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Jan. 1 (UPI) -- The start of the new year Monday also brings a slate of laws set to take effect throughout the nation. Some of the most high-profile laws set to go into action will aim to ban gender-affirming care for minors, and restrict firearms protections, while other states will expand rights for those seeking abortions and immigrants.
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Among the more controversial are laws affecting gender-affirming care for children, abortions and firearms. The following is not an exhaustive list of new laws schedule to take effect on Monday, but they are some of the more compelling changes.
Gender Laws
Louisiana's ban on gender-affirming care for minors goes into effect Monday after the state legislature overrode Gov. John Bel Edwards' veto of the proposed law.
The law bans the use of puberty blockers, treatments using hormones and gender reassignment surgeries for anyone younger than 18.
Edwards said the ban "put politics over people" and "is interfering in critical healthcare decisions that only parents should make in consultation with their children and their children's physicians and psychologists."
Proponents say the bill protects children against potential harm caused by irreversible medical procedures.
An Idaho ban on gender-affirming care for minors was to take effect on Monday, but a federal judge temporarily blocked the law as unconstitutional.
Named the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, the law would ban the use of puberty blockers, hormones and other medical practices designed to affirm a person's gender identity and charge offending doctors with felonies punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.
The families of two teens undergoing gender-affirming care sued the state and asked the federal court to stop the law's enforcement until the lawsuit is decided.
The ACLU of Idaho challenged the law in federal court on behalf of the two teens.
"Everyone should be free to live and thrive in their authentic identity, which means transgender people should not be shut out of accessing medically sound health care," ACLU of Idaho Executive Director Leo Morales said of the federal ruling.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill on Dec. 26 issued a preliminary injunction against the law, saying it violates the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the 14th Amendment. Winmill's ruling prevents the law from taking effect until the current lawsuit is decided.
In California, many retail stores must provide a gender-neutral children's toys section starting Monday or face potential fines for violating the gender-neutral toy section law.
The law applies to stores that have at least 500 employees across all stores in California and requires they have gender-neutral sections regardless of whether toys traditionally are marketed to either boys or girls. Stores that violate the law could be fined up to $250 on a first violation and up to $500 for subsequent violations.
The new California law defines children as anyone under age 13 and includes childcare items, such as pacifiers and teething rings.
In addition to requiring gender-neutral toy sections for children, California is protecting medical professionals against possible prosecution for providing gender-affirming care. California's shield law protects medical professionals and their patients who might travel to the state to obtain gender-affirming care.
Gun Laws
Illinois has a statewide ban on military-style rifles that often are referred to as "assault weapons," but those who already own them can keep them after registering the firearms with the state. Owners of such firearms must have them registered by Jan. 1, which is when the state's registration deadline expires.
Those who don't comply will not have lawful ownership of their arms, which the sale and possession of which are banned by the Protect Illinois Communities Act. The act also bans the sale of high-capacity magazines and switches that might convert a semiautomatic firearm into an automatic weapon.
A California law set to limit where people with concealed carry weapon permits can carry firearms is set to take effect on Monday.
The ban proposed ban is part of Senate Bill 2 and would further limit where people can legally carry a concealed firearm, concealed carries in places of worship, public libraries, amusement parks, zoos and sporting events.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Saturday allowed the law to take effect, overturning a lower court ruling where Judge Cormac Carney of the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California blocked the law earlier this month, saying it was "sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment and openly defiant of the Supreme Court."
The three-judge panel issued an administrative stay, putting the lower court's order on hold as they consider arguments for and against the law.
"In granting an administrative stay, we do not intend to constrain the merits panel's consideration of the merits of these appeals in any way," they wrote.
In Tennessee, the state's Department of Safety and Homeland Security administers a new voucher program that reimburses up to $30 per person for attending an approved handgun safety course. Unless it is extended, the voucher program will expire on Jan 1, 2025.
Abortion Protections
States this year will also continue to look to enshrine abortion protections in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade in 2022.
California's shield law for those seeking abortions in the state and who legally provide abortion of gender-affirming medical services takes effect on Monday.
The shield law says the state will not deliver anyone to other states where they face prosecution for providing abortion services in California.
The law also protects those who come to California to obtain abortion services and shields them against any possible out-of-state prosecution for doing so. The law also enables medical professionals and their patients to refuse to cooperate with any investigations initiated in other states.
Michigan's Reproductive Health Act, will also take effect beginning Monday which repeals several state laws which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office said were "politically motivated" and "medically unnecessary."
The package would repeal the state's TRAP laws which implemented rules for reproductive facilities including hallway width, ceiling heights, HVAC systems and janitor's closets, which Whitmer's office said were "designed specifically to close abortion providers."
It also repealed a law forcing patients to buy a separate insurance rider for abortions and a 1931 law that would have criminalized doctors and nurses from prescribing medication abortions including the use of mifeprsitone.
Immigrant Rights
California on Monday expands its Medi-Cal health insurance program to become the nation's first state to offer health insurance for all qualifying undocumented migrants.
The state in 2015 authorized expanding Medi-Cal to insure undocumented migrant children and later expanded it to include those age 50 and over.
The health insurance coverage is not automatic. Participants must have qualifying income levels, which excludes those with high incomes from obtaining Medi-Cal coverage.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the Medi-Cal expansion makes it easier to provide comprehensive healthcare coverage for all California residents, including about 700,000 adults between ages 26 and 49 who do not qualify for federal funded Medi-Cal due to their undocumented immigration status.
As a sanctuary state for undocumented migrants, California does not share immigration status with the federal government. Undocumented migrants who apply for Medi-Cal coverage will not be reported to federal authorities.
In Illinois, landlords and property owners starting Monday are required to rent or sell property to migrants and adds immigration status as a protected class to the Illinois Human Rights Act.
Refusing to rent or sell properties to migrants based on real or perceived immigration or citizenship status violates Illinois law. Officials with the Illinois Dept. of Human Rights oversee the act and enforce its provisions.
