National state of emergency declared by leading LGBTQ rights group

The Human Rights Campaign, one of America's leading LGBTQ rights groups, declared a national state of emergency on Tuesday.

"We have officially declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States for the first time following an unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults sweeping state houses this year," said the group through its website. "More than 75 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been signed into law this year alone, more than doubling last year’s number, which was previously the worst year on record."

"Our community is in danger, but we won't stop fighting back — not now, not ever," the announcement continued.

Republicans around the country have passed numerous forms of legislation designed to curtail the rights and public expression of queer sexual orientation and gender identity in the previous few years.

Among the legislation is "Don't Say Gay" laws, which effectively censor all queer expression in schools; bans on minors and sometimes even adults from receiving certain forms of gender-affirming health care inconsistent with their gender assigned at birth; prohibitions on transgender use of bathrooms or participation in sports leagues aligning with their gender; and prohibitions on public drag shows, including one in Texas so extreme it could even ban performances by the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

Some other anti-LGBTQ policies seek to even restrict people from coming out as transgender at all. In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued a rule that prohibits schools from even using a student's pronouns without parental consent (but the reverse isn't true; Youngkin's order does not compel schools to use a student's pronouns if their parents do consent.)

Many of these laws are being challenged in court. Last week, a federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump struck down a drag show ban in Tennessee as unconstitutionally vague.