Pronoun usage is an issue that has only come to the forefront within the last decade in the United States, but it is already proving to be a controversial subject. There are many debates wrapped up in this issue, including those surrounding free speech, religious expression, and more. Although atheist and agnostic people have voiced Read More

Transgender women and girls in South Dakota will be prohibited from competing on sports teams with cisgender girls and women at qualifying colleges and schools. This prohibition comes after the state’s governor signed a law addressing women in sports. South Dakota’s Governor Kristi Noem’s decision to sign the regulation, which promptly made its way to Read More

The Governor of Idaho recently signed not one but two anti-trans bills into law during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. One of the bills seeks to prohibit gender changes on birth certificates, while the other seeks to halt transgender student athletes from playing sports. The Anti-Trans Bills at Hand While most states in the 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

In a case that is likely to have a significant impact on LGBT rights, the Missouri Supreme Court recently ruled that a discrimination lawsuit initiated by a transgender student in Kansas City is allowed to proceed. Legal action was first brought against the Blue Springs School District in October 2015 after administrators at the school Read More

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 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

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