Despite a renewed political assault on transgender rights under Donald Trump’s second presidential term, a new report reveals a powerful silver lining: 647 anti-trans bills have failed to pass across the United States in 2025.
While 120 anti-trans bills have become law this year—impacting gender-affirming care, education, legal recognition, and the right to safely exist—over five times as many bills failed to make it through legislative channels, according to Trans Legislation Tracker.
A Backlash Met With Resistance
The wave of legislation comes as Republican-led states continue to push aggressively against the rights of trans and gender-diverse Americans. However, the fact that so many anti-trans bills have failed this year highlights growing legal, activist, and public pushback.
Trans Legislation Tracker, an independent research organisation, monitors bills that affect trans and non-binary people across the country. The organisation provides up-to-date data and tools to help the public stay informed and engage with relevant legislation.
“Our findings and methods have been fact-checked and reviewed by leading newsrooms and academics across the country,” the group notes on its website.
Notable Failures in State Legislatures
Among the failed legislation tracked are:
- North Carolina’s S558, which aimed to eliminate DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs in public higher education
- H171, which sought bathroom and sports team bans in higher education
- H805, targeting gender-affirming care for incarcerated individuals
- New Hampshire’s HB148, which attempted to legally classify individuals by “biological sex” in certain contexts
- HB377, also from New Hampshire, which aimed to ban gender-affirming care for minors
These failed proposals mark significant victories for LGBTQ+ rights advocates, even as threats continue to escalate.
Ongoing Legislative Hostility
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is also tracking anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and, as of July 2025, has recorded 598 anti-LGBTQ+ bills, the majority targeting transgender people. A report by The 19th from May stated that of 575 bills tracked at the time, 54 became law while 105 failed.
Among the enacted laws are:
- School bathroom and sports participation restrictions
- Bans on Pride flags on government property
- Limits on gender-affirming care access
- Restrictions on updating personal identity documents
Meanwhile, one high-profile anti-trans measure in Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” was quietly dropped in early July, in what many view as a rare tactical retreat amid public scrutiny.
