State of the State Legislatures in 2024

We Dissent

It’s that wonderful time of year when Alison guides Rebecca and Liz through the upcoming legislative sessions in states across the country. We discuss upsetting trends in state legislation and bills we’re monitoring that affect the separation of church and state and threaten true religious liberty for everyone.

Background and Resources

• Previous episode about the legislative process

• Previous episode about Texas

• 2024 State of the Secular States report

• American Atheists State Legislation Tracker

• What you can do

• FFRF and American Atheists’ Action Alerts

• Equality Florida

• ACLU State Affiliates

• Reproductive Freedom For All

Bills Discussed

• Religion in schools

• School chaplain bills

• Texas

• Florida

• Indiana

• Nebraska

• Alabama

• Oklahoma HB 2962: Would require the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms

• Utah HB 269: Would allow teachers to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms

• Arizona SB 1151: Would allow teachers to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms

• West Virginia SB 280: Would allow teachers to each intelligent design as a theory of how the universe came to exist

• Trans bills

• The Guardian - “Missouri is ground zero for the firehose of anti-trans legislation”

• Missouri HB1674: Would make it discrimination for a business to allow trans employees to access appropriate bathrooms

• Utah HB 257: Would make using a bathroom that does not align with one’s sex assigned at birth a criminal trespass offense

• Healthcare

• Missouri HB 1519: Prohibits discrimination against health care professionals who refuse to assist in trans healthcare

• Oklahoma SB 1729: Would recognize abortion as homicide

• Idaho HJR001: Would remove the no aid clause from the Idaho constitution

Cases Discussed

• Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

• Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022)

• Stone v. Graham (1980)

• Van Orden v. Perry (2005)

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.