In Illinois, bills that would update existing laws to be more gender inclusive and add protections for LGBTQ marriages are ready for signing by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Three bills were passed last week to move the state in the “opposite direction” of extremist Republican-led states in the US that restrict LGBTQIA people.
Elsewhere, among others, Indiana’s governor signed a bill that will require schools to notify a parent if a student requests a name or pronoun change at school; and Missouri and Iowa now restrict gender-affirming care and the bathrooms transgender students can use.
The bills passed by Illinois’ Democratic supermajority hope to:
- replace certain pronouns with the nouns to which the pronouns refer, such as “minor” instead of “he or she,” and “person who gives birth” in place of “mother” in some existing laws concerning children in the state’s care.
- require state agencies to track employees who identify as non-binary or gender non-conforming to help achieve workforce diversity.
- make it easier for LGBTQ couples who resided in other states to marry in Illinois.
