Equality for lgbtq
LGBTQ Rights
The ACLU has a long history of defending the LGBTQ community. We brought our first LGBTQ rights case in Founded in , the Jon L. Stryker and Slobodan Randjelović LGBTQ & HIV Project brings more LGBTQ rights cases and representation initiatives than any other national organization does and has been counsel in seven of the nine LGBTQ rights cases that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided. With our reach into the courts and legislatures of every state, there is no other organization that can match our record of making progress both in the courts of rule and in the court of public opinion.
The ACLU’s current priorities are to end discrimination, harassment and violence toward transgender people, to close gaps in our federal and declare civil rights laws, to prevent protections against discrimination from being undermined by a license to discriminate, and to protect LGBTQ people in and from the criminal legal system.
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For non-LGBTQ issues, please contact your local ACLU affiliate.
The ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Gender nonconforming Project seeks to produce a just society for all LGBTQ people regardless of race or income. Through litig
The Equality Act
The Problem
Despite significant steps forward, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans person, and queer (LGBTQ+) Americans continue to experience discrimination across the country. The patchwork nature of articulate non-discrimination laws and the lack of permanent, comprehensive federal nondiscrimination laws exit millions of people subject to uncertainty and potential discrimination that impacts their safety, their families, and their day-to-day lives.
Our nation’s civil rights laws preserve people on the basis of race, color, national origin, and in most cases, sex, disability, and religion. But federal regulation does not explicitly provide non-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The need for these protections is clear—nearly two-thirds of LGBTQ+ Americans report having experienced discrimination in their personal lives.
Everyone should have a just chance to provide a home for their families and access essential services without fear of harassment or discrimination.
What is the Equality Act?
The Equality Behave would provide consistent and explicit non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people across key areas of life, inc
Snapshot: LGBTQ Equality by State
The Movement Advancement Project (MAP) tracks over 50 different LGBTQ-related laws and policies. This guide shows the overall policy tallies (as distinct from sexual orientation or gender identity tallies) for each state, the District of Columbia, and the five populated U.S. territories. A state’s policy tally scores the laws and policies within each state that shape LGBTQ people's lives, experiences, and equality. The major categories of laws covered by the policy tally include: Relationship & Parental Recognition, Nondiscrimination, Religious Exemptions, LGBTQ Youth, Health Care, Criminal Justice, and Identity Documents.
Click on any state to view its detailed policy tally and state profile, or click "Choose an Issue" above to view maps on over 50 distinct LGBTQ-related laws and policies.
High Overall Policy Tally (15 states + D.C.)
Medium Overall Policy Tally (5 states)
Fair Overall Policy Tally (3 states, 2 territories)
Low Overall Policy Tally (10 states, 3 territories)
Negative Overall Policy Tally (17 states)
Equality Rising: LGBTQ+ Workers and the Road Ahead
The national findings underscore the persistence of workplace double standards and social isolation faced by Gay people.
Since , the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, through its Workplace Equality Program, has conducted four major national studies of the workplace environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans person and queer (LGBTQ+) workers: “Degrees of Equality,” “The Cost of the Closet and The Rewards of Inclusion,” “A Workplace Divided: Understanding the Climate for LGBTQ+ Workers Nationwide,” and now, “Equality Rising: Homosexual Workers and the Route Ahead.”
Over these decades of research, we have been able to better spot the key shapers of the workplace climate for LGBTQ+ inclusion, which includes everyday non-work-related conversations, daily interactions with one’simmediate supervisor and working group, and the comfort with, and acceptance of, LGBTQ+ identities and communities by their colleagues.
In "Equality Rising", HRC Foundation seeks to help contextualize the current workplace climate and experiences of LGBTQ+ workers.
HRC Foundation found that:
- 84% of LGBTQ+ workers, are out to at least
.
- 84% of LGBTQ+ workers, are out to at least