Trans and Non-Binary People Continue to Fight for Their Right to Exist in Public Spaces
Kasandra Reddington has been a proud Montanan ever since her family moved to the state when she was 10 years old. She is a graduate of Montana State University Billings with a degree in psychology and now resides in Helena, where she works as a tutor at a public college. She enjoys a lot of things about Montana, but especially the state parks.
Unfortunately, an anti-trans ballot initiative is threatening Kasandra’s ability to work and do the activities she loves, solely because she is transgender.
Kasandra is not alone. Around the country, opponents of LGBTQ equality are targeting transgender and non-binary people in all aspects of their lives. In recent weeks, we’ve seen attacks from the Trump administration impacting transgender people’s ability to , , , and . These attacks are happening in states, cities, and school districts as well.
Right now, in Montana, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, the ACLU and transgender people are fighting back.
After losing the marriage equality battle — both in the court of law and in the court of public opinion — anti-LGBTQ groups have escalated their attacks on transgender people. These attacks aren’t new, but they have reached a new level of intensity. Many of these efforts have targeted transgender people’s right to access public spaces, particularly restrooms and locker rooms in places such as schools, libraries, parks, and government buildings. By exploiting fear and misunderstanding about transgender people, anti-LGBTQ advocates are trying to spread a false narrative about safety and privacy that endangers the health and well-being of trans people and thwarts progress for the LGBTQ community as a whole.
In Montana, an anti-LGBTQ group drafted a dangerous ballot measure, , which seeks to bar transgender and non-binary people from using public spaces consistent with their gender identity. For Kasandra, the measure represents a serious threat to her personal safety and her livelihood. “[I-183] would attempt to force me into the men’s restroom, where I don’t belong,” she explains. “It puts me at risk for physical assault and loss of my job.” Kasandra decided to in our lawsuit challenging I-183 because she was inspired by transgender activists and public figures who came before her to help make things better for the next generation.
The impact of I-183 would be sweeping, preventing localities from passing or enforcing nondiscrimination ordinances and forcing trans people out of public places like schools, jobs, parks, courts, and libraries. “[I-183] doesn’t make it any more illegal to assault someone in a public restroom,” Kasandra explains. “All it does is assault the freedom of trans people. It is making the public less safe for people to enjoy.”
Montana is not the only place where the right of transgender and non-binary people to exist in public spaces is under threat. In Oregon and Pennsylvania, anti-LGBTQ organizations are targeting schools that have implemented policies to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination and harassment. These groups are trying to convince the courts and the public that the mere presence of transgender and non-binary people in public restrooms and locker rooms violates their privacy, despite the fact that these arguments have been rejected and time and time again.
In both Oregon and Pennsylvania, the ACLU is working alongside local LGBTQ organizations to counter these unfounded arguments in court. In Pennsylvania, the lower court already found that schools have an obligation to treat transgender students equally under the law, including when accessing common restrooms and locker rooms — an important precedent for transgender students around the country. Now, we’re fighting the same battle in Oregon and defending the victory in Pennsylvania.
No matter what form these attacks take, our response is the same. We will represent transgender and non-binary people facing discrimination and intervene when anti-LGBTQ groups target districts and localities for doing the right thing. We will also continue to confront myths about safety and privacy, as we did in Anchorage, with trans people leading the way.
Our opposition wants to legalize discrimination. We will keep working until transgender and non-binary people in all 50 states have the freedom to live their lives freely and equally.
Learn More About the Issues on This Page
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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.