LGBTQ Rights
Zyst v. Miller
Following the Oregon Department of Corrections’ unconstitutional treatment of a transgender prisoner, a habeas court ordered her removal from segregated housing, an individualized gender-affirming care assessment, a psychiatric evaluation, and identification of an appropriate cellmate. However, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed the psychiatric-evaluation and cellmate orders, finding them “too attenuated” to qualify as habeas relief. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Oregon, joined an amicus brief by the law firm Sugerman Dahab arguing that habeas courts have broad discretion to remedy violations and resulting harms. The brief explains that the Court of Appeals’ “close connection” test unduly constricts habeas relief, and which should be construed to encompass not only the need to halt ongoing constitutional violations, but also the need to mitigate various harms that may arise from those violations.
Status: Ongoing
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Florida
Nov 2023
LGBTQ Rights
+2 Issues
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.
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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196 LGBTQ Rights Cases
Florida
Sep 2026
LGBTQ Rights
Keohane v. Dixon
On September 30, 2024, the Florida Department of Corrections rescinded its policy regarding treatment of gender dysphoria, which allowed for hormone therapy when deemed medically necessary, as well as access to clothing and grooming standards that accord with one’s gender identity. Under this new policy, grooming and clothing accommodations have been stripped away, and hormone therapy is not permitted unless an exception is deemed constitutionally required. The ACLU brought a class action challenging the policy.
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Florida
Sep 2026
LGBTQ Rights
Keohane v. Dixon
On September 30, 2024, the Florida Department of Corrections rescinded its policy regarding treatment of gender dysphoria, which allowed for hormone therapy when deemed medically necessary, as well as access to clothing and grooming standards that accord with one’s gender identity. Under this new policy, grooming and clothing accommodations have been stripped away, and hormone therapy is not permitted unless an exception is deemed constitutionally required. The ACLU brought a class action challenging the policy.
Maryland
Sep 2026
LGBTQ Rights
PFLAG v. Trump
Transgender young adults and families with transgender youth, together with PFLAG National and GLMA, filed a federal legal challenge against a January 2025 executive order from the Trump administration directing federal agencies to withhold funds from medical providers and institutions that provide gender-affirming medical treatments for people under nineteen.
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Maryland
Sep 2026
LGBTQ Rights
PFLAG v. Trump
Transgender young adults and families with transgender youth, together with PFLAG National and GLMA, filed a federal legal challenge against a January 2025 executive order from the Trump administration directing federal agencies to withhold funds from medical providers and institutions that provide gender-affirming medical treatments for people under nineteen.
Kansas
Sep 2026
LGBTQ Rights
Loe v. Kansas
In May 2025, two transgender adolescents and their parents filed a challenge in Kansas state court against SB 63, a state law prohibiting access to gender-affirming medical treatments for transgender people under 18. Access to gender-affirming medical care, such as hormone therapies and pubertal suppressants, for transgender adolescents is supported by the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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Kansas
Sep 2026
LGBTQ Rights
Loe v. Kansas
In May 2025, two transgender adolescents and their parents filed a challenge in Kansas state court against SB 63, a state law prohibiting access to gender-affirming medical treatments for transgender people under 18. Access to gender-affirming medical care, such as hormone therapies and pubertal suppressants, for transgender adolescents is supported by the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
New York
Sep 2026
LGBTQ Rights
Coe v. Blanche
Three New York families with adolescent transgender children and two transgender New Yorkers filed a class action lawsuit to protect patient identifying and sensitive health information from being turned over to the Department of Justice in response to federal grand jury subpoenas issued as part of a widespread effort to "end” necessary health care for transgender adolescents.
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New York
Sep 2026
LGBTQ Rights
Coe v. Blanche
Three New York families with adolescent transgender children and two transgender New Yorkers filed a class action lawsuit to protect patient identifying and sensitive health information from being turned over to the Department of Justice in response to federal grand jury subpoenas issued as part of a widespread effort to "end” necessary health care for transgender adolescents.
Texas
Sep 2026
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.
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Texas
Sep 2026
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.