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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U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2020
LGBTQ Rights
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.
U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2019
LGBTQ Rights
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.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2018
LGBTQ Rights
Religious Liberty
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
Whether a business open to the public has a constitutional right to discriminate.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2015
LGBTQ Rights
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.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2015
LGBTQ Rights
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.
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193 LGBTQ Rights Cases
U.S. Supreme Court
Oct 2021
LGBTQ Rights
Keohane v. Inch
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, and DLA Piper LLP filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Florida Department of Corrections’ (DOC) denial of medically necessary care for Reiyn Keohane, a transgender woman currently detained in a men’s prison.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Oct 2021
LGBTQ Rights
Keohane v. Inch
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, and DLA Piper LLP filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Florida Department of Corrections’ (DOC) denial of medically necessary care for Reiyn Keohane, a transgender woman currently detained in a men’s prison.
Maryland
Sep 2021
LGBTQ Rights
Stone v. Trump
The ACLU, ACLU of Maryland, and Covington & Burling LLP filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of six members of the armed forces who are transgender and the ACLU of Maryland. The lawsuit challenges the president’s directive banning transgender service members from continuing to serve in the military, banning transgender service members from receiving certain medically necessary health care, and banning transgender individuals from enlisting in the armed forces.
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Maryland
Sep 2021
LGBTQ Rights
Stone v. Trump
The ACLU, ACLU of Maryland, and Covington & Burling LLP filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of six members of the armed forces who are transgender and the ACLU of Maryland. The lawsuit challenges the president’s directive banning transgender service members from continuing to serve in the military, banning transgender service members from receiving certain medically necessary health care, and banning transgender individuals from enlisting in the armed forces.
Court Case
Sep 2021
LGBTQ Rights
Cargian v. Breitling
Fred Cargain was hired by Breitling USA in 1990 and served as a leading sales rep for the company for over 15 years. In 2010 following the hiring of a new CEO, Cargain started to be treated differently than other men in similar positions. After multiple promotions and 23 years with the company, Cargain was fired in 2013.
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Court Case
Sep 2021
LGBTQ Rights
Cargian v. Breitling
Fred Cargain was hired by Breitling USA in 1990 and served as a leading sales rep for the company for over 15 years. In 2010 following the hiring of a new CEO, Cargain started to be treated differently than other men in similar positions. After multiple promotions and 23 years with the company, Cargain was fired in 2013.
North Carolina
May 2021
LGBTQ Rights
Carcaño, et al. v. Cooper, et al
Filed by the ACLU and the ACLU of North Carolina along with Lambda Legal, this lawsuit challenges a sweeping North Carolina law, House Bill 2 , which bans transgender people from accessing restrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity and blocks local governments from protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (“LGBT”) people against discrimination in a wide variety of settings., and its replacement law, HB 142, which left many of the harms caused by HB 2 in place.
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North Carolina
May 2021
LGBTQ Rights
Carcaño, et al. v. Cooper, et al
Filed by the ACLU and the ACLU of North Carolina along with Lambda Legal, this lawsuit challenges a sweeping North Carolina law, House Bill 2 , which bans transgender people from accessing restrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity and blocks local governments from protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (“LGBT”) people against discrimination in a wide variety of settings., and its replacement law, HB 142, which left many of the harms caused by HB 2 in place.
Illinois
Jan 2021
LGBTQ Rights
Monroe v. Rauner
The ACLU of Illinois filed a lawsuit on behalf of six women – Janiah Monroe, Marilyn Melendez, Ebony Stamps, Lydia Helena Vision, Sora Kuykendall, and Sasha Reed – and seeks class certification on behalf of all prisoners in the custody of Illinois Department of Corrections who have requested from IDOC evaluation or treatment for gender dysphoria. The case seeks to force IDOC to reform its medical care system to put an end to the suffering it is currently causing transgender prisoners with gender dysphoria by denying them the medical care they need on a timely basis and consistent with the well-established medical standards.
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Illinois
Jan 2021
LGBTQ Rights
Monroe v. Rauner
The ACLU of Illinois filed a lawsuit on behalf of six women – Janiah Monroe, Marilyn Melendez, Ebony Stamps, Lydia Helena Vision, Sora Kuykendall, and Sasha Reed – and seeks class certification on behalf of all prisoners in the custody of Illinois Department of Corrections who have requested from IDOC evaluation or treatment for gender dysphoria. The case seeks to force IDOC to reform its medical care system to put an end to the suffering it is currently causing transgender prisoners with gender dysphoria by denying them the medical care they need on a timely basis and consistent with the well-established medical standards.