti-LGBTQ+ laws have been introduced in legislatures around the country, mostly targeting transgender and non-binary persons.
In February a horrific Kansas law was passed that immediately invalidated the drivers’ licenses of 1700 transgender Kansans. And yes, it includes a bathroom provision, as well. This law is just the latest in hundreds of new state laws and federal policies designed to erase the legal existence of our gender diverse family members.
That is, until today…
In a cruel I-don’t-believe-it’s-coincidental act of timing, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) today announced their ruling which rebuked Colorado’s ban on the use of the dangerous practice of Conversion Therapy against LGBTQ+ youth. The 8-1 decision was based on the purported “free speech” rights of an anti-gay therapist.
Lone dissenter, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson ripped the Court, citing “the potential long-term and disastrous implications” of their decision.
“We are on a slippery slope now: For the first time, the Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment to bless a risk of therapeutic harm to children by limiting the State’s ability to regulate medical providers who treat patients with speech…
“…What’s next? In the worst-case scenario, our medical system unravels as various licensed healthcare professionals – talk therapists, psychiatrists, and presumably anyone else who claims to utilize speech when administering treatments to patients – start broadly wielding their newfound constitutional right to provide substandard medical care.”
The impact of today’s decision is reported to only impact Colorado since SCOTUS is technically sending the case back to the lower court with “strict scrutiny” 1st Amendment guidelines. Under those orders, the lower court is expected to overturn the Colorado law. In 2015 Oregon was only the 3rd state to ban the use of Conversion Therapy against LGBTQ+ youth, an effort which was sparked by this very Caucus in 2012.
No doubt more LGBTQ+ rights laws will be challenged and more anti-LGBTQ+ policies will be proposed and imposed. The attempt to shove us back into the closet and erase our existence will continue.
But we don’t believe in closets.
Be visible. Honor visible. Today and every day to come.
KC Hanson
DPO Stonewall Caucus
