As the Trump administration ramps up attacks on transgender rights at the federal level, Vermont lawmakers are heading in the opposite direction.
This week, the state Legislature passed H.550, a sweeping bill designed to strengthen protections for incarcerated transgender people. Advocates say it could become one of the strongest state laws in the country addressing the safety and treatment of trans inmates.
The legislation arrives during a tense national moment. Federal officials under President Donald Trump have pushed policies targeting transgender people in custody, including efforts to limit gender-affirming care and roll back protections tied to the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Vermont’s proposal directly pushes against that shift.
Under H.550, prison staff would be required to respect an incarcerated person’s gender identity and receive gender-responsive training. The measure also recognizes that transgender inmates face elevated risks of harassment, assault and abuse behind bars.
The bill gives incarcerated trans people the ability to request placement reviews for facilities that align with their gender identity. Those decisions would involve medical and mental health professionals with experience in gender-affirming care.
In some cases, Vermont could transfer inmates to facilities in other states. Colorado recently established dedicated housing units for transgender women, an approach supporters say provides safer options for vulnerable prisoners.
The legislation also directs Vermont officials to continue following pre-Trump federal standards protecting transgender inmates, even as those safeguards face challenges nationally.
Notably, the bill passed with bipartisan backing, including support from most Republican senators. It now heads to Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who is expected to sign it into law given his previous support for LGBTQ+ protections.
A Senate Floor Debate Turns Ugly
The bill’s advancement came just days after another Vermont Senate moment ignited outrage across the state.
During debate over an animal cruelty bill, Republican State Sen. Steven Heffernan compared transgender identity to bestiality while speaking on the Senate floor.
“In these crazy times, what happens if the individual identifies as an animal having intercourse with an animal?” Heffernan asked during debate on House Bill 578. “Being that we voted through Prop Four, and if it does make it through this state, and I have a gender identity that I identify as a dog and had sex with my dog, is this law going to affect me?”
Democratic State Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky responded calmly, reiterating the bill’s language.
“The bill that we are putting forward in the current law is quite clear that any act between a person and an animal that involves contact with the mouth, sex organ, or anus of the person, and the mouth, sex organ, or anus of the animal, without a bona fide veterinary purpose, will be a crime.”
Heffernan continued pressing the comparison.
“If I identify as that animal, will this be able to … It says a person. I’m not a person. I’m identifying as this animal I’m having intercourse with,” he said. “We are identifying genders, of whatever gender we decide we want to be, and I think I like this bill. I’m going to vote for this bill, but I want to make this chamber aware of what’s coming.”
The exchange quickly drew condemnation from fellow lawmakers and LGBTQ+ advocates, who accused Heffernan of using a long-running anti-trans talking point designed to portray queer people as dangerous or deviant.
“Senator Heffernan knew exactly what he was doing,” Vyhovsky later said in a statement. “Sen. Heffernan is using the same dehumanizing playbook that has been used against LGBTQ+ people for generations — the false, ugly suggestion that queer and trans identity is synonymous with deviance and harm. It was wrong then and it is wrong now.”
Vermont Democrats Rally Around LGBTQ+ Protections
The controversy also reignited discussion around Proposal 4, a constitutional amendment that would formally protect Vermonters from discrimination based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
Earlier this year, Heffernan notably left the Senate chamber before lawmakers voted on the amendment. The measure ultimately passed 29-0 while he was marked absent.
At the time, Heffernan told VTDigger the timing was accidental.
“My pizza hit at the right time, I guess,” he said, describing the moment as “convenient.”
Following last week’s remarks, Vermont Senate Democrats released a statement sharply criticizing the senator and urging voters to support Proposal 4 in November.
“Transgender and nonbinary Vermonters are our neighbors, our friends, and our family members,” the statement read. “On Friday, Sen. Heffernan used his platform as an elected official representing the people of Vermont to dehumanize them.”
State Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale also addressed the broader climate surrounding anti-trans rhetoric in politics.
“A lot of people are living in fear in this country because of what somebody with the power of the pen and the power of the military is saying every day,” Hinsdale said. “Just because [speech] is protected does not mean it is worthy of this institution, and does not mean it is worthy of the office we hold and the power that we wield in the lives of Vermonters.”
For many LGBTQ+ advocates, the split-screen moment unfolding in Vermont tells a larger story unfolding nationwide: while some lawmakers continue leaning into inflammatory rhetoric about trans people, others are moving to expand legal protections in tangible ways.
And in Vermont, at least for now, protections appear to be winning the vote.
