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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All Cases
177 LGBTQ Rights Cases
Nov 2013
![Employment Non-Discrimination Act](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Employment Non-Discrimination Act
Employment discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers is pervasive and harmful. It violates core American values of fairness and equality by discriminating against qualified individuals based on characteristics unrelated to the job.
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![Employment Non-Discrimination Act](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
LGBTQ Rights
Employment Non-Discrimination Act
Employment discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers is pervasive and harmful. It violates core American values of fairness and equality by discriminating against qualified individuals based on characteristics unrelated to the job.
Nov 2013
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Missouri
Aug 2013
![Glossip v. Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees' Retirement System](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Glossip v. Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees' Retirement System
Kelly Glossip and Dennis Engelhard had been committed domestic partners for 15 years when Dennis, a Missouri State Trooper, was killed while responding to an accident on Christmas Day, 2009. Missouri offers survivor benefits to spouses of state troopers who are killed in the line of duty, but excludes committed same-sex partners from receiving those benefits.
Status: Closed (Dismissed)
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![Glossip v. Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees' Retirement System](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Missouri
LGBTQ Rights
Glossip v. Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees' Retirement System
Kelly Glossip and Dennis Engelhard had been committed domestic partners for 15 years when Dennis, a Missouri State Trooper, was killed while responding to an accident on Christmas Day, 2009. Missouri offers survivor benefits to spouses of state troopers who are killed in the line of duty, but excludes committed same-sex partners from receiving those benefits.
Aug 2013
Status: Closed (Dismissed)
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Montana
Jul 2013
![Donaldson and Guggenheim v. Montana](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Donaldson and Guggenheim v. Montana
Six committed same-sex couples have sued the state of Montana for failing to offer legal protections to same-sex couples and their families in violation of the Montana Constitution's rights of privacy, dignity and the pursuit of life's basic necessities and its guarantees of equal protection and due process. The goal of this lawsuit is to see that same-sex couples are able to protect their families with the same kind of legal protections that the State offers to different-sex couples through marriage.
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![Donaldson and Guggenheim v. Montana](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Montana
LGBTQ Rights
Donaldson and Guggenheim v. Montana
Six committed same-sex couples have sued the state of Montana for failing to offer legal protections to same-sex couples and their families in violation of the Montana Constitution's rights of privacy, dignity and the pursuit of life's basic necessities and its guarantees of equal protection and due process. The goal of this lawsuit is to see that same-sex couples are able to protect their families with the same kind of legal protections that the State offers to different-sex couples through marriage.
Jul 2013
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2013
![Hollingsworth v. Perry](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Hollingsworth v. Perry
Whether California’s Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to define marriage as solely between a man and a woman, violates equal protection.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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![Hollingsworth v. Perry](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
U.S. Supreme Court
LGBTQ Rights
Hollingsworth v. Perry
Whether California’s Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to define marriage as solely between a man and a woman, violates equal protection.
Jun 2013
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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Feb 2013
![Governor Mifflin School District and Filtering of LGBT Online Content](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Governor Mifflin School District and Filtering of LGBT Online Content
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Pennsylvania have sent a letter requesting that school officials at Governor Mifflin School District in Berks County stop using Internet filters that violate students' First Amendment free speech rights. The district uses a "sexuality" filter that blocks sites that express support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and an "intolerance" filter that blocks political advocacy sites that are labeled as intolerant.
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![Governor Mifflin School District and Filtering of LGBT Online Content](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
LGBTQ Rights
Free Speech
Governor Mifflin School District and Filtering of LGBT Online Content
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Pennsylvania have sent a letter requesting that school officials at Governor Mifflin School District in Berks County stop using Internet filters that violate students' First Amendment free speech rights. The district uses a "sexuality" filter that blocks sites that express support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and an "intolerance" filter that blocks political advocacy sites that are labeled as intolerant.
Feb 2013
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