2020 Brought Legislative Progress, Pushback on LGBTQ Issues State legislatures introduced more than 560 LGBTQ rights bills in 2020. An analysis by the Human Rights Campaign finds barriers remain to equal access to housing, employment and health care for the LGBTQ community. Carl Smith, Senior Staff Writer | January 27, 2021 | Analysis Half of all Americans live in states that lack statutory protections for LGBTQ citizens, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The civil rights organization has just released its seventh annual State Equality Index (SEI), assessing state efforts to prevent LGBTQ discrimination. HRC researchers tracked 379 pro-equality bills and 185 anti-LGBTQ bills during the 2020 legislative season, says attorney Sarah Warbelow, legal director for HRC. The highlight, she says was a bill passed in Virginia that made it the first state in the South to enact comprehensive protection for LGBTQ citizens against discrimination in housing, employment, public spaces and credit applications.