This article is part of the Debatable newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Tuesday, Arkansas became the first state to bar transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming medical care.
The first, but very possibly not the last: Legislators in some 20 states have introduced similar bills — which major medical associations have denounced as dangerous — and many more that would block trans children from participating in school sports in accordance with their gender identity, as Arkansas and three other states have already done this year.
Where did this political movement come from, and what are the underlying disputes? Here’s a look at how the country got here.