State laws targeting LGBTQ rights have a new foe: federal judges

A record number of bills aimed at restricting the rights of LGBTQ people have become law in the past three years, but the majority of those that have faced legal challenges haven’t held up in court, according to an NBC News analysis, legal experts and the American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed legal challenges against some of the laws.

Just this year, state representatives introduced 491 bills aimed at restricting LGBTQ rights, with 77 of them becoming law, according to the ACLU. The majority of bills proposed and passed focused on limiting the ability of transgender youth to receive gender-transition care and play school sports. In the past year, lawmakers in at least 16 states also introduced bills to restrict drag performances.

Over the past few years, about two dozen states have passed nearly 50 laws targeting transition-related care, transgender student athlete participation and drag performances. The majority of those measures have not yet faced litigation, but most of those that have were temporarily or permanently blocked by judges.