While Mississippi is one of 30 states that do not have LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination laws, several changes have recently occurred in the state regarding its approach to LGBTQ laws. Most noticeably, local communities in the state, including most recently Clarksdale, have passed LGBTQ-inclusive discrimination ordinances. Efforts by the Human Rights Campaign The creation of local LGBTQ Read More

Recently, a federal judge in Michigan ruled that a lawsuit challenging the power of religious affiliated adoption agencies can proceed. The ACLU is attempting to bar state-contracted child placement agencies from discriminating against same-sex couples. While it remains uncertain how this case will be resolved, it has the potential to significantly affect Michigan’s laws, which Read More

Recently in Indiana, a Catholic high school teacher was placed on administrative leave after it was determined that she had had a same-sex marriage. The school responded that workers are expected to support the Catholic Church’s doctrines including that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Later, the teacher communicated through Facebook that Read More

Michigan’s Lake City community is responding after the local high school removed a video depicting a “family circle” from social media. This “family circle” occurred at a football field where coaches, players, and fans held hands to pray for the coach’s daughter, who is in the hospital. Despite the small size of the community, the Read More

A directive was recently issued by the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs that allows federal contractors to raise religious freedom as a defense when they are charged with job discrimination. The Federal Contract Compliance Program, which is the government agency tasked with making sure that businesses that contract with the federal Read More

Schools in New Jersey are about to become subject to a variety of protection laws designed to protect the rights of transgender students after the New Jersey Department of Education sent guidelines to schools explaining how to best follow a 2017 law that reinforces protections for its students. The state’s Department of Education is currently Read More

With at least four cases concerning LGBTQ rights headed to the Supreme Court, the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court will likely have a substantial influence on how these cases are decided. This article will explain some of the important details involved with these four cases, which touch on fundamental Read More

A Michigan appeals court recently issued a decision involving LGBTQ rights and Planet Fitness, and sent the case back to trial court. The case involves a woman who initiated legal action against Planet Fitness after the company revoked the woman’s membership because the woman issued a complaint that she saw a transgender woman in the Read More

Three families in Maine recently initiated legal action in the United States District Court in Bangor against the commissioner of the Maine Department of Education over a law that prohibits tuition reimbursements for religious schools. For several decades, this law has stated that secondary schools are able to pay tuition for students who attend public Read More

After a Hawaii appeals court issued a decision that a bed and breakfast discriminated in denying a room to a same-sex couple, the Hawaii Supreme Court rejected an appeal of the lower court’s ruling. While this case stands in contrast to a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding discrimination, it represents the decision Read More