Many lawmakers continue to threaten the livelihoods of transgender people and their families. In states across the country, policymakers are attempting to ban transgender youth from accessing affirming healthcare that they need, and that is in line with current medical best practices. Transgender youth, like all youth, have the best chance to thrive when they are supported and able to access the health care they need. Discriminatory efforts like these make our healthcare system even more opaque and inaccessible than it already is.
We monitor and track important federal legislation, court cases, rule changes, and ballot measures when LGBTQ+ lives will be affected. Learn more about the moments we’re monitoring.
“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court has made one thing clear: no one should be turned away from a taxpayer-funded program because of who they are,” said Fran Hutchins, Equality Federation Executive Director. “While the Court ruled in favor of Catholic Social Services, they did so on the narrowest possible ground. Governments are still able to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ foster and adoptive parents and must continue to do so for the over 400,000 children currently in foster care.”
The Equality Act would update existing federal civil rights law to include sexual orientation and gender identity as unlawful grounds for discrimination along with race, color, religion, sex and national origin. It would send a powerful message of inclusion that everyone should have the freedom and opportunity to work hard, earn a living, provide for their families and contribute to communities. We must do everything possible to pass these protections as soon as we can. The path is not easy. It will require hard work and engaging in good faith dialogue with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as well as concessions on both sides to reach bipartisan consensus.
With your support, we'll be able to continue our work to build the leaders of today and tomorrow, strengthen state-based LGBTQ+ organizations, and make critical progress on the issues that matter most—like protecting transgender people, ending HIV criminalization and ensuring access to care, and banning conversion therapy across the country.