Social Movements & the Law

Rights groups argue the attorney general’s opinions, which have no legal bearing, will spread fear and misinformation

State lawmakers will unveil updated legislation to try to stop discrimination against members of the LGBTQ+ community.

A Virginia school board whose heated meeting in June gained national attention has voted to expand the rights of its transgender and gender-expansive students.

LGBTQ advocates say the "sweeping" ruling could be used to attack “bathroom bills” and trans sports bans across the country.

Idaho passed a law banning trans girls from competing on women's sports teams last year, and more than 20 states have considered such proposals this year.

In Tarrant County College District v. Sims, No. 05-20-00351 (March 10, 2021), the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas held that "claim[s] of discrimination based on sexual orientation...

In the short term, supporters of the Equality Act have momentum. However, the Supreme Court justices’ comments in Monday’s landmark gay rights decision left some Fairness for All advocates feeling hopeful.

State adopts new rule that allows people to put an ‘X’ on state IDs and driver’s licenses instead of the traditional ‘M’ for male or ‘F’ for female

A case in which the Court found that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment.

A case in which the Court held that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission's conduct in evaluating a cake shop owner's reasons for declining to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple violated the Free Exercise Clause.

A case in which the Court found that a Texas statute banning consenting homosexual adults from engaging in sexual acts violated the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection.

A case in which the Court held that there was no constitutional protection for sodomy, and that states could outlaw its practice.

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Defense of Marriage Act.

The House debates and approves (224-206) the Equality Act, which would ban discrimination against LGBTQ Americans.

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy.

Key bill, which amends 1964 Civil Rights Act, passes 224-216 but faces uncertain future in evenly divided Senate

"These are the voices that can pull us from the brink and toward a more united and fair society."

Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, called the Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act, or SAFE Act, "a vast government overreach." The legislature could override the veto with a simple majority.

Summary of H.R.2775 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Protecting LGBTQ Youth Act

Summary of H.R.5 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Equality Act

A case in which the Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license and recognize same-sex marriage.

Basic freedoms are missing in 29 states for LGBTQ+ Americans. Help Pass The Equality Act.

HRC provides you with information on how your elected officials have voted on issues of LGBTQ equality.

At issue in the case is the rights of a city to enforce its anti-discrimination policies in contracting against the rights of religious groups.

Marlo Mack and her young transgender daughter share their story in a short cartoon. Learn more on Marlo's blog, www.gendermom.com or check out her "How to Be a Girl" podcast.

Once again, LGBTQ rights are up for judgment by the U.S. Supreme Court. The SCOTUS will be issuing rulings on anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people in employment. The cases involved are Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga., Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Join us for a timely discussion with some real legal eagles. Meet our expert panel: Felicia Medina is a queer, latina attorney and founding partner of Medina Orthwein LLP. Her practice focuses on individual and class action employment discrimination and harassment cases relating to race, gender, gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation, as well as wage and hour collective actions. She has been honored as a 2018 San Francisco Business Times OUTstanding Voices, 2017 Daily Journal Leading Labor and Employment Attorneys in California; a 2016 National LGBT Bar Association – Best LGBT Lawyer Under 40; a 2015 National Diversity Council Most Powerful and Influential Woman; and a Law360 2014 Minority Power Broker. Felicia received her law degree from Yale Law School in 2006. Kevin Love Hubbard is a partner at Medina Orthwein LLP. He has dedicated his career to civil rights and brings extensive experience in civil rights litigation to his firm, including individual and class employment discrimination and wage and hour claims, as well as constitutional claims involving police and prison misconduct. Prior to joining Medina Orthwein, Kevin represented nationwide classes and collectives of women with claims of gender discrimination, as well as individuals with cutting-edge employment claims, including claims of LGBTQ+ discrimination. Kevin graduated from Yale Law School in 2012. Imani Rupert-Gordon is the executive director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. NCLR is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, legislation, policy, and public education. Previously, she served as the executive director for Affinity Community Services, a social justice organization that works with the entire LGBTQ community with a focus on Black women. She also served as the director of the Broadway Youth Center, a division of Howard Brown Health in Chicago, which has served more than 1,500 LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness and housing instability. In 2019, the Illinois Human Rights Commission presented her with its 2019 Activism Award. This year she was recognized by the Chicago Foundation for Women with a 2020 Impact Award. Rupert-Gordon received a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara Rev. Elena Rose Vera, a Filipina-Ashkenazi trans woman originally from rural Oregon, joined Trans Lifeline’s executive team in May 2018. A longtime organizer, educator and performing artist, she holds an M.Div. focused on social justice and community care work and was ordained as a minister by the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples, a historic civil-rights church in San Francisco. Rev. Vera is proud to bring her deep commitment to love, support and liberation for trans people everywhere to her work with Trans Lifeline. Speakers: Felicia Medina Attorney; Founding Partner, Medina Orthwein LLP Kevin Love Hubbard Partner, Medina Orthwein LLP Imani Rupert-Gordon Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights Rev. Elena Rose Vera M.Div., Executive Director, Trans Lifeline Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW/KPIX-TV and Online Radio—Host -www.commonwealthclub.org/covid19support  -Subscribe for more Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/commonwealthclub -Upcoming events: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events -Become a Member: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/membership -Donate Now: https://support.commonwealthclub.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=298 -Text DONATE to: 415-329-4231 -Watch & Listen https://www.commonwealthclub.org/watch-listen -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonwealthclub/ -Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cwclub/ -Twitter https://twitter.com/cwclub

The nation's highest court is hearing Obergefell v. Hodges, a case that examines if same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. Here's what you need to know about the case that could make gay marriage legal across the nation.

The definitive history of the marriage equality debate in the United States, praised by Library Journal "beautifully and accessibly written. . . . An essential work." As a legal scholar who first argued in the early 1990s for a right to gay marriage, William N. Eskridge Jr. has been on the front lines of the debate over same-sex marriage for decades. In this book, Eskridge and his coauthor, Christopher R. Riano, offer a panoramic and definitive history of America's marriage equality debate. The authors explore the deeply religious, rabidly political, frequently administrative, and pervasively constitutional features of the debate and consider all angles of its dramatic history. While giving a full account of the legal and political issues, the authors never lose sight of the personal stories of the people involved, or of the central place the right to marry holds in a person's ability to enjoy the dignity of full citizenship. This is not a triumphalist or one‑sided book but a thoughtful history of how the nation wrestled with an important question of moral and legal equality.

"Victory may sometimes look like a sudden revolution when, in truth, it rests on years of struggle. The June 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges is a sweeping victory for the freedom to marry, but it was one step in a long process. Love Unites Us is the history of activists' passion and persistence in the struggle for marriage rights for same-sex couples in the United States, told in the words of those who waged the battle. Launching the fight for the freedom to marry was neither an obvious nor an uncontested strategy. To many activists, achieving marriage equality seemed far-fetched, but the skeptics were proved wrong. Proactive arguments in favor of love, family, and commitment were more effective than arguments that focused on rights and the goal of equality at work. Telling the stories of people who loved and cared for one another, in sickness and in health, cut through the antigay noise and moved people-not without backlash and not overnight, but faster than most activists and observers had ever imagined. With compelling stories from leading attorneys and activists including Evan Wolfson, Mary L. Bonauto, Jon W. Davidson, and Paul M. Smith, Love Unites Us explains how gay and lesbian couples achieved the right to marry"--