A Recurring Theme

Unfortunately this is becoming a recurring theme with one state trying to outdo other states.

LEGISLATURE INTRODUCES THE WYOMING GOVERNMENT DISCRIMINATION ACT
ACLU
By Sabrina King, Policy Director
January 17, 2017

Late last week, a bill popped up on the legislature’s 2017 bill list with the title, “Government Nondiscrimination Act”. With a title like that, interested citizens might understandably believe the bill would be solidifying Wyoming’s stance against discrimination in the Equality State. But they would be wrong.

More aptly titled The Wyoming Government Discrimination Act, HB 135 would legalize discrimination against same-sex couples and transgender people, and would make it impossible for any branch or part of the government to enact or enforce local non-discrimination ordinances and federal protections for the LGBT community.

The Government Discrimination Act, at its core, says anyone with certain religious beliefs or moral convictions about marriage and gender identity can act on those beliefs and convictions to discriminate against LGBT people and same-sex couples. The Act then goes on to forbid any branch of government, state or local, or any board, agency, department, or institution, from doing anything about it.

The Government Discrimination Act’s effects would be significant and immediate. Laramie’s Non-Discrimination Ordinance would be unenforceable, and potentially even illegal. No other city would be allowed to enact non-discrimination protections. County clerks would be allowed to deny same-sex couples a marriage license, and would be able to do so without consequence. A doctor would be able to decline care for the child of a same-sex couple, and could keep her or his license. State contractors or grantees which provide essential social services, such as a homeless shelter or counseling agency, could turn away LGBT people and keep their state funding.

Not to be out done Texas has a bill to keep us from going to the bathroom at all.

Texas Lawmaker Unveils Anti-Transgender ‘Bathroom Bill’
NBC Out
By Reuters
January 6, 2017
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas Republican state senator introduced legislation on Thursday to limit public restroom access for transgender people, despite warnings from a business group that the measure would hurt the Texas economy because it was discriminatory.

The "Texas Privacy Act" has been marked as a top legislative priority for Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, a Republican and conservative Christian who guides the legislative agenda in the Republican-controlled state Senate. He said the measure protected the privacy and safety of Texans.

"It is the right thing to do," Patrick told a news conference along with its sponsor, Lois Kolkhorst. The event was punctuated by the howls of protesters nearby in the Capitol building chanting: "Shame, shame, shame."

But not everyone is happy with the bill…

A major industry group, the Texas Association of Business, said a study it helped conduct showed such legislation in Texas could result in economic losses ranging from $964 million to $8.5 billion for the state.

And the San Antonio Express-News reported,

AUSTIN — Citing the huge sums that San Antonio has put into attracting events like the NCAA Final Four, House Speaker Joe Straus raised a fresh warning Wednesday about the potential economic impact of a proposal to restrict which bathrooms transgender people can use.

“Many people where I come from get concerned about anything that could slow down our overall job-creating machine,” said Straus, R-San Antonio. “They’re also watching what happened in North Carolina, and they are not enthusiastic about getting that type of attention. So I think we should be very careful about doing something that could make Texas less competitive for investments, jobs and the highly skilled workforce needed to compete.”

Newsweek also reported that other states have also introduced anti-trans bills,

The National Conference on State Legislators said on Thursday that legislation has been introduced recently in eight states, including Texas, to restrict the use of spaces such as bathrooms, changing facilities, shower rooms and locker rooms by requiring that they be used according to a person's biological sex.

All but the Virginia bill have been introduced by Republican legislators.