Some Republican strategists are concerned enough about the new laws and rhetoric that they are working to launch campaigns against the measures. One group, Conservatives Against Discrimination, released a video on Wednesday that focuses on the struggles of a transgender man and held a roundtable to discuss how gay and transgender issues are being talked about.

“The LGBT advancements was one of those issues that, over time, there was consensus in this country,” Sarah Longwell, a Republican strategist, said during the virtual forum. “If you allow for this new spate of ‘we’re going to frame things differently now; we’re going to frame it as protection of children,’ we’re going to create more distrust.”

During the forum, former Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard, a Republican, said he had seen firsthand the effects discriminatory bills can have. He was mayor in 2015 when then-Gov. Mike Pence and Republican lawmakers pushed for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allowed business owners to turn away gay and lesbian customers for religious reasons.

“We became the focus of the nation,” Ballard said. “That was very disturbing to me.”