We’ve Come Too Far on LGBTQ Rights to Go Back Now Under the Trump Administration
In recent years, we’ve made tremendous strides towards LGBTQ equality in America. We’ve come so far, so fast, that it can be easy to forget what life was like just a few short years ago.
A decade ago, the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” barred same-sex couples from receiving equal treatment under federal law.
A decade ago, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans could not serve openly in our military.
A decade ago, marriage equality existed in just one state — Massachusetts.
A decade ago, vicious, violent acts motivated by prejudice against LGBTQ Americans were not legally recognized by the United States government as hate crimes.
Though we still have more progress to make, thanks to the hard work of activists, lawyers, and lawmakers across the country, LGBTQ Americans today enjoy fundamental rights in all these areas of law.
We’ve come too far to turn back now. That’s why our only choice in response to the Trump Administration’s threats to LGBTQ equality is to fight — and fight back hard.
When we fight, we win. Earlier this year, a of an executive order showed that the Trump Administration was considering issuing a sweeping license to discriminate across America — allowing business owners, social service agencies, and more to deny equal treatment to LGBTQ people, women, and religious minorities with taxpayer dollars.
This would have been a huge blow to the progress we've made, slamming the door of discrimination in the face of LGBTQ Americans in many different facets of life. It could have allowed businesses with federal contracts to discriminate against LGBTQ employees. It could have allowed shelters funded with taxpayer dollars to refuse to provide services to LGBTQ Americans fleeing domestic violence. It could have allowed adoption agencies to refuse to place children with a same-sex couple or transgender parent. It could have even allowed essential services to be denied to children based on their LGBTQ status.
But we fought back. The order by President Trump on Thursday is still a dangerous first step in using religion as a license to discriminate, but it is significantly changed from the prior leaked draft. We must remain vigilant because we know this administration is full of individuals who are determined to allow discrimination against LGBTQ people and women, and we know worse is still to come.
The best defense is a good offense. That’s why we can’t just be fighting back against these damaging executive orders, we also need to be looking forward and fighting to complete the still-unfinished business of full LGBTQ equality in America.
Most Americans know that federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, and other protected categories. But what most Americans don’t know is that sexual orientation and gender identity are not explicitly covered by the same federal nondiscrimination laws.
Our only choice in response to the Trump Administration’s threats to LGBTQ equality is to fight — and fight back hard.
The Equality Act, which I’ve authored with Congressman David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and in Congress this week with nearly 250 cosponsors, would change all this. It would explicitly and permanently ensure full protections for the LGBTQ community under federal civil rights law. These protections — which are already explicitly spelled out in federal law for other groups of Americans — range from employment, housing, and public accommodations to education, financial services, jury selection.
Passing the Equality Act would not only enshrine these important protections in federal law — it would also send a powerful message about LGBTQ equality in America. It would tell all Americans that we stand with our LGBTQ friends and neighbors and that we won’t ever tolerate or condone discrimination against them. And it will make it much harder for any future administration to threaten these most fundamental rights and freedoms.
In 2017, it’s time for full equality for LGBTQ Americans under federal law. It’s time to bring the Equality Act forward for a debate on the floor of the House and the floor of the Senate.
As the late Sen. Ted Kennedy said, “The promise of America will never be fulfilled as long as justice is denied to even one among us.” Though we’ve come a long way, justice is still being denied to LGBTQ Americans.
Let’s pass the Equality Act and move one major step closer to fulfilling the promise of America for all.
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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.