LGBTQ Rights
Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Florida v. Raymond Rodrigues
The University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine filed a lawsuit on November 16, 2023, challenging the Chancellor of the State University System of Florida’s order to state universities to deactivate the student group. This order threatens the students’ constitutionally-protected right to free speech and association in violation of the First Amendment. The ACLU and its partners are seeking a preliminary injunction that would bar the Chancellor and the University of Florida from deactivating the UF SJP.
Status: Ongoing
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Maryland
Nov 2023
![Tamer Mahmoud v. Monifa McKnight](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Tamer Mahmoud v. Monifa McKnight
On October 30, 2023, the ACLU and ACLU of Maryland filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit supporting the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in its efforts to ensure that its English curriculum is LGBTQ-inclusive.
Status: Ongoing
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2020
![Aimee Stephens in front of the Supreme Court](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/WEB19-Aimee-Stephens-SCOTUS-1110x740-600x400.jpg)
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee Stephens
Aimee Stephens had worked for nearly six years as a funeral director at R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes when she informed the funeral home’s owner that she is a transgender woman. She was fired, the EEOC sued on her behalf, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Aimee’s employer engaged in unlawful sex discrimination when it fired her because she’s transgender. We represented Aimee Stephens in front of the U.S. Supreme Court — and won.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2019
![Don Zarda, Melissa Zarda, Bill Moore](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/WEB19-Don-Zarda-Melissa-Zarda-Bill-Moore-1160x864-600x447.jpg)
Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda
Don Zarda loved to skydive. He worked as a skydiving instructor at Altitude Express, a company on Long Island, N.Y. He was fired for being gay.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2018
![David Mullins and Charlie Craig](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/WEB18-charlie-david-1160x864-600x447.jpg)
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
Whether a business open to the public has a constitutional right to discriminate.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2015
![Jim Obergefell](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/LIB15-Obergefell-BannerImage-1160x864-600x447.jpg)
Obergefell, et al. v. Hodges - Freedom to Marry in Ohio
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and Alphonse Gerhardstein of Gerhardstein & Branch have filed suit on behalf of Jim Obergefell and David Michener, two widowers, and Robert Grunn, a funeral director, in a challenge to the Ohio constitutional and statutory marriage recognition bans.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2015
![Bourke Family](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/LIB15-BourkeVBeshear-BannerImage-1160x864-600x447.jpg)
Bourke v. Beshear & Love v. Beshear - Freedom to Marry in Kentucky
Bourke v. Beshear is a federal court challenge to Kentucky's constitutional ban on marriage for same-sex couples, filed by attorneys at Clay Daniel Walton & Adams and Fauver Law Office on July 26, 2013, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The plaintiffs are four same-sex couples seeking state recognition of their out-of-state marriages.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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177 LGBTQ Rights Cases
Montana
Nov 2014
![Rolando v. Fox - Freedom to Marry in Montana](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Rolando v. Fox - Freedom to Marry in Montana
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Montana represent four loving, committed same-sex couples as they sue Montana in federal court for the right to get married or to have their marriages from other states legally recognized in Montana.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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![Rolando v. Fox - Freedom to Marry in Montana](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Montana
LGBTQ Rights
Rolando v. Fox - Freedom to Marry in Montana
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Montana represent four loving, committed same-sex couples as they sue Montana in federal court for the right to get married or to have their marriages from other states legally recognized in Montana.
Nov 2014
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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Oct 2014
![Fisher-Borne v. Smith - Freedom to Marry in North Carolina](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Fisher-Borne v. Smith - Freedom to Marry in North Carolina
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation have filed a lawsuit on behalf of six same-sex couples seeking the freedom to marry, and the right to obtain second parent adoptions for their children.
Status: Closed
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![Fisher-Borne v. Smith - Freedom to Marry in North Carolina](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
LGBTQ Rights
Fisher-Borne v. Smith - Freedom to Marry in North Carolina
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation have filed a lawsuit on behalf of six same-sex couples seeking the freedom to marry, and the right to obtain second parent adoptions for their children.
Oct 2014
Status: Closed
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Wisconsin
Oct 2014
![Walker v. Wolf - Freedom to Marry in Wisconsin](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Walker v. Wolf - Freedom to Marry in Wisconsin
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Wisconsin and the law firm of Mayer Brown filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of eight same-sex couples who wish to marry in Wisconsin or are seeking recognition for their legal out-of-state marriages.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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![Walker v. Wolf - Freedom to Marry in Wisconsin](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Wisconsin
LGBTQ Rights
Walker v. Wolf - Freedom to Marry in Wisconsin
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Wisconsin and the law firm of Mayer Brown filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of eight same-sex couples who wish to marry in Wisconsin or are seeking recognition for their legal out-of-state marriages.
Oct 2014
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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Virginia
Oct 2014
![Bostic v. Schaefer (Harris Class Action) - Freedom to Marry in Virginia](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Bostic v. Schaefer (Harris Class Action) - Freedom to Marry in Virginia
In Bostic v. Schaefer, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Virginia, Lambda Legal, and Jenner & Block, LLP, represent a class of all unmarried same-sex couples in Virginia and all same-sex couples in Virginia who have already married in a different jurisdiction (the "Harris Class"). The class action was originally filed as separate litigation in the Western District of Virginia filed on behalf of Joanne Harris and Jessica Duff and Christy Berghoff and Victoria Kidd as class representatives for all same-sex couples in Virginia who wish to marry here or who have married in other jurisdictions. After a court in the Eastern District of Virginia struck down Virginia's marriage bans in Bostic, the Harris Class intervened as a party at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to have its constitutional challenges decided as part of the Bostic litigation.
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![Bostic v. Schaefer (Harris Class Action) - Freedom to Marry in Virginia](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Virginia
LGBTQ Rights
Bostic v. Schaefer (Harris Class Action) - Freedom to Marry in Virginia
In Bostic v. Schaefer, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Virginia, Lambda Legal, and Jenner & Block, LLP, represent a class of all unmarried same-sex couples in Virginia and all same-sex couples in Virginia who have already married in a different jurisdiction (the "Harris Class"). The class action was originally filed as separate litigation in the Western District of Virginia filed on behalf of Joanne Harris and Jessica Duff and Christy Berghoff and Victoria Kidd as class representatives for all same-sex couples in Virginia who wish to marry here or who have married in other jurisdictions. After a court in the Eastern District of Virginia struck down Virginia's marriage bans in Bostic, the Harris Class intervened as a party at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to have its constitutional challenges decided as part of the Bostic litigation.
Oct 2014
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Missouri
Oct 2014
![Barrier and Schild v. Vasterling - Freedom to Marry in Missouri](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Barrier and Schild v. Vasterling - Freedom to Marry in Missouri
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Missouri have filed a lawsuit in state court on behalf of six same-sex couples who are seeking recognition for their legal out-of-state marriages. The lawsuit does not seek a repeal of Missouri's ban on marriage for same-sex couples within the state.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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![Barrier and Schild v. Vasterling - Freedom to Marry in Missouri](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Missouri
LGBTQ Rights
Barrier and Schild v. Vasterling - Freedom to Marry in Missouri
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Missouri have filed a lawsuit in state court on behalf of six same-sex couples who are seeking recognition for their legal out-of-state marriages. The lawsuit does not seek a repeal of Missouri's ban on marriage for same-sex couples within the state.
Oct 2014
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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