Tennessee recently became the first state in the southern part of the country with an affirmation of transgender protection with regards to hate crime law. The term “transgender” includes individuals who have a gender identity or expression that is different from the gender the person was assigned at birth. How Tennessee Previously Handled Transgender Protection Read More

In February 2018, a jury in Iowa City ruled that an Iowa prison warden had discriminated against a transgender worker by denying the worker the ability to use any of the men’s restrooms or men’s locker rooms at the prison. Jurors in the case also found that the state executive branch had discriminated against the Read More

At the end of January, 2019, the North Dakota senate defeated legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The senator, who was the primary sponsor of the bill, also known as Senate Bill 2303, has said that the measure was created to decrease the rate at which discrimination against LGBTQ individuals occurs in Read More

At the end of January 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States allowed President Trump’s transgender military ban to go into effect, which many LGBT advocates have hailed as a cruel body of regulations. In a 5-to-4 order, the Supreme Court declined to take a stance on the legality of the prohibition, but allowed Read More

In less than a month, courts in Arizona will hear arguments connected to a 2016 lawsuit that challenge a section of Phoenix’s nondiscrimination ordinance that applies to gender identity and sexual orientation. While it remains uncertain how this case will be resolved, it will have a substantial impact on LGBT laws in Arizona and might Read More

A federal appeals court in Washington recently sided with the Trump administration in ruling that restrictions on transgender troops in the military is permitted to stand. Lower court judges had previously blocked Trump’s prohibition from taking effect while the case was appealed. Current Transgender Military Laws In 2017, president Trump announced extensive prohibitions against transgender Read More

The Virginia Supreme Court recently ruled that a transgender inmate at the Federal Correctional Complex in Petersburg may be entitled to change her name to reflect her identity. In making its decision, the court held that the Petersburg Circuit Court had erred in denying the inmate’s application for a name change without considering the merits. Read More

A federal judge in Idaho recently held that the state must provide gender reassignment surgery to a transgender inmate who has been living as a woman for some time but who is currently housed in a men’s prison. As a result of the decision, the inmate will become the first in Idaho to receive gender Read More

  Earlier this year, Montevallo, Alabama passed an ordinance protecting individuals from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in relationship to housing, employment discrimination, and public accommodations. This is an historic event because Montevallo is only the second city in Alabama to pass an ordinance of this kind. Alabama is one Read More

A man in Tucson recently announced legal action against the Social Security Administration for failure to pay spousal survivor benefits after the death of his same sex partner. The man claimed that he would have married his deceased partner in the early 1970s if it had been legal to do so. Instead, the two men Read More