The Missouri Supreme Court is positioned to hear two LGBT rights cases. One of these cases involves a transgender teen who was denied access to appropriate facilities at a school. The second involves a gay man who claims discrimination because he did not demonstrate stereotypical masculine qualities. Both of these cases arise from the issue Read More

An anti-LGBT group called Liberty Counsel recently initiated a legal action against the city of Tampa, Florida for banning conversion therapy. This legal action comes after the Tampa City Council unanimously passed Ordinance 2017-47 which prohibits any type of counseling procedure or process that has the goal of changing a person’s gender expression, gender identity, Read More

Mississippi’s HB 1523 is a religious exemption law that passed in 2016 as a response to the US Supreme Court’s 2015 decision to allow same-sex couples to marry nationwide.  It is a virulently anti-LGBTQ law that allows both government workers and private companies to refuse to offer their services to LGBTQ individuals on the basis Read More

In two letters from August, 41 House and Senate members urged the Michigan Civil Rights Commission to adopt an interpretive statement to expand a law’s application. Concurrently, the group Equality Michigan asked the commission to contemplate whether they should investigate sexual orientation and gender identity complaints under the definition of sex discrimination that is already Read More

Louisiana’s governor and attorney general are currently debating whether an executive order designed to protect LGBTQ rights in the state government violated constitutional issues. Louisiana’s Governor Edwards has requested an appeals court to reinstate a 2016 order by the governor banning discrimination in government and state contracts based on sexual orientation and gender identity. A Read More

There are a number of laws throughout the United States which currently endanger the lives of individuals who identify as LGBTQ. Sadly, an increasing number of states are in the process of developing additional laws that restrict the rights of LGBTQ individuals. The Washington Post reports that 348 bills since 2013 have been passed restricting Read More

The Texas Supreme Court recently declined to extend spousal benefits to same-sex couples. In a unanimous decision, the Texas Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s decision to extend health and life insurance benefits to same-sex spouses of city employees. The Facts of the Case In 2013, the mayor of Houston ordered the city to extend Read More

The First Amendment Defense Act is proposed legislation that has encountered several obstacles in the course of the Act’s attempt to become a bill. The First Amendment Defense Act prohibits the federal government from taking any type of action against an individual or corporation that discriminates against LGBTQ individuals. More specifically, the First Amendment Defense Read More

Several members of the House of Representatives are urging President Trump to institute an executive order that would greatly impact LGBTQ individuals. A draft of the executive order, which released earlier this year, allowed federal employees, contractors, and grantees a “reasonable accommodation” to make decisions while on the job. When interacting with the public or Read More

An effort to end the North Carolina HB2 law, referred to as the “bathroom bill,” recently failed. The proposed repeal would have ended a compromised law that targets LGBTQ individuals, but opposing sides in the debate failed to do anything. The debate concerning HB2 is particularly complicated and involves a variety of laws, parties with Read More