LGBTQ Rights
Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Florida v. Raymond Rodrigues
The University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine filed a lawsuit on November 16, 2023, challenging the Chancellor of the State University System of Florida’s order to state universities to deactivate the student group. This order threatens the students’ constitutionally-protected right to free speech and association in violation of the First Amendment. The ACLU and its partners are seeking a preliminary injunction that would bar the Chancellor and the University of Florida from deactivating the UF SJP.
Status: Ongoing
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Maryland
Nov 2023
LGBTQ Rights
Religious Liberty
Tamer Mahmoud v. Monifa McKnight
On October 30, 2023, the ACLU and ACLU of Maryland filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit supporting the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in its efforts to ensure that its English curriculum is LGBTQ-inclusive.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2020
LGBTQ Rights
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee Stephens
Aimee Stephens had worked for nearly six years as a funeral director at R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes when she informed the funeral home’s owner that she is a transgender woman. She was fired, the EEOC sued on her behalf, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Aimee’s employer engaged in unlawful sex discrimination when it fired her because she’s transgender. We represented Aimee Stephens in front of the U.S. Supreme Court — and won.
U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2019
LGBTQ Rights
Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda
Don Zarda loved to skydive. He worked as a skydiving instructor at Altitude Express, a company on Long Island, N.Y. He was fired for being gay.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2018
LGBTQ Rights
Religious Liberty
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
Whether a business open to the public has a constitutional right to discriminate.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2015
LGBTQ Rights
Obergefell, et al. v. Hodges - Freedom to Marry in Ohio
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and Alphonse Gerhardstein of Gerhardstein & Branch have filed suit on behalf of Jim Obergefell and David Michener, two widowers, and Robert Grunn, a funeral director, in a challenge to the Ohio constitutional and statutory marriage recognition bans.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2015
LGBTQ Rights
Bourke v. Beshear & Love v. Beshear - Freedom to Marry in Kentucky
Bourke v. Beshear is a federal court challenge to Kentucky's constitutional ban on marriage for same-sex couples, filed by attorneys at Clay Daniel Walton & Adams and Fauver Law Office on July 26, 2013, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The plaintiffs are four same-sex couples seeking state recognition of their out-of-state marriages.
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All Cases
178 LGBTQ Rights Cases
Georgia
Oct 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Gaines v. NCAA
The National Women’s Law Center is intervening in defense of transgender athletes in a lawsuit brought against the National Collegiate Athletics Association attempting to force the organization to implement a nationwide and categorical ban on the participation of transgender college athletes. Founded in 1972, NWLC fights for gender justice working across the issues that are central to the lives of women and girls.
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Georgia
Oct 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Gaines v. NCAA
The National Women’s Law Center is intervening in defense of transgender athletes in a lawsuit brought against the National Collegiate Athletics Association attempting to force the organization to implement a nationwide and categorical ban on the participation of transgender college athletes. Founded in 1972, NWLC fights for gender justice working across the issues that are central to the lives of women and girls.
Montana
Oct 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Marquez v. State of Montana
Amelia Marquez is transgender woman and life-long Montanan. John Doe is a transgender man who was born in Montana, but currently lives out of state. Both wish to correct the sex marker on their birth certificates to reflect who they are. However, a law enacted in 2021, Montana Senate Bill 280, sought to prohibit transgender individuals born in Montana from correcting the sex marker listed on their birth certificate without obtaining a court order indicating that their “sex . . . has been changed by surgical procedure.” The ACLU, the ACLU of Montana, and Nixon Peabody LLP have sued, claiming that SB 280 violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the Montana State Constitution.
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Montana
Oct 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Marquez v. State of Montana
Amelia Marquez is transgender woman and life-long Montanan. John Doe is a transgender man who was born in Montana, but currently lives out of state. Both wish to correct the sex marker on their birth certificates to reflect who they are. However, a law enacted in 2021, Montana Senate Bill 280, sought to prohibit transgender individuals born in Montana from correcting the sex marker listed on their birth certificate without obtaining a court order indicating that their “sex . . . has been changed by surgical procedure.” The ACLU, the ACLU of Montana, and Nixon Peabody LLP have sued, claiming that SB 280 violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the Montana State Constitution.
Connecticut
Oct 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Soule et al v. CT Association of Schools et al
The ACLU has joined a lawsuit defending the interests of trans student athletes in Connecticut.
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Connecticut
Oct 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Soule et al v. CT Association of Schools et al
The ACLU has joined a lawsuit defending the interests of trans student athletes in Connecticut.
Oklahoma
Oct 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Poe v. Drummond
Families, transgender adolescents, and their medical providers are challenging a new law, signed by Governor Kevin Stitt in May 2023, that imposes criminal penalties on healthcare providers who provide age-appropriate medical care for transgender adolescents. Such restrictions are opposed by leading medical experts and organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. According to the Williams Institute of UCLA, there are an estimated 2,600 transgender youth ages 13-17 in Oklahoma.
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Oklahoma
Oct 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Poe v. Drummond
Families, transgender adolescents, and their medical providers are challenging a new law, signed by Governor Kevin Stitt in May 2023, that imposes criminal penalties on healthcare providers who provide age-appropriate medical care for transgender adolescents. Such restrictions are opposed by leading medical experts and organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. According to the Williams Institute of UCLA, there are an estimated 2,600 transgender youth ages 13-17 in Oklahoma.
Texas
Oct 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Doe v. Abbott
A family in Texas had a child welfare investigator arrive at their home due to a directive from Governor Greg Abbott stating that health care that is medically necessary for treating gender dysphoria should be considered a form of child abuse. This family — an employee of DFPS, her husband, and their transgender teen — sued Governor Abbott and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Dr. Megan Mooney, a licensed psychologist who works with transgender youth and their families, also joined the lawsuit.
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Texas
Oct 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Doe v. Abbott
A family in Texas had a child welfare investigator arrive at their home due to a directive from Governor Greg Abbott stating that health care that is medically necessary for treating gender dysphoria should be considered a form of child abuse. This family — an employee of DFPS, her husband, and their transgender teen — sued Governor Abbott and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Dr. Megan Mooney, a licensed psychologist who works with transgender youth and their families, also joined the lawsuit.