LGBTQIA+2S Movements & the Law

President Joe Biden signed an executive order overturning the previous administration's ban on the service of transgender individuals in the military.

As homelessness among transgender people increases, the Trump administration is attempting to cruelly and illegally restrict their access to critically needed housing services.

Trump has reversed Obama-era protections that prohibit discrimination in health care based on gender identity. Critics warn the rule could harm a vulnerable group — LGBTQ people — during a pandemic.

The American Bar Association's Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), as one of the four ABA Goal III Entities, leads the Association's commitment to diversity, inclusion and full and equal participation by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in the Association, legal profession, and society.

As one of his first actions in office, President Joe Biden has issued an executive order ensuring that last year’s US Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County is applied immediately and efficiently by all federal agencies that enforce any laws that prohibit sex discrimination. In Bostock, the Court ruled that employees are protected against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Five years ago today in Orlando in the middle of Pride Month, our nation suffered the deadliest attack affecting the LGBTQ+ community in American history, and at the time, the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman. Within minutes, the Pulse nightclub that had long been a place of acceptance and joy turned into a…

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES This memorandum reaffirms and supplements the principles established in the Presidential Memorandum of December 6, 2011 (International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons).  That memorandum, for the first time, directed executive departments and agencies (agencies) engaged abroad to ensure…

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1.  Policy.  Every person should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear, no matter who they are or whom they love.  Children should…

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:    Section 1.  Policy.  It is the policy of my Administration that all students should be guaranteed an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex, including…

Trump’s record of action against transgender people Since the day President Trump took office, his administration has waged a nonstop onslaught against the rights of LGBTQ people. In order to keep the administration accountable for its policies and help transgender people keep track of actions taken against us, here are the major changes implemented or attempted by the Trump administration:

Since the moment Donald Trump and Mike Pence walked into the White House, they have attacked the progress we have made toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community and undermined…

HRC lists Trump's persistent attacks against the LGBTQ community after the RNC claims he's taken "unprecedented steps" in support of the community.

Minnesota's Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order Wednesday directing state agencies to take action to protect and support access to gender-affirming health care across the state.

Out and About: The LGBT Experience In the Legal Profession is intended to address the experiences of LGBT attorneys, academics, and jurists in the legal profession. Through their own words, our authors help educate and promote justice in and through the legal profession for the LGBT community in all its diversity. This book also celebrates LGBT members of the bar by recognizing this diverse group, their contributions, and their struggles. Being an individual, doing your own thing no matter what everyone else is doing, is the heart of the essays that comprise this book. The writers share their experience of at once blending in and yet feeling different, vulnerable, and exposed. They speak of the ever-present potential to be treated differently simply because of who they are, giving these essays deeper meaning. Some of these authors endured secret pain, suffering in private, hiding personal lives from colleagues. Others barely soldiered through, endeavoring just to make the lives of their clients better. And some openly achieved great success, personally, professionally, or both. Each and every one merits attention. Each chapter of this book informs and inspires readers to broaden horizons, opening minds to the vast diversity of LGBT individuals. The book aims to improve the legal profession and the justice system itself by demonstrating the vast potential within all of us. There always have been people who "dance to the beat of a different drummer." The contributors to this collection of essays hope you dance to whatever music suits you! Book jacket.

This book brings together international experts to discuss questions and challenges relating to the legal articulation of the emerging right to gender self-determination and its consequences for law and society, such as the future of sex/gender registration and the protection of trans persons against discrimination.;Over the last decade, trans rights and gender variation as legal and a human rights issues have been high on the international and national agendas. Improved registration of and attention for gender variation and gender incongruence is accompanied by attention for the often far-reaching requirements that trans persons have to comply with in order to obtain legal recognition of their actual gender identity. A small but rapidly growing number of (mostly European and South American) States have recently reformed their legal frameworks of gender recognition by allowing trans persons to change their official sex registration on the basis of gender self-determination. Against that background, this book brings together international experts to discuss questions and challenges relating to the legal articulation of the emerging right to gender self-determination and its consequences for law and society, such as the future of sex/gender registration and the protection of trans persons against discrimination. Given the importance of State practice for the development of the right to gender self-determination and its implementation in law, particular attention is given to the national contexts of Belgium, Germany and Norway. These three countries may be perceived as world leaders in protecting trans rights, and therefore noteworthy 'laboratories' for future State practice.

Throughout U.S. history, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people have been pathologized, victimized, and criminalized. Reports of lynching, burning, or murdering of LGBTQ people has been documented for centuries Prior to the 1970s, LGBTQ people were deemed as having psychological disorders and subsequently subject to electroshock therapy and other ineffective and cruel treatments. LGBTQ people have historically been arrested or imprisoned for crimes like sodomy, cross-dressing, and gathering in public spaces. And while there have been many strides to advocate for LGBTQ rights in contemporary times, there are still many ways that the criminal justice system works against LGBTQ and their lives, liberties, and freedoms. Queering Law and Order: LGBTQ Communities and Fight for Justice examines the state of LGBTQ people within the criminal justice system. Intertwining legal cases, academic research, and popular media, the author reviews a wide range of issues - ranging from historical heterosexist and transphobic legislation to police brutality to the prison industrial complex to family law. Grounded in Queer Theory and intersectional lenses, each chapter provides recommendations for queering and disrupting the justice system. The book serves as both an academic resource and a call to action for readers who are interested in advocating for LGBTQ rights.

"This book braves a juxtaposition that might at first raise some eyebrows. Sorting Sexualities examines the legal management of sex offenders in sexually violent predator (SVP) trials alongside that of LGBTQ people seeking asylum from persecution in their home countries. Though these legal settings are diametrically opposed-one a punitive assessment, the other a protective one-they present a similar and telling conundrum: how do we know someone's sexuality? In both cases, state institutions are tasked with determining subjects' "true" sexualities, measuring the degree and type of "underlying deviance," and sorting the queer from the fraudulent. Stefan Vogler examines how and why the measurement and classification techniques that have emerged as a guide have come to diverge so dramatically. By delving into the histories behind these classification practices and analyzing their impact, Vogler shows how the science of sexuality is far more central to state power than we realize. Through legal analysis, interviews, and multi-sited ethnography, he examines how the state enrolls non-state experts-typically anthropologists, sociologists, and lawyers in asylum pleas, and psychiatrists and forensic psychologists in SVP trials-to help craft classificatory schemas that render sexual "others" legible to and thus manageable by the state. These classifications have led to the extension of rights for LGBTQ people, on the one hand, and the escalation of punishment for sex criminals, on the other"--

Transgender Persons and the Law, 2nd Edition further solidifies the ABA s position as the forerunner and champion of combatting transgender discrimination and safeguarding the legal rights of all transgender individuals. This new edition is an excellent resource for lawyers as well as lay-activists engaged in transgender human and civil rights albeit in the courts or in legislative lobbying.The following areas of the law are thoroughly explained in the book: . What is transgendered'. Identification documents. Public facilities. Housing concerns. Military and veterans issues. Family law. School matters. Health care. Personal safety concerns. Keeping and securing employment. Immigration problems. Criminal imprisonment disputes Transgender Persons and the Law, 2nd Edition includes the latest regulations and policy statements (including the looming Executive Order by President Obama on LGBT discrimination by federal contractors) regarding transgenderism in addition to new cases that have been brought before the courts since the publication of the first edition of this book in summer 2013. As a bonus, the book includes a link to an online database that features a complete set of legal forms for all fifty states and the District of Columbia for name changes and for those jurisdictions that allow it, changes to birth certificates."

Rewriting the Supreme Court's landmark gay rights decision. Jack Balkin and an all-star cast of legal scholars, sitting as a hypothetical Supreme Court, rewrite the famous 2015 opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, which guaranteed same-sex couples the right to marry. In eleven incisive opinions, the authors offer the best constitutional arguments for and against the right to same-sex marriage, and debate what Obergefell should mean for the future. In addition to serving as Chief Justice of this imaginary court, Balkin provides a critical introduction to the case. He recounts the story of the gay rights litigation that led to Obergefell, and he explains how courts respond to political mobilizations for new rights claims. The social movement for gay rights and marriage equality is a powerful example of how-through legal imagination and political struggle-arguments once dismissed as "off-the-wall" can later become established in American constitutional law.

In Normal Life Dean Spade presents revelatory critiques of the legal equality framework for social change and points to examples of transformative grassroots trans activism that are raising demands that go beyond traditional civil rights reforms. Spade explodes the assumptions about what legal rights can do for marginalized populations and describes transformative resistance processes and formations that address the root causes of harm and violence. Setting forth a politic that goes beyond the quest for mere legal inclusion, Normal Life is an urgent call for justice and trans liberation, and the radical transformations it will require."--Page 4 of cover.

The decision to have a child is seldom a simple one, often fraught with complexities regarding emotional readiness, finances, marital status, and compatibility with life and career goals. Rarely, though, do individuals consider the role of the law in facilitating or inhibiting their ability to have a child or to parent. For LGBT individuals, however, parenting is saturated with legality - including the initial decision of whether to have a child, how to have a child, whether one's relationship with their child will be recognized, and everyday acts of parenting like completing forms or picking up children from school. Through in-depth interviews with 137 LGBT parents, Amanda K. Baumle and D'Lane R. Compton examine the role of the law in the lives of LGBT parents and how individuals use the law when making decisions about family formation or parenting. Baumle and Compton explore the ways in which LGBT parents participate in the process of constructing legality through accepting, modifying, or rejecting legal meanings about their families. Few groups encounter as much variation in access to everyday legal rights pertaining to the family as do LGBT parents. This complexity and variation in legal environments provides a rather unique opportunity to examine the manner in which legal context affects the ways in which individuals come to understand the meaning and utility of the law for their lives. The authors conclude that legality is constructed through a complex interplay of legal context, social networks, individual characteristics, and familial desires. Ultimately, the stories of LGBT parents in this book reflect a rich and varied relationship between the law, the state, and the private family goals of individuals.

Written about lawyers, but relevant to people in various professions, this book shows how individuals can act according to their personal qualities and attributes, rather than according to expectations based on gender. It prescribes several models to help firms and individuals achieve a workplace free of gender bias for both men and women.

When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, its primary target was the outright exclusion of women from particular jobs. Over time, the Act's scope of protection has expanded to prevent not only discrimination based on sex but also discrimination based on expression of gender identity. Kimberly Yuracko uses specific court decisions to identify the varied principles that underlie this expansion. Filling a significant gap in law literature, this timely book clarifies an issue of increasing concern to scholars interested in gender issues and the law.

Should religious people who conscientiously object to facilitating same-sex weddings, and who therefore decline to provide cakes, photography, or other services, be exempted from antidiscrimination laws? This issue has taken on an importance far beyond the tiny number who have made such claims. Gay rights advocates fear that exempting even a few religious dissenters would unleash a devastating wave of discrimination. Conservative Christians fear that the law will treat them like racists and drive them to the margins of American society. Both sides are mistaken. This is not a matter of abstract principle, and none of the constitutional claims work. This is an appropriate occasion for legislative negotiation. This book is a systematic accounting of the interests that must be balanced in any decent compromise, in terms that both sides can recognise and appreciate.

An in-depth examination of the relationship between gay rights, public opinion, and legislation since the late 1800s. In this comprehensive overview of how the American legal system has approached issues pertaining to sexual orientation and how the law has advanced_or hindered_civil rights, author Lee Walzer reveals that while the United States has the world's most developed lesbian and gay community, it lags other countries on equality for sexual minorities. Gay Rights on Trial focuses on four significant cases that have shaped the development of gay rights, including detailed discussion of majority and dissenting decisions and analysis of their legacy and impact. Also included are a chronology; a section of key people, laws, and concepts; a table of cases; key legal documents such as the Defense of Marriage Act and the Vermont Civil Union Act; and an annotated bibliography. Introductory essay covers issues from the changing notions of morality and the law to the various sides in gay rights disputes Contains edited excerpts of key legal documents such as Bowers v. Hardwick (1986), in which the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of state laws prohibiting homosexual conduct

"The legacy of a long-standing cultural war against LGBT people, as well as rampant discrimination, is reflected in many areas. As LGBT policies evolve and take shape, and new voices of the movement emerge, these issues can be shown to pervade a number of policy areas including mental and physical healthcare, race, poverty and homelessness, religion, immigration, senior issues, the role of family in the LGBT community, bisexuality and transgender issues, the connection between economics and homicides/hate crimes, education, business, and work force diversity. A collection of fascinating contemporary perspectives, this book explores the breadth and depth of the many 'divides' -- socioeconomic, race, age, healthcare, immigration, education, and income -- including those that intersect within the LGBT community. For any reader who really wants to know about the current future development of the LGBT community, this is an invaluable book"--

The landmark Supreme Court decision in June 2015 legalizing the right to same-sex marriage marked a major victory in gay and lesbian rights in the United States. Once subject to a patchwork of laws granting legal status to same-sex couples in some states and not others, gay and lesbian Americans now enjoy full legal status for their marriages wherever they travel or reside in the country. For many, this means that gay and lesbian citizens are one step closer to full equality with the rest of America. However, author Stephen M. Engel contends that there remains much to be done in shaping American institutions to recognize gays and lesbians as full citizens. Tracing the relationship between gay and lesbian individuals and the government from the late 19th century through the early 21st, Engel shows that LGBT Americans are more accurately described as fragmented citizens who still do not have full legal protections against workplace, housing, family, and other kinds of discrimination. There remains a continuing struggle of the state to control their sexuality. Further, he argues that it was the state's ability to identify and control gay and lesbian citizens that allowed it to develop strong administrative capacities to manage all of its citizens in matters of immigration, labor relations, and even national security. The struggle for gay and lesbian rights, then, affected not only the lives of those seeking equality but also the very nature of American governance itself. Fragmented Citizens is a sweeping historical and political account of how our present-day policy debates around citizenship and equality came to be.--Adapted from dust jacket.