Nebraska has some negative law and executive orders towards trans people that affect almost all trans travelers. In particular, due to an executive order, all Nebraska executive agencies will default to considering trans women as men, and trans men as women, while non-binary people will be considered their sex assigned at birth. This likely will apply to bathroom and facility access of facilities under state regulation (such as airports, rest areas, many parks) and can place trans people at significant risk.
Nebraska bans trans youth medical care with very narrow and limited exceptions for continuing care. It has an unknown impact on child custody, although it should be noted that the law applies to medical providers and not parents.
- Nebraska non-discrimination law does not include LGBT people specifically
- Omaha has a local non-discrimination law that applies to gender identity.
- State facilities likely will fall under an executive order that defines sex as sex assigned at birth, and will be required to enforce that in all state regulations enacted by executive branch agencies. This may in some cases impact private businesses, cities, schools, and other non-state entities.
- Trans people are not banned from using appropriate bathrooms and locker rooms.
- General public accommodation access is not specifically protected by law for trans people in Nebraska.
- Nebraska does not have a drag/cross-dressing law.
Note that the executive order defining sex may make state facilities particularly risky for trans travelers.
See the USA TSA document.
- Trans women are required to be housed with men
- Trans men are required to be housed with women
- Nonbinary people are required to be housed according to sex assigned at birth
The State of Nebraska, via executive order, defines trans people based on sex assigned at birth. This is wide-ranging and includes all executive branch agencies.
Non-binary people are not recognized.
Intersex people have some limited recognition.
- Trans medical care is legal for adults.
- Trans medical care is restrictively regulated for people under 19 (Note that this includes 18-year-olds). However, parents would not be criminalized (the bill would apply to medical providers)
- The current executive order for bathroom access conflicts with parts of the youth healthcare regulations, in that it may be impossible for a person to live in their gender for 6 months (a requirement to receive hormone blockers and HRT under the regulations).
- Therapy required for youth to obtain puberty blockers or HRT is required to be "neutral", I.E. it must not be affirming (or conversion therapy). This would tend to imply that a provider using proper pronouns for a trans youth would be violating the law. 40 contact hours, with no more than 2 hours per week, is required for access to puberty blockers or hormones.
- HRT pickup from pharmacies is highly regulated for youth and is required to "out" the trans youth (including 18-year-olds).
- Surgical procedures are banned for youth, including 18-year-olds.
- The ACLU of Nebraska is challenging the youth healthcare ban.
- Despite the law allowing youth previously receiving healthcare to continue to receive it, some pharmacies are refusing to dispense medication to transgender youth.
- Providers have indicated that the new rules for trans youth healthcare are unclear and may be impossible to follow
- Federal regulations protecting trans people in were blocked in Nebraska due to the Tennessee v Becerra preliminary injunction on July 3, 2024. Thus trans people do not have many of the federal protections on the basis of sex when obtaining medical care in this state.
- Transition care is not specifically defined as child abuse
- There is no sanctuary law preventing cooperation with other jurisdictions
- Same-sex marriage (and thus all trans marriage) is recognized
- 2023 LB574 - Trans Youth Medical Care Ban
- Regulations on trans youth health care (See chapter "8" here for most recent published regulations; note as of March 12, 2024, currently in-force regulations where not published)
Nebraska's executive order defining men and women based on sex assigned at birth creates an openly hostile state for trans travelers. This law does not depend upon surgical status, genitals, government ID, birth certificate, or any other "proof" of transition, and is wide-ranging across all state government programs and services.
Nebraska has seen very widely publicized hate crimes against LGBT people. While these crimes may occur anywhere, and most anti-LGBT hate crimes, even of the severity of the notorious crimes committed in NE, are not publicized when they occur (and, again, can and do occur nearly everywhere in the USA), this may be a concern to some travelers.
Because of the rhetoric around trans people in the political and media space, trans people should use caution, particularly in bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, etc. Random and targeted attacks may occur, and trans people who report these attacks can expect to be misgendered by officials and public institutions. As one example, a trans man chose to use the women's bathroom in an Omaha bar, and announced that he was "biologically female," yet was attacked by another man in April, 2024.