LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanias are under attack from one of the most aggressively anti-trans bills we’ve seen: Senate Bill 213 (SB213), introduced by far-right Senator Doug Mastriano. Disguised under the misleading name “Two Gender Protection”, this bill is nothing more than a full-frontal assault on trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people in our state. We can’t let it pass.
What Does SB213 Do? A Breakdown of the Harm
The text of SB213 reveals its full, chilling scope—a legislative attack on trans rights, healthcare, and public inclusion. Here’s what’s at stake if this bill becomes law:
1. Bans Public Funds from Supporting Gender-Affirming Care or Education
- Prohibits State Funds from Promoting “Gender Ideology”—a vague, weaponized term often used to erase trans and nonbinary identities. This means public agencies could be barred from funding LGBTQ+ inclusion programs, education, or community services.
- Denies Gender-Affirming Medical Care for Incarcerated People by forbidding state funds from covering treatments like hormone therapy or surgeries. This is a direct attack on the health and dignity of trans inmates.
2. Forces Single-Sex Spaces Based on Birth Sex, Not Identity
- Bans Trans Women from Women’s Prisons and Shelters: Orders the Attorney General and Department of Corrections to ensure only people assigned female at birth are housed in women’s prisons and domestic violence shelters—ignoring the safety and rights of trans women.
- Mandates “Sex, Not Identity” for Spaces: From bathrooms to locker rooms, state agencies must enforce sex-based separation, excluding trans people from spaces that align with their gender identity.
3. Silences Trans-Affirming Policies in Workplaces and Public Spaces
- Promotes a False “Binary Rights” Doctrine: Directs the Attorney General to defend the “right to express the binary nature of sex” and to prioritize litigation against any state-funded entity that recognizes nonbinary or trans identities.
- Forces Agencies to Purge Inclusive Policies: All state agencies must rewrite their rules, forms, and guidance to remove references to gender identity, replacing them with biological sex only.
4. Creates a Statewide Gender Surveillance Machine
- Requires Agencies to Report Compliance: All agencies must submit reports to the Governor documenting their efforts to purge gender-inclusive language and policies from state programs. This is an attempt to intimidate institutions into erasing LGBTQ+ visibility under the threat of state action.
Why This Is Dangerous
Senator Mastriano is weaponizing false narratives about safety and fairness to strip away human rights. Let’s be clear:
This bill does not protect women; it harms trans women.
This bill does not promote fairness; it enforces discrimination.
This bill does not safeguard children; it endangers trans youth.
The idea that trans women pose a threat to women’s spaces is a tired, debunked, and transmisogynistic trope. And let’s be real—if Mastriano truly cared about women’s safety, he’d be working on ending gender-based violence and fighting for equal pay, not policing bathrooms and IDs.
The Real Impact
- Increased Violence: Bills like SB213 heighten stigma and increase violence against trans people.
- Healthcare Denial: Blocking public funds for gender-affirming care strips lifesaving medical support from vulnerable populations.
- Legal Erasure: Forcing IDs that don’t match gender identity endangers trans and nonbinary people in daily interactions—especially with police, employers, and healthcare providers.
What Can You Do Right Now?
Contact Your State Senator: Demand they vote NO on SB213. Call and email. Find your senator here.
SB213 is part of a nationwide pattern of anti-trans legislation fueled by fear and hate. But Pennsylvania’s queer and trans community is strong, loud, and unbreakable. Together, we will fight this bill and every attack that follows.
NO to Erasure. NO to Discrimination. NO to SB213.
YES to Trans Joy. YES to Gender Justice. YES to Queer Liberation.
Text of the bill: 2025-0-SB0213P0183
