New Hampshire Must Continue to Reject Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation

Via LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic Blog

SB 272 Is The Only Remaining Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill Under Consideration

April 13, 2023

CONCORD, NH – Today, the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic (the Clinic) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) jointly celebrate the New Hampshire House of Representatives’ rejection of HB 619, a bill that would have banned transgender youth from receiving essential medical care, as well as HB 10 and HB 417, which would have stifled LGBTQ+ students’ education and defined life-saving medical care for transgender youth as “child abuse.” The Clinic and GLAD now call on the New Hampshire House to reject SB 272, a so-called “Parental Bill of Rights” recently passed by New Hampshire Senate which would harm student privacy and could result in LGBTQ+ students being forcibly and unsafely outed to parents or guardians. 

“HB 619 contained a laundry list of anti-trans provisions,” said Alexander Chen, the Founding Director of the LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic at Harvard Law School. “From blocking medically-necessary care for transgender youth to requiring that public schools reject the identity of trans students, this bill targeted an already marginalized community. The New Hampshire legislature did the right thing by rejecting HB 619, HB 10, and HB 217, and should also reject HB 272, a bill that is designed to force LGBTQ+ youth back into the closet.” 

“These bills are an alarming example of the escalating attacks on transgender youth we are seeing across the country,” said Chris Erchull, an attorney with GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. “Our public schools and other community institutions must be able to educate and support all students, including LGBTQ+ students. The policies proposed in these bills would have harmed vulnerable transgender young people and damaged the educational environment for all students.”  

“The House of Representatives made an important statement in support of transgender youth by repudiating these attacks on their schools,” said Sean McDonough, a student attorney with the Clinic who testified in opposition to HB 619 and HB 10. “They should reinforce that statement by rejecting SB 272, another bill that would undermine the rights of LGBTQ+ students in public schools.” 

SB 272 is the only remaining anti-trans bill before the New Hampshire legislature; it would force teachers to interfere in LGBTQ+ families by reporting students who attend a gender-sexuality alliance or are perceived by school staff as transgender or gender nonconforming.  

SB 272 passed the New Hampshire Senate and will receive a hearing in the House Education Committee on Tuesday, April 18 at 10:00 AM.