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
View Case
Learn About LGBTQ Rights
Featured
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
View case
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)
View case
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)
View case
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)
View case
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)
View case
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)
View case
Stay informed about our latest work in the courts.
By completing this form, I agree to receive occasional emails per the terms of the ACLU's privacy statement.
All Cases
177 LGBTQ Rights Cases
![Gartner v. Iowa Department of Health](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Iowa
LGBTQ Rights
Gartner v. Iowa Department of Health
May 2012
View case
Alaska
Apr 2012
![K.L. v. State of Alaska, Department of Administration, Division of Motor Vehicles](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
K.L. v. State of Alaska, Department of Administration, Division of Motor Vehicles
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Alaska have filed a brief seeking to allow transgender individuals to correct the gender marker on their driver's licenses without undergoing major surgery. Currently, Alaska DMV policy requires that individuals wishing to change the sex marker on their driver's license submit proof of a surgical "sex change". The state's surgery requirement places an undue burden on transgender individuals and presents a gross violation of an individual's right to privacy.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
![K.L. v. State of Alaska, Department of Administration, Division of Motor Vehicles](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Alaska
LGBTQ Rights
K.L. v. State of Alaska, Department of Administration, Division of Motor Vehicles
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Alaska have filed a brief seeking to allow transgender individuals to correct the gender marker on their driver's licenses without undergoing major surgery. Currently, Alaska DMV policy requires that individuals wishing to change the sex marker on their driver's license submit proof of a surgical "sex change". The state's surgery requirement places an undue burden on transgender individuals and presents a gross violation of an individual's right to privacy.
Apr 2012
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
Missouri
Apr 2012
![PFLAG v. Camdenton R-III School District](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
PFLAG v. Camdenton R-III School District
As part of our "Don't Filter Me" campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Eastern Missouri filed a federal lawsuit against a school district in Camdenton, Missouri, whose Internet filtering software blocks access to web content geared toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities. The ACLU is joined in the lawsuit by LGBT organizations whose websites are blocked by the filter: Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbian and Gays (PFLAG), the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Campus Pride, and DignityUSA, a Catholic LGBT organization.
View case
![PFLAG v. Camdenton R-III School District](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Missouri
LGBTQ Rights
PFLAG v. Camdenton R-III School District
As part of our "Don't Filter Me" campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Eastern Missouri filed a federal lawsuit against a school district in Camdenton, Missouri, whose Internet filtering software blocks access to web content geared toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities. The ACLU is joined in the lawsuit by LGBT organizations whose websites are blocked by the filter: Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbian and Gays (PFLAG), the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Campus Pride, and DignityUSA, a Catholic LGBT organization.
Apr 2012
View case
Dec 2011
![Keeton v. Anderson-Wiley](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Keeton v. Anderson-Wiley
Jennifer Keeton, a student at Augusta State University (ASU), sought a court order requiring ASU to reinstate her in a graduate-level counseling program even though she insisted on a right – rooted in her religious beliefs – to counsel lesbian, gay and bisexual clients that being gay is immoral. ASU's counseling program requires its graduate students to adhere to the American Counseling Association's Code of Ethics, which prohibits counselors from discriminating based on sexual orientation, among other characteristics, and requires them to avoid imposing their values on their clients. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Georgia filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting ASU's right to require its students to comply with these professional standards when counseling clients.
View case
![Keeton v. Anderson-Wiley](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
LGBTQ Rights
Religious Liberty
Keeton v. Anderson-Wiley
Jennifer Keeton, a student at Augusta State University (ASU), sought a court order requiring ASU to reinstate her in a graduate-level counseling program even though she insisted on a right – rooted in her religious beliefs – to counsel lesbian, gay and bisexual clients that being gay is immoral. ASU's counseling program requires its graduate students to adhere to the American Counseling Association's Code of Ethics, which prohibits counselors from discriminating based on sexual orientation, among other characteristics, and requires them to avoid imposing their values on their clients. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Georgia filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting ASU's right to require its students to comply with these professional standards when counseling clients.
Dec 2011
View case
Mississippi
Dec 2011
![Sturgis v. Copiah County School District](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Sturgis v. Copiah County School District
When graduating senior Ceara Sturgis chose to wear a tuxedo for her senior yearbook photo, rather than the drape typically reserved for girls, her school, Wesson Attendance Center, responded by excluding her entirely from the senior portrait section of the yearbook. The ACLU seeks damages for Ceara and hopes to prevent gender discrimination in the future.
View case
![Sturgis v. Copiah County School District](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Mississippi
LGBTQ Rights
Sturgis v. Copiah County School District
When graduating senior Ceara Sturgis chose to wear a tuxedo for her senior yearbook photo, rather than the drape typically reserved for girls, her school, Wesson Attendance Center, responded by excluding her entirely from the senior portrait section of the yearbook. The ACLU seeks damages for Ceara and hopes to prevent gender discrimination in the future.
Dec 2011
View case