New Hampshire advocacy groups are considering legal action to challenge several anti-LGBTQ bills signed into law by Gov. Chris Sununu late last week.
Devon Chaffee, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, and Chris Erchull, a lawyer for GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, said Monday that they’ve already heard from several families who are likely to be affected by the laws.
“These bills conflict with federal protections for LGBTQ students, and they fly in the face of constitutional guarantees of equal treatment under the law,” Chaffee said. “We condemn Governor Sununu’s signing of these bills and are ready to stand with transgender and all LGBTQ+ Granite Staters and their families in the courtroom to fight the impacts of these laws.”
They’re targeting three bills that Sununu signed on Friday: HB 1205, which bans transgender girls and women from playing on female school sports teams; HB 619, which outlaws gender-affirming surgery for minors; and HB 1312, which expands parental rights by requiring schools to notify parents at least two weeks before using any curriculum materials that discuss sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
Sununu vetoed HB 396, which would’ve allowed public entities to classify certain spaces based on biological sex, like bathrooms, locker rooms and prisons. He said in a press release that the bill sought to solve problems that he doesn’t believe have come up in New Hampshire. As for the bills on gender-affirming surgery and a prohibition on trans athletes, Sununu said his main consideration was “safety and fairness.”
“The vast majority of Granite Staters share in this approach – because it is fair, balanced, and void of political considerations,” Sununu said in his statement. “By enacting these measures, we continue to uphold the principles of safety, fairness, and common sense for all our citizens.”
In addition to what she called “blatant discrimination,” Chaffee said these laws present privacy and censorship issues. To enforce HB 1205, for example, schools will have to obtain birth certificates from female athletes to let them play on the team. This will mean broader implications for other groups, too – not just transgender students.
“For girls who are not transgender, yes, producing a birth certificate can be a barrier that prevents people from being able to participate,” Erchull said. He said he’s monitoring how these laws will be implemented in schools.
It may take some time for lawsuits to build up, Erchull said. Each law goes into effect on a different date and, excluding First Amendment arguments, a lawsuit would have to claim injury as a result of the enforcement of the law. Erchull declined to share specifics of what types of concerns GLAD is investigating or how many families they’re speaking with.
Sara Tirrell, a parent of a transgender high-school athlete from Plymouth, said this legislative session has been “harrowing” and that the governor’s action will deny her daughter, Parker, her freedom. Parker and the Tirrell family advocated against these bills throughout the lawmaking process.
“These bills are not just legislative decisions, they are devastating blows to our family,” Tirrell said. “Can you imagine having to explain to your child that they already played their last game of soccer at the age of 15? That she can no longer join her team in celebration or defeat, that she can no longer experience camaraderie and the feeling of belonging to and on the team?”
Throughout the process, Tirrell said she’s comforted her daughter, telling her everything would be OK – she never doubted those words until last Friday. Though hurt by Sununu’s choice to sign these bills into law, she said her family will continue the fight.
“History will remember this as a grave misstep, and we are steadfast in our belief that these unjust laws will be overturned in the courts,” Tirrell said. “This is a long battle, not a quick sprint, and we are far from the finish line.”
Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly or send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.
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