LGBTQ+ rights in New Hampshire took a major hit this weekend, as Gov. Chris Sununu (R) signed sweeping legislation that restricts gender-affirming care and trans athletes on Friday.

While Sununu vetoed H.B. 396, which would have allowed any person or organization to use “biological sex” as criteria for accessing gender-specific spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and prisons, the other pieces of legislation he signed were a major step back for trans people and have been criticized heavily.

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Protesters enter New Hampshire capitol & demand governor protect trans kids
The protesters oppose four anti-trans bills, demanding that the governor veto them.

In a statement, Sununu explained his veto, writing that “the challenge with H.B. 396 is that in some cases it seeks to solve problems that have not presented themselves in New Hampshire, and in doing so invites unnecessary discord.”

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The bills Sununu did sign, though, force schools to re-organize sports so transgender student-athletes athletes cannot participate on the teams associated with their gender, ban gender-affirming surgery for minors, and require that teachers notify parents two weeks in advance if they are discussing topic related to gender or sexual orientation.

LGBTQ+ advocates spoke out against the bills, saying that they mandate discrimination against trans children.

“Sununu became the first governor in modern New Hampshire history to codify discrimination against the trans community into law. Let’s be clear: the politicians pushing these measures do not champion freedom or safety but rather seek control over our bodies,” said Liz Canada, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood N.H. Action Fun, in a statement.

Canada said that the laws will have “devastating effects on trans individuals, particularly teenagers, who already face significant discrimination. These bills shamefully deny trans people autonomy over their own bodies and ban health care providers from providing honest and accurate information — tactics taken from the national anti-abortion playbook.”

H.B. 619, one of the bills Sununu signed, is a ban on “genital gender reassignment surgery,” which is never performed on trans minors. The ban also makes it so that doctors cannot give referrals to out-of-state referrals for the procedure.

A joint statement from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire and the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) condemned H.B. 619, saying that it “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 every major U.S. medical association recognizes as the only evidence-based approach to addressing the physical, mental, and emotional needs of transgender youth.”

H.B. 1312 amends a law that requires public school educators to give parents at least two weeks’ notice before any instructional material or program about human sexuality. In the amended version of the bill, educators must give parents at least two weeks’ notice before discussing sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression.

H.B. 1205 targets young transgender athletes. It requires school sports teams in grades 6 through 12 to be separated based on “biological sex” and not gender. This means that trans girls must play on male teams or co-ed teams.

The president of the New Hampshire Chapter of the National Education Association, Megan Tuttle, also spoke out against the bills.

“Public schools should be safe, welcoming environments for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” she said. “Shame on Governor Sununu for signing into law this legislation that excludes students from athletics, which can help foster a sense of belonging that is so critical for young people to thrive.”

“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,” said Devon Chaffee, executive director of the ACLU of New Hampshire.