House Bill 805 was originally established to prevent the sexual exploitation of both women and minors. The Bill is sponsored by lawmakers such as Neal Jackson, Sarah Stevens, and Jennifer Blackom, as well as several other cosponsors. The bill was first sponsored by Representative Laura Budd, and was a bipartisan effort created to prevent the virtual sexual exploitation of women and children within North Carolina. It imposes regulations and policies upon adult websites to prevent the exploitation of minors and provides meaningful civil penalties for any violation of these regulations. The Bill was originally vetoed by NC Governor Josh Stein, however on July 30th, Democratic Rep. Nastif Majeed joined House Republicans to override the veto.
House Bill 805 went into effect within schools at the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, bringing along several requirements for teachers inside and outside of the classroom. Teachers are now required to register every book in their classroom libraries onto an online book catalog, giving parents the ability to block their children from borrowing certain books. Statements from WHRQ Public Media suggest that many teachers around the state and within New Hanover County have already been asked to cover up or hide their classroom libraries until all books have been registered to an online database. Additionally, students are allowed to opt out of assignments and discussions within their classes due to religious objection. When on field trips, students will be housed according to their assigned sex at birth, and will not be allowed to sleep in the same area as someone of a different biological sex, unless given written parental consent.
A picture by Eric Haynes depicting the inside of the senate. (Eric Haynes)
Outside of school, according to Know Your Rights: Orange County NC, on January 1, 2026, this law will require that NC officially recognizes only two sexes, male, and female, and will prevent the use of state funding for gender transition care for minors and citizens in prison. This bill will also make it easier for citizens to sue medical professionals for providing gender-transition related care to minors. Additionally, House Bill 805 will change how birth certificates are handled when someone’s sex is changed. Counties will be required to keep both an original copy of the birth certificate, and an updated copy on the same file. The bill will also impose regulations on the sharing of intimate images, which will be unable to be accessed without consent and age verification.
As House Bill 805 has evolved from a bill to prevent sexual exploitation into a law that addresses many transgender rights, support for this law has become greatly divided. According to the North Carolina Journal and NC Family Policy Council, support for the bill primarily stems from republican and conservative groups. Supporters argue that officially recognizing two genders as a state is a “common-sense measure,” and provides protection for women and female sports. Supporters also argue that this law will empower parents in the classroom and protect minors on school field trips.
On the contrary, according to WUNC, and Southern Equality.Org, those against the bill mainly include LGBTQ+ rights activists, democrats, educators, and healthcare providers. Critics state that the original bill was hijacked by senate republicans once controversial social policy provisions were added onto House Bill 805. Statements from Equality NC.Org also characterize this bill as an attack on LGBTQ+ and transgender rights, for they argue that writing out official statements on gender identities will jeopardize the safety of transgender individuals.
