Republicans refuse to remove anti-LGBTQ laws even with pressure from Democrats

HB 2364, which gained national attention as it allowed employers to fire someone who was gay or transgender, was still not addressed by the Republican legislature in this legislative session. Democratic lawmakers have been fighting to include sexual orientation and gender identity in existing anti-discrimination laws, but state Republicans have once again chosen to keep the bill alive, marking another year that they enforce oppressive and discriminatory statutes.

Democrats having been pushing for LGBTQ rights in the Senate, too. SB 1297 was proposed to change the statute on adoption so that "a husband and wife" would be replaced with "a married couple," allowing LGBTQ couples to adopt jointly. Although the bill passed through the Senate, it failed in the Republican-majority House.