North Carolinians will go to the polls tomorrow to vote on Amendment One, a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban civil unions and domestic partnerships by making marriage between a man and a woman the only “domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized” in the state.
Placed on the ballot by the Republican-controlled state legislature in September without much notice or any public testimony, Amendment One is one of the most extreme anti-LGBT measures ever proposed on a statewide ballot. While supporters claim the amendment would simply codify North Carolina’s existing ban on same-sex marriage, the truth is the amendment goes beyond that by risking harm to all unmarried couples -- gay and straight -- across the state. According to a by University of North Carolina law professors, Amendment One could take away legal protections from more than 200,000 families by eliminating domestic partner insurance benefits offered by several state municipalities, jeopardizing health care and child custody for unmarried couples and their children, and -- depending on how state courts interpret the untested phrase “domestic legal union” -- even invalidate domestic violence protections for unmarried women or prevent the state from giving committed couples the ability to make medical and financial decisions for one another.
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While many North Carolinians still remain confused about the amendment’s potential harms, support for the measure has gradually declined as that voters are less likely to support Amendment One when they understand its full impact. A majority of North Carolinians support civil unions for same-sex couples, which Amendment One would ban.
Perhaps the most encouraging development in the anti-amendment campaign has been the broad and bipartisan chorus of voices that have publicly opposed the discriminatory and mean-spirited measure. In addition to high-profile Democrats including , , , and , many prominent local conservatives, such as , , and have also come out against Amendment One because, in the words of , president of the conservative John Locke Foundation, amending North Carolina’s constitution to take away rights rather than preserve them is “unwise and unfair.”
Even legislative sponsors of the amendment have voiced concerns. (R), who helped shepherd Amendment One’s passage through the legislature, said he has philosophical reservations about the measure because “we’re the party of limited government,” and predicted that if Amendment One does pass, it will be repealed within 20 years because of the rising “generational” support for LGBT rights in North Carolina and nationally. In reaction to public outcry from constituents, another amendment sponsor, (D) changed his position entirely, saying, “I will definitely vote against it because I think it goes too far.”
The state’s , business executives from and , , advocates for children and domestic violence victims, , and have also forcefully spoken out against the amendment.
As a founding member of the anti-amendment , the has been at the forefront of the campaign, hiring a full-time organizer, producing campaign literature, publishing , speaking out in and community meetings across the state, and even partnering with local LGBT rights organization to develop the , a website to share stories of loving and committed North Carolina families with gay and lesbian members, such as the above video featuring Lennie and Pearl of High Point, North Carolina, who have been together for 45 years.
Win or lose tomorrow, advocates for LGBT equality in the Tar Heel state are already confident that the large and still-growing coalition of groups and individuals who came together against Amendment One have created an unprecedented infrastructure with which we can wage future battles to defend and expand civil liberties not just for LGBT North Carolinians, but all people in our state.
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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.