"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." -- Nelson Mandela
On Thursday, the world mourned the death of former South African President and anti-apartheid freedom fighter Nelson Mandela. In death Mandela was beloved by all, but in life he had to fight for survival under a regime of globally supported racial apartheid and spent 27 years in prison as a political prisoner. For lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, people living with HIV/AIDS and those fighting for justice for our communities, Nelson Mandela’s leadership and lessons should continue to guide our work.
Formal Equality. When Nelson Mandela was elected President of post-apartheid South Africa in 1994, he stood in solidarity with his LGBT friends and fellow citizens. Under his leadership, the South African constitution included sexual orientation and gender among the enumerated classes protected from discrimination. This ultimately resulted in the national by gay and lesbian people and a by the South African high court extending marriage protections to same-sex couples. But Nelson Mandela’s legacy for the LGBT community goes far beyond the formal legal protections he marshaled.
Racial and Economic Justice. The LGBT movement is a movement for racial and economic justice, as well as a movement for formal equality. Nelson Mandela saw these connections and that “overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity [but] an act of justice.” For Mandela, the fight to end poverty and realize racial justice was fundamental. Our movements for equality and justice must follow his guidance. Today in the United States, many LGBT people, particularly LGBT people of color, are living in poverty, struggling with unemployment and facing pervasive discrimination. A recent by the Movement Advancement Project found that LGBT workers of color are at a significant risk of being unemployed and living in poverty. Another that as many as 45 percent of homeless youth are LGBT-identified. As we continue the long fight for justice for all LGBT people, and all people, it will be important, as Dennis Parker reminds us, “to remember this man who, like a modern David, faced the Goliath of discrimination and oppression and changed the world.”
Ending the AIDS Epidemic. Ultimately considered a transformative leader in the fight to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Mandela was initially for his lack of attention to HIV when he first took office. However, by 2000 when he offered the closing remarks at the 13th International AIDS Conference, Nelson Mandela was a unifying leader who called politicians, scientists and the global community to action. “In the face of the grave threat posed by HIV/AIDS, we have to rise above our differences and combine our efforts to save our people,” . “History will judge us harshly if we fail to do so now, and right now.” With the rise of communities of color, Mandela’s legacy is an especially important reminder of both the ease with which this struggle is abandoned and the necessity of continuing the fight to save our communities.
Prisoner Justice. Finally, a prisoner for 27 years, Mandela spoke of the importance of centering the work to change conditions of confinement and end mass incarceration. In his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela wrote “[i]t is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” There are many LGBT individuals living in prison, jails and other sites of confinement including in immigration detention and civil psychiatric detention. While in custody , gender non-conforming and individuals are frequent targets for sexual abuse and other violence. Our work must always include those members of our communities who are locked away. Mandela reminds us to keep that fight central to all our work.
In commemorating and remembering both Mandela’s work and the unthinkable violence that he endured, we have a responsibility to honor his call for a type of justice “that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” May he rest in peace and may we have the courage not to recreate the injustices he endured and the strength to realize his vision.
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
President Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender YouthPresident Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender Youth
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate today passed a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that would ban coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender youth whose parents are active-duty military personnel. The American Civil Liberties Union is opposing final passage of the defense bill over the inclusion of this health care ban and calling on President Joe Biden to veto the bill. Section 708 of the NDAA would prohibit insurance coverage for “medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria” such as hormone therapy and puberty-suppressant medications, which Speaker Mike Johnson says would “permanently ban transgender medical treatment for minors.” The same treatments would be covered by TRICARE for any medical purpose other than treating gender dysphoria, the clinical diagnosis for the psychological distress experienced by transgender people related to their gender identity. “By passing this bill, the House and Senate are forcing thousands of active-duty service members to choose between their careers in the military and the future of their transgender children,” said Mike Zamore, national director of policy & government affairs at the ACLU. “This unconscionable and unjustifiable attack on those families stands in direct contrast to President Joe Biden’s legacy of defending the civil rights of transgender Americans — including when few in his own party showed the courage to do so. President Biden should cement his legacy by vetoing this bill and sending it back to Congress to pass without Speaker Johnson’s last minute health care ban for servicemembers’ kids.” If signed by President Biden, this health care ban would be the first new anti-LGBTQ provision enacted by Congress and signed into law by the president since the enactment of the military’s since-repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for LGBTQ servicemembers and the since-repealed federal law barring recognition of same-sex marriages known as the Defense of Marriage Act. It is unknown how many transgender youth are currently enrolled in TRICARE or how many of those enrolled are currently receiving coverage for gender-affirming care. In one 2022 analysis, 2,500 minor patients sought care for gender dysphoria through TRICARE Prime insurance at military or civilian treatment facilities in 2017, and 900 received puberty suppressants or gender-affirming hormones. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a landmark case brought by the ACLU, the ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal, and Akin Gump on behalf of three families and a medical provider challenging a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming hormonal therapies for transgender youth on the grounds the ban violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Montana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's LicensesMontana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's Licenses
HELENA, Mont. – A Montana court has granted a preliminary injunction preventing the state of Montana from enforcing policies that bar transgender people from obtaining accurate sex designations on their birth certificates and driver’s licenses. After a prior restriction on amendments of birth certificates was struck down by the courts, in early 2024 the state of Montana enacted a new rule that categorically bars transgender Montanans from correcting the sex designation on their birth certificates. Around the same time, the Montana Department of Justice adopted a policy similarly restricting amendment of driver’s licenses. The plaintiffs challenged these policies in state district court, arguing that they violate various constitutional provisions, including the right to equal protection of the law. In a recent Montana Supreme Court decision, two justices concluded that discrimination on the basis of transgender status – as the state is engaging in here – is a form of sex discrimination that violates the Montana Constitution’s equal protection clause. The plaintiffs, two transgender women, are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Montana, and Nixon Peabody LLP. Plaintiff Jessica Kalarchik, a veteran who served in the United States Army for 31 years, said: “After finally being able to live my life openly as the woman I know myself to be, I am frustrated that my birth state, Montana, wants me to carry around a birth certificate that incorrectly lists my sex as male. I live my life openly as a woman, I am treated as a woman in my daily life, and there is no reason I should be forced to carry a birth certificate that incorrectly identifies me as male. Fortunately, the court agrees that this ridiculous policy should not be in effect.” “Once again the State of Montana chose to adopt a draconian policy that is clearly intended to marginalize transgender Montanans, only for that discriminatory action to be blocked by the courts,” said Akilah Deernose, executive director for the ACLU of Montana. “Here in Montana we treasure our right to privacy and to live our lives free from governmental intrusion. The State of Montana clearly has not learned any lessons from the past few years, where courts have repeatedly struck down unconstitutional laws targeting transgender Montanans.” “Forcing anyone to carry documents that contradict their identity unjustly violates their rights to privacy, equal treatment, and not being compelled to convey a government message about their sex that they disagree with,” said Malita Picasso, staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “Such a policy marks transgender people for further mistreatment and discrimination, essentially requiring them to carry papers that out them as transgender any time they need to provide identity documents. Fortunately, the court has refused to allow the state of Montana to subvert the freedom of transgender Montanans to control their own identity as this case goes forward.” In granting the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, the court held, “[i]f the challenged state actions discriminate against transgender individuals on the basis of their transgender status, they also necessarily discriminate the basis of sex.” The state has the option of appealing the district court’s ruling to the Montana Supreme Court, but the underlying case will proceed in district court. A trial has not yet been scheduled. -
FloridaDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Keohane v. DixonKeohane v. Dixon
On September 30, 2024, the Florida Department of Corrections rescinded its policy regarding treatment of gender dysphoria, which allowed for hormone therapy when deemed medically necessary, as well as access to clothing and grooming standards that accord with one’s gender identity. Under this new policy, grooming and clothing accommodations have been stripped away, and hormone therapy is not permitted unless an exception is deemed constitutionally required. The ACLU brought a class action challenging the policy. -
IdahoDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Robinson v. LabradorRobinson v. Labrador
Two incarcerated transgender women have sued the state of Idaho alleging that HB 688, a 2024 law barring state funding for gender-affirming medical care for transgender people, denies them access to the health care their doctors have prescribed for them and is a violation of their Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. They represent a class of all incarcerated folks within the state of Idaho who face the loss of hormone therapy due to HB 668.