Maryland is one of 21 states, plus Washington, D.C., that were rated highest in an annual report on state laws ensuring the equitable treatment of LGBTQ+ people.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Equality Federation Institute on Thursday released their 2021 State Equality Index report, which described Maryland as “Working Toward Innovative Equality,” alongside 20 other states and the nation’s capital.
In 2021, state legislatures across the U.S. introduced 201 bills that the report’s authors described as “pro-equality” and 268 bills they described as “anti-equality.” Of those, 44 “pro-equality” bills were signed into law and 27 “anti-equality” bills were signed into law.
Many state legislatures took aim at restricting and eliminating protections for transgender individuals, particularly trans youth, the report found. States also implemented religious exemptions into existing laws to allow people to cite their religious beliefs in order to refuse to serve people.
The report’s authors expressed concern that this year will bring more challenges to protections for LGBTQ+ people, including the ability of transgender youth to receive quality education and healthcare.
“2022 will be a year of hard fights to defend progress and fend off efforts to write anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination into law,” the authors wrote. “Unfortunately, the well-being of transgender youth will once more be at stake in too many states. There are very real costs to these anti-LGBTQ+ bills being filed, even when they don’t pass: LGBTQ+ youth see all too well how little legislators seem to understand or care about who they truly are.”
In addition to Maryland, the other members of the highest-rated category are California; Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; Hawaii; Nevada; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New Mexico; New York; Oregon; Rhode Island; Vermont; Virginia; Washington state; and Washington, D.C.
Alaska, Pennsylvania and Utah were ranked in the next highest category, “Solidifying Equality.” They were followed by Florida, Kansas, North Dakota and Wisconsin in the “Building Equality” category.
In the lowest-rated category, “High Priority to Achieve Basic Equality,” were the 22 remaining states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming.
While the report noted that progress is needed for states in all the categories, states in the “Working Toward Innovative Equality” category have solid non-discrimination protections, anti-bullying laws and other “basic measures of equality.”
“Advocates [in these states] work to ensure the broad implementation of these laws while advancing laws concerning parenting, youth, health and criminal justice to achieve full equality for the LGBTQ+ community,” the report’s authors said.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation found that Maryland has multiple non-discrimination laws, including laws pertaining to second parent adoption; consent to inseminate; and de facto parent recognition, which can allow a parent to be legally recognized even if they do not have a biological or formal adoptive connection to the child.
The report found the state has “pro-equality” hate crime laws and mandatory reporting of hate crime statistics, with both applicable to an individual’s sexual orientation and gender identity.
However, the report also noted that Maryland still requires progress on sodomy laws and HIV/AIDS criminalization laws,
In 2020, Maryland repealed the crime of sodomy, which relates to anal or oral sex. Previously, individuals convicted of the felony could face up to 10 years in prison, a $1,000 fine, or both.
But as recently as May 2021, Harford County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested nine men at an adult book and video store in Abingdon, including four whom were arrested on charges of “perverted sexual practice” under the state’s sodomy law for engaging in sexual acts inside the business, the Washington Blade reported.
Maryland has “pro-equality” non-discrimination laws in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, crest, colleges and universities, non-discrimination policy for state employees, foster care, and adoption (related only to an individual’s gender identity, not sexual orientation), according to the report. The report did not note any non-discrimination laws in the areas of education, insurance, or jury selection.
The report also notes the state has “anti-equality” laws providing religious exemptions from some non-discrimination laws.
The report lists several “pro-equality” laws pertaining to heath and safety, such as a ban on insurances exclusions for the healthcare of transgender people, name and gender marker updates on driver’s licenses and birth certificates, and more.
Maryland is also one of 21 states, and Washington, D.C., that protect youth from so-called “conversion therapy,” per the report.
