The country’s treatment of LGBTQ individuals has changed substantially over the last decade. Among other developments, the United States Supreme Court in 2015 ruled that same-sex marriage must be recognized nationwide. Despite such advancements, four Colorado lawmakers recently introduced a bill to prohibit same-sex marriage in the state. The anti-LGBTQ law also would have prohibited Read More

The Virginia Values Act was recently passed by both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly, and democratic Governor Ralph Northam has said he will sign it into law. The bill will update Virginia’s nondiscrimination laws and provide additional protection for LGBTQ individuals in the areas of employment, housing, and public accommodations. Once signed, Virginia will Read More

A current rumor persists that the Ohio legislature is considering a bill that will allow students to give wrong answers due to their religious beliefs. In reality, on November 13, 2019, the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 164, the “Ohio Student Religious Liberties Act of 2019,” which prompted numerous headlines that described the Read More

Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel recently filed an emergency motion in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan to stay the preliminary injunction permitting adoption agencies to refuse adoptions to same-sex couples while the state pursues an appeal. This action comes after a federal judge previously halted Michigan’s same-sex adoptions rules Read More

A federal appeals court in Minnesota recently revived a lawsuit initiated by a Minnesota couple that challenges a Minnesota state law requiring equal protection of the law for LGBT people in regards to services rendered. This law meant the couple might have to film same-sex weddings since they own a video production company. As a Read More

In the case of Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, the Supreme Court is poised to hear a case that will address the question of whether states can be forced to underwrite religious education with taxpayer funding. Although courts have previously allowed the government to adopt school-voucher programs that provide indirect government funding to religious Read More

Oral arguments in the case of In Re Gestational Agreement occurred before the Utah Supreme Court in 2017. While this was two years ago, the Utah Supreme Court only recently issued an opinion in this case. Even though the resulting opinion is 75 pages, the decision has the potential to greatly impact the lives of Read More

Many public schools in South Dakota noticed something on their first day back to school: the country’s motto “In God We Trust” has been placed on the walls either as a result of paint or stencils. This is because a new state law recently took effect which requires this message to be displayed in areas Read More

LGBT rights in the United States might have progressed a great deal in recent years, but they still have a long way to go in regards to certain areas of law. Recently, legislators in New York passed a prohibition on “gay and trans panic” defenses in criminal cases in an attempt to end discriminatory legal Read More

Following a recent agreement between Michigan’s Attorney General and the American Civil Liberties Union, adoption agencies in the state of Michigan that receive state funding are no longer able to deny adoptions to LGBT couples on the basis that doing so violates the agency’s religious beliefs. The decision is the result of a legal action Read More