ANTI-LGBTQ+ LAWS ARE ALL THE RAGE.

• Position: SMOKING GUN

Cracking down on the rights of people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity has become something of a new national pastime. The American Civil Liberties Union is currently tracking some 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in state legislatures around the country. Presented here are some examples of restrictions that have already passed. In a few cases, the laws have been blocked by judges, but most remain in effect.

States that prohibit transgender students from using restrooms and other school facilities that are consistent with their gender identity:

* Alabama

* Arkansas

* Idaho

* Iowa

* Kentucky

* North Dakota

* Oklahoma

* Tennessee

In Arkansas, school officials, including teachers, face fines of at least $1,000 per violation that they allow. In Oklahoma, schools that violate this rule face a 5 percent "decrease in state funding for the school district or public charter school for the fiscal year following the year of noncompliance." In Tennessee, students may be allowed to use a "single-occupancy restroom or changing facility," but lawsuits can be filed whenever anyone "encounters a member of the opposite sex" in a multiuser restroom or changing facility.

States that ban transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity:

* Alabama

* Arizona

* Arkansas

* Florida

* Idaho

* Indiana

* Iowa

* Kansas

* Kentucky

* Louisiana

* Mississippi

* Montana

* North Dakota

* Oklahoma

* South Carolina

* South Dakota

* Tennessee

* Texas

*Utah

* West Virginia

* Wyoming

(A pending federal rule change proposed by President Joe Biden opposes categorical bans of transgender athletes but allows for some restrictions.)

States that have passed laws banning best-practice medication and/or surgical care for transgender youth:

* Alabama

* Arizona

* Arkansas

* Florida

* Georgia

* Idaho

* Indiana

* Iowa

* Kentucky

* Mississippi

* Missouri

* Montana

* North Dakota

* South Dakota

* Tennessee

* Utah

* West Virginia

In Alabama, Idaho, and North Dakota, providing such care is a felony offense.

States that have enacted "Don't Say Gay" or "Don't Say Trans" bills:

* Alabama

* Arkansas

* Florida

* Kentucky

* Louisiana

* Mississippi

* Oklahoma

* Texas

The bans in Louisiana and Oklahoma have been on the books since 1987; the one in Texas since 1991. Florida's bill, signed into law...