A new survey finds that many LGBTQ Americans — especially transgender and nonbinary people — have altered their lives in response to a wave of anti-LGBTQ laws and rhetoric sweeping the country, with many reporting serious harm to their mental health and overall wellbeing.
Conducted from May 29 to June 13 by NORC’s AmeriSpeak panel for the Movement Advancement Project, the online survey polled 1,055 LGBTQ adults nationwide, including 111 who identified as transgender or nonbinary.
Operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, AmeriSpeak is a probability-based panel designed to reflect the U.S. household population. Randomly selected households are contacted through mail, email, phone, or in-person interviews.
The survey found that most LGBTQ people — and especially transgender and nonbinary respondents — say anti-LGBTQ laws and rhetoric have harmed their mental health. Overall, 41% reported their mental health was “somewhat” negatively affected, while another 20% said it was affected “very” negatively.
Among transgender and nonbinary respondents, 40% said their mental health was “somewhat” negatively affected and 44% said it was affected “very” negatively.
Across all levels of government — federal, state, and local — most LGBTQ people reported that anti-LGBTQ laws and rhetoric have harmed their well-being, with transgender and nonbinary respondents consistently reporting the highest levels of distress.
In its analysis of the findings, the Movement Advancement Project — an independent think tank that researches policies affecting LGBTQ Americans — noted that even though about 92% of anti-LGBTQ bills never become law, their mere introduction can take a toll on LGBTQ people’s mental health and well-being.
The report also found that transgender and nonbinary people were more likely than other LGBTQ respondents to say their well-being was harmed by state-level policies and rhetoric — the same arena where most anti-trans legislation has been introduced in recent years. By contrast, reported harm from federal and local policies was similar across both groups.
Since Trump’s return to office, a majority of LGBTQ people — and more than 8 in 10 transgender and nonbinary individuals — say they or their families have faced harassment or discrimination.
Large majorities of LGBTQ Americans say they feel negatively about Trump’s actions since his return to office. At least 7 in 10 reported feeling “afraid,” “anxious,” “worried,” or “angry,” while 8 in 10 said they felt “disgusted” by the administration’s moves. Among transgender respondents, more than 8 in 10 said they felt anxious, angry, afraid, or disgusted, and 9 in 10 said they were “worried” about what the administration is doing.
When it comes to President Donald Trump’s performance in office, only 10% of LGBTQ people approve of his actions in office overall, and only 6% approve of his handling of LGBTQ-related issues.
On Sept. 10, the U.S. Supreme Court denied South Carolina's emergency request to enforce its bathroom ban, allowing a transgender boy at a public high school to keep using the boys' restroom while his legal challenge to the law moves forward.
South Carolina pointed to several recent actions by the Trump administration to justify its request, including an executive order threatening to pull federal funding from schools that don't maintain sex-segregated facilities, enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Education, and the Supreme Court's June ruling upholding Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has pledged to make New York City a sanctuary city for transgender people.
In a new campaign ad honoring Latina trans activist Sylvia Rivera -- a pioneering figure in the early LGBTQ rights movement -- Mamdani sits at a desk near the Christopher Street Pier in Greenwich Village, recounting Rivera’s life and the pier’s significance as a haven for LGBTQ people in the city.
As photos and video clips of Rivera and other activists flash across the screen, Mamdani recounts her legacy of activism -- from her role in early gay and trans rights demonstrations to founding Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, which provided food and shelter for homeless trans people, and her push for LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination laws.
Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for Virginia governor, has released a new ad attacking her Republican rival, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, for claiming during a recent debate that firing someone for being gay -- or for opposing same-sex marriage -- does not amount to "discrimination."
Titled "That's Not Discrimination," the ad focuses on Earle-Sears' long record of opposing LGBTQ rights throughout her two-decade political career.
It mixes clips from Earle-Sears' contentious debate with Spanberger at Norfolk State University with a news report about how Earle-Sears penned a handwritten note on a bill she was required to sign -- a procedural duty of her role as Virginia's lieutenant governor and presiding officer of the Senate -- expressing her moral opposition to same-sex marriage.
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