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
Jun 2024
![Woman with short red hair, wearing a red dress and blue glasses, looks at the camera in a grey room.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2021/12/Amelia-Marquez-Blog-600x400.jpg)
Marquez v. State of Montana
Amelia Marquez is transgender woman and life-long Montanan. John Doe is a transgender man who was born in Montana, but currently lives out of state. Both wish to correct the sex marker on their birth certificates to reflect who they are. However, a law enacted in 2021, Montana Senate Bill 280, sought to prohibit transgender individuals born in Montana from correcting the sex marker listed on their birth certificate without obtaining a court order indicating that their “sex . . . has been changed by surgical procedure.” The ACLU, the ACLU of Montana, and Nixon Peabody LLP have sued, claiming that SB 280 violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the Montana State Constitution.
Status: Ongoing
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![Woman with short red hair, wearing a red dress and blue glasses, looks at the camera in a grey room.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2021/12/Amelia-Marquez-Blog-600x400.jpg)
Montana
LGBTQ Rights
Marquez v. State of Montana
Amelia Marquez is transgender woman and life-long Montanan. John Doe is a transgender man who was born in Montana, but currently lives out of state. Both wish to correct the sex marker on their birth certificates to reflect who they are. However, a law enacted in 2021, Montana Senate Bill 280, sought to prohibit transgender individuals born in Montana from correcting the sex marker listed on their birth certificate without obtaining a court order indicating that their “sex . . . has been changed by surgical procedure.” The ACLU, the ACLU of Montana, and Nixon Peabody LLP have sued, claiming that SB 280 violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the Montana State Constitution.
Jun 2024
Status: Ongoing
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Montana
May 2024
![Kalarchik v. Montana](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Kalarchik v. Montana
After a years-long effort by the state of Montana to deny transgender people the right to update their identity documents, two transgender women filed a class-action lawsuit against the state and several of its agencies and officials. 26 states and the District of Columbia issue new birth certificate and do not require sex reassignment surgery nor court order in order to change gender marker, while Montana is one of five states that prohibits any changes.
Status: Ongoing
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![Kalarchik v. Montana](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Montana
LGBTQ Rights
Kalarchik v. Montana
After a years-long effort by the state of Montana to deny transgender people the right to update their identity documents, two transgender women filed a class-action lawsuit against the state and several of its agencies and officials. 26 states and the District of Columbia issue new birth certificate and do not require sex reassignment surgery nor court order in order to change gender marker, while Montana is one of five states that prohibits any changes.
May 2024
Status: Ongoing
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Kansas Supreme Court
May 2024
![Kansas v. Harper](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Kansas v. Harper
Five transgender Kansans are challenging an effort by Kansas Attorney General Kobach to require the state to issue driver’s licenses with a gender marker that reveals their sex assigned at birth. The Attorney General is asking a state court to apply a new state law that defines “sex” to functionally erase the existence of transgender people under the law.
Status: Ongoing
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![Kansas v. Harper](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Kansas Supreme Court
LGBTQ Rights
Kansas v. Harper
Five transgender Kansans are challenging an effort by Kansas Attorney General Kobach to require the state to issue driver’s licenses with a gender marker that reveals their sex assigned at birth. The Attorney General is asking a state court to apply a new state law that defines “sex” to functionally erase the existence of transgender people under the law.
May 2024
Status: Ongoing
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Texas
May 2024
![PFLAG v. Abbott](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
PFLAG v. Abbott
The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Texas, and Baker Botts filed a lawsuit in Texas State Court on behalf of PFLAG National and three Texas families. This is the second of two lawsuits challenging unlawful attempts to ban essential health care for transgender youth by Texas state leaders.
Status: Ongoing
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![PFLAG v. Abbott](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Texas
LGBTQ Rights
PFLAG v. Abbott
The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Texas, and Baker Botts filed a lawsuit in Texas State Court on behalf of PFLAG National and three Texas families. This is the second of two lawsuits challenging unlawful attempts to ban essential health care for transgender youth by Texas state leaders.
May 2024
Status: Ongoing
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Texas
May 2024
![PFLAG v. Office of the Attorney General of Texas](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
PFLAG v. Office of the Attorney General of Texas
Following a request from the Office of the Attorney General of Texas for records and documents related to its advocacy on behalf of families with transgender youth, PFLAG National sued to block the request in February 2024. Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and other LGBTQ legal organizations, PFLAG is also a plaintiff in two lawsuits in Texas relating to gender-affirming care for minors.
Status: Ongoing
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![PFLAG v. Office of the Attorney General of Texas](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Texas
LGBTQ Rights
PFLAG v. Office of the Attorney General of Texas
Following a request from the Office of the Attorney General of Texas for records and documents related to its advocacy on behalf of families with transgender youth, PFLAG National sued to block the request in February 2024. Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and other LGBTQ legal organizations, PFLAG is also a plaintiff in two lawsuits in Texas relating to gender-affirming care for minors.
May 2024
Status: Ongoing
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