ACLU Launches National Trans Justice Campaign Featuring Diverse Trans Youth & Their Families Ahead of Landmark Supreme Court Case
The “Freedom to Be” campaign will launch with actress Annette Benning during star-studded ACLU-The Hollywood Reporter “Freedom to Be: The Future of Trans Visibility” panel discussion.
NEW YORK – As the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments in a landmark trans justice case (U.S. v. Skrmetti) this fall, the American Civil Liberties Union is launching a national “” campaign today featuring diverse trans youth and their families sharing personal and poignant stories. The campaign was developed to introduce a critical – yet largely absent – element from the national discourse surrounding the lives of trans people and their families: their joy.
The campaign will officially launch at 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET today during a star-studded ACLU-Hollywood Reporter panel, “Freedom to Be: The Future of Trans Visibility.” Moderated by Oscar-nominated actor and LGTBQ+ advocate Annette Bening, the conversation will include high-profile trans actors and advocates such as Emmy-nominated Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (Loot), Emmy-nominated Nava Mau (Baby Reindeer), Brian Michael Smith (9-1-1: Lonestar) and Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project.
“As we continue to fight in courts and statehouses in defense of our most fundamental freedoms, we also know transgender people will not find safety or justice in the courts alone,” said Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “Our national culture still encounters trans people as a question to be answered or a problem to be solved. What trans people know is that our experience is not defined by the people trying to erase us but by the promise we represent for a greater ideal of freedom and liberation. The people and stories at the heart of the Freedom To Be campaign represent that promise by building environments of love and joy in the face of ignorance and fear. That joy and that freedom is precisely what’s at stake in these fights and precisely why it’s at the heart of this campaign.”
About The Freedom to Be Campaign
Freedom To Be is a year-long, multimedia, multi-platform campaign, with a focus on long- and short-form video content, leading with the stories of trans people from Arizona, New Jersey, New York, and Texas, building solidarity within their communities and finding joy and happiness among their families and friends. A trailer for the campaign .
Additional highlights of the Freedom to Be campaign will include:
- A portrait series of trans people;
- Digital and physical paid media placements;
- Art installations created by and for trans people that will literally and figuratively blanket the National Mall in 2025; and
“When I hear Freedom to Be, I think about the importance for trans kids like my son Daniel to be free and supported in their homes,” said Lizette Trujillo, Arizona. “I think about the love and support Jose and I work every day to build for Daniel, support that is being stripped away from families just like ours across the country. I want my family’s story to serve as a calling to build a freer, safer world for our trans family members and trans people in our communities.”
Interviews with some participants in Freedom To Be – as well as ACLU experts and spokespeople – can be made available upon request.
Background on the U.S. v. Skrmetti Case Before the U.S. Supreme Court
During its October 2024 term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the landmark U.S. v Skrmetti case. During the oral arguments, the court will hear from trans youth, their families, and a medical provider from Tennessee who will urge the Court to block a state law banning hormone therapies for trans youth because it violates the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. Oral arguments have yet to be scheduled but are expected this winter with a ruling from the court expected in spring or summer of 2025. One of the primary goals of Freedom To Be is to ensure the court and communities across the nation have a full, fact-based understanding of what trans freedoms and futures look like ahead of the court’s ruling.
To learn more, visit
Learn More About the Issues in This Press Release
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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.