The Poison Drips Through: SCOTUS Thins Anti-Discrimination Rights in Wake of Legislative Attacks on the LGBTQ+ Community

Anti‑LGBTQ+ legislation has surged to a record high through state legislatures with more than 500 bills introduced and nearly 100 laws signed in 2023 alone. The overwhelming rise in targeted legislation has led the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization in the United States, to officially declare a state of emergency for the LGBTQ+ community for the first time. The legislative attacks have branched across the nation, from curriculum to performance, seeking to ban books from schools and libraries, as well as banning public drag shows. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution has been turned into a major vehicle to promote this anti‑LGBTQ+ legislation with the weaponization of the Free Speech and Free Exercise clauses.