Canada released an updated advisory warning LGBT about the proliferation of U.S. state laws protecting women’s spaces and barring children from receiving gender-transition procedures and attending drag shows.
“Some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect 2SLGBTQI+ persons. Check relevant state and local laws,” Global Affairs Canada, a government department that manages diplomatic relations, promotes international trade and provides consular assistance, wrote in its notice.
The country urged tourists to the U.S. to watch out for laws that “criminalize same-sex activities and relationships” or “criminalize people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics.”
The advisory did not say which laws could potentially endanger Canadian citizens who identify as LGBT nor did it name which states are risky. A department spokesperson told Canadian Broadcasting Corp that it was referring to legislation blocking minors from undergoing irreversible sex reconstructive surgery and hormone therapy or from attending adult drag shows with sexual performances. Laws banning men from competing in women’s sports are also threatening Canadian LGBT travelers, the spokesperson suggested.
“Since the beginning of 2023, certain states in the U.S. have passed laws banning drag shows and restricting the transgender community from access to gender affirming care and from participation in sporting events,” the spokesperson said. “The information is provided to enable travellers to make their own informed decisions regarding destinations. Outside Canada, laws and customs related to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics can be very different from those in Canada.”
Canadian deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday that the guidance was drafted after carefully looking at the conditions around the world and determining whether Canadians could face potential harm.
“Every Canadian government, very much including our government, needs to put at the centre of everything we do the interests and the safety of every single Canadian, and of every single group of Canadians,” she said. “That’s what we’re doing now. That’s what we’re always going to do.”
In August, North Carolina prohibited male athletes from competing on women’s sports teams. Republicans in the state legislature also recently overturned a series of last-ditch vetoes from Democratic governor Roy Cooper to enact a sweeping overhaul of state laws governing gender-reassignment procedures for children. Under the newly passed legislation, medical providers in the state will no longer be allowed to administer puberty blockers, hormone therapies, or conduct transition surgery on minors, apart from those who began such treatments before August 1. Moreover, all state funding for such procedures will be halted.
Governor Ron DeSantis in May ushered in a Florida bill package that ensured pre-K through eight grade kids would not be “instructed” in LGBT issues and made it illegal for businesses to knowingly admit a minor to a sexually explicit, adult dance show. The law also required various public institutions including schools, prisons, and public buildings to provide either sex-segregated or single-stall unisex bathrooms and changing facilities. And to preserve the integrity of female athletics, the law empowered the state to oversee the Florida High School Athletic Association.
Also in May, Texas passed a law limiting gender-transition treatments for minors. It prohibited doctors from performing a mastectomy or a genital surgery that would sterilize a child and from prescribing medications that induce transient or permanent infertility, including puberty blockers and hormones.