instructed Texas state agencies to treat gender-affirming medical treatments (such as puberty blockers or hormone treatments) for transgender youths as child abuse. Homelessness In June 2019, the city of Austin introduced an ordinance that repealed a 25-year-old ban on homeless people camping, lying, or sleeping in public. In October 2019, Abbott sent a widely publicized letter to Austin Mayor Steve Adler criticizing the camping ban repeal and threatened to deploy state resources to combat homelessness. In November 2019, Abbott directed the State of Texas to open a temporary homeless encampment on a former vehicle storage yard owned by the Texas Department of Transportation, which camp residents dubbed "Abbottville". Marijuana In 2019, when numerous local prosecutors announced that they would stop prosecuting low-level marijuana offenses, Abbott instructed them to continue enforcing marijuana laws. The prosecutors cited recently passed legislation that legalized hemp. As hemp contains the same chemical as marijuana, THC, tests at law enforcement's disposal cannot distinguish between marijuana usage and hemp usage. Abbott has said that legal hemp products come with a "hemp certificate". In 2022, a poll of Texas voters found that 55% of Texans either support or strongly support legalizing cannabis. COVID-19 pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic, Abbott issued a stay-at-home order from April 2 to May 1, 2020. This was one of the shortest stay-at-home orders implemented by any governor. After Texas started to reopen, COVID-19 surged, leading Abbott to pause the reopening. On June 24, Texas broke its record of new COVID-19 cases in a day. Critics described Abbott's pause as a half-measure and argued that he should reverse the reopening in full to limit the virus's spread. According to The New York Times, Abbott's response to the pandemic has been contradictory, as he has said that Texans should stay at home while also saying that Texas is open for business. He also said that Texans should wear face masks but refused to issue a statewide mandate. Abbott's response to the pandemic has been criticized on both sides of the political spectrum. In July 2020, he directed counties with more than 20 COVID-19 cases to wear masks in public places; he had previously prohibited local governments from implementing required face masks. In December 2020, Abbott directed Texas restaurants to ignore local curfews that had been imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Localities had implemented restrictions on indoor dining and drinking late at night on