Headlines from the Granite State
Trans care ban
New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed into law House Bill 377, which “prohibits health care providers from prescribing puberty blockers and hormone therapy for people under 18 when the medications are used by transgender youth as part of gender transition,” according other the Boston Globe.
The law exempts those already in treatment before the ban kicks in on January 1, 2026.
“[Such] laws are merciless, cruel and painful for transgender young people, their families and their doctors,” said Courtney Reed, an American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire policy advocate in a statement. Reed added that the ACLU will continue to fight “to ensure all people have the dignity and equality they deserve and the freedom to shape their own futures.”
Anti-LGBTQ+ bill vetoes
In mid-July, Gov. Ayotte also vetoed a pair of anti-LGBTQ+ bills pushed through by her fellow Republican legislators, along with three other bills that would have advanced far-right interests. Neither the state’s House nor Senate has the required two-thirds GOP majority to override them.
House Bill 324 would have prohibited schools from distributing books and other materials considered “harmful to minors,” aka primarily books with LGBTQ+ characters and themes. In a public statement, Gov. Ayotte noted current state law allows parents, two weeks in advance, to object in writing before material involving sexual and gender issues are introduced and an “alternative” arranged between parents and the school.
“I do not believe the State of New Hampshire needs to, nor should it, engage in the role of addressing questions of literary value and appropriateness” Ayotte said.
House Bill 148 would have allowed businesses and correctional facilities to work around state law that bans discrimination based on gender identity, specifically around restroom and locker room use.
“I believe there are important and legitimate privacy and safety concerns raised by biological males using places such as female locker rooms and being placed in female correctional facilities,” Ayotte wrote. “At the same time, I see that House Bill 148 is overly broad and impractical to enforce, potentially creating an exclusionary environment for some of our citizens.”
VisitNH Pride restoration
After a complaint from a GOP lawmaker over a Pride announcement on the state’s Division of Travel and Tourism Development’s VisitNH website, which included the phrase “Celebrate love all month long,” the posting—and soon after all details about Pride events across state—were pulled from the site.
Along with Pride listings details on social media announcement were a heart emoji, a rainbow flag and fan, and two people of color smiling happily into each other’s eyes.
The GOP lawmaker said he found the announcement inappropriate to be posted on D Day.
The deletion quickly came to the attention of the Boston Globe, who pursued the story. “We regularly promote events throughout New Hampshire, and the webpage you mentioned is active,” Division of Travel and Tourism Spokesperson Kris Neilsen told the Globe.
The VisitNH 2025 Pride events page was soon restored.
‘Dark Side of the Rainbow’
In mid-July, Queerlective, a Manchester-based arts organization devoted to uplifting the queer and BIPOC communities, held a “Dark Side of the Rainbow” arts market at the YWCA in downtown Manchester, where the nonprofit recently moved its offices.
“Basically, I’ve realized that there can be quite a bit of siloing in the subcultures within the queer community, and Queerlective doesn’t necessarily always attract the attention of the more, kind of punk, goth-y queers. And so as soon as I signed the lease on this [space at the YWCA], I was really excited to share it with the rest of the community,” Randall Nielsen, Queerlective’s executive director, recently told Manchester Ink Link.
The nonprofit partnered with Janelle Havens, owner of Lustshrooms, Etc., and member of New England Artists for Action, a fundraising beneficiary of the market.
A “Queen City’s REALM: Goth Night” after party at The Shaskeen Pub & Restaurant followed the event.
“I think it went really well. We’ve had 270 people come in. Vendors are very happy, and this was a bit of a pilot run for us using the space like this. So, we’re very excited to open it up for more vendors,” Nielsen told Ink Link. “We have a lot of ideas. I want to do a concert here.”
