UPDATE:On July 27, 2023, GLAD, National Center for LGBTQ Rights, American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, Human Rights Campaign, Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, and National Women’s Law Center released a FAQ on the Court’s decision and its potential impact on LGBTQ+ people and nondiscrimination protections.
June 30, 2023: In a 6-3 ruling the U.S. Supreme Court issued a highly fact-specific decision authorizing a narrow exception to a state nondiscrimination law for a website developer whose work it found involves selecting customers to convey the designer’s message. While the case allows for the first time a limited First Amendment exemption from laws requiring businesses open to the public to offer the goods and services they sell without discrimination, the unusual nature of the transaction in the case suggests the ruling has virtually no application to the overwhelming majority of businesses providing goods and services to the public. Learn more.
303 Creative v. Elenis was brought on behalf of a website development business seeking an exemption from state nondiscrimination law that would allow them to deny service to same-sex couples if they offer wedding websites in the future. The petitioners are seeking a special exception to Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act which requires them, and all businesses, to provide their services equally to everyone.
On August 19, 2022, GLAD co-authored a friend-of-the-court brief with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR), and White & Case LLP, and joined by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the National LGBTQ Task Force. The brief argues that the broad, unbounded exemption from Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act the petitioners seek would undermine bedrock protections provided by state and federal public accommodation laws for over a century.
Nadine Smith, Co-founder and Executive Director of Equality Florida to Receive GLAD Spirit of Justice Award
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) has announced that its 2022 Spirit of Justice Award will go to Nadine Smith. GLAD will present the award to Smith at its 23rd Annual Spirit of Justice Award Dinner on October 27, 2022 at the Boston Park Plaza. Those outside Massachusetts or otherwise unable to attend in person will also be able watch a livestream of the program online.
Honoree Nadine Smith is the co-founder and Executive Director of Florida’s statewide organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Equality Florida. TIME magazine named Smith to the 2022 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
A former award-winning journalist, Nadine has been a leading state and national human rights advocate, organizer, and LGBTQ equality champion for over three decades. She was on the founding board of the International Gay and Lesbian Youth Organization (IGLYO) and was one of four national co-chairs of the 1993 March on Washington. She currently serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Florida Advisory Committee.
Under Nadine’s leadership, Equality Florida has played a central role in every major LGBTQ rights issue in the state, from organizing against former adoption and marriage bans to advocating for nondiscrimination protections. As Florida has been in the national spotlight this year over dangerous anti-LGBTQ legislation, Nadine and Equality Florida have provided vital leadership once again. The organization ran a powerful advocacy campaign against the “Don’t Say Gay” school censorship and surveillance bill and are now challenging that law in federal court.
“For over three decades Nadine Smith has provided passionate advocacy and strategic leadership in the LGBTQ movement both in her home state and nationally,” said Janson Wu, GLAD Executive Director. “Florida has frequently been at the center of the struggle for LGBTQ equality, from fights over anti-discrimination laws and adoption bans, to the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law enacted this year. Nadine and Equality Florida are leading the fight against dangerous state laws aimed at erasing LGBTQ people and families in public schools. As we confront escalating anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric and see our community increasingly targeted by those who want to restrict our freedoms, Nadine’s leadership at the eye of that storm in Florida truly epitomizes the Spirit of Justice. It’s an honor for GLAD to celebrate her inspirational life-long advocacy for human rights and LGBTQ equality with the 23rd annual Spirit of Justice Award.”
“At the most perilous times in history, our fight for full equality has always been buoyed by our commitment to locking arms and doing the work together,” said Nadine Smith. “It’s an honor to be recognized by GLAD this year and is a testament to the dedicated team of volunteers, colleagues, and supporters I have the privilege of working with at Equality Florida. Our state is again standing at the epicenter of a bigoted and extremist assault on LGBTQ people, fueled by a governor intent on building his political career on the backs of our community. But this fight is not simply Florida’s fight — it is a struggle to secure true equity, safeguard the progress we have made and protect our democracy from the onslaught. Our fight continues in earnest and it is a fight that needs all of us.”
Previous Spirit of Justice honorees include Kylar Broadus, Grace Sterling Stowell, Chai Feldblum, Jose Antonio Vargas, the Honorable Eric H. Holder Jr, Phill Wilson, Jennifer Finney Boylan, Urvashi Vaid, Margaret J. Marshall, Deval Patrick and his family; Reverend Irene Monroe; Bishop Gene Robinson; Beth Robinson, John Ward, Terrence McNally, Mandy Carter; Reverend William Sinkford, Tim Gill, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, Tony Kushner, Laurence Tribe, and Mary L. Bonauto.
Watch Nadine’s Acceptance Speech
About the Event
GLAD’s 23rd Annual Spirit of Justice Award Dinner was co-chaired by Ray Cheng and Jamie Bergeron and took place Thursday, October 27 at the Boston Park Plaza and virtually. More details, along with videos of more speakers from the event, are available at www.gladlaw.org/2022soj.
U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Transgender People Are Protected Under the Americans with Disabilities Act
First-of-its-kind Appeals Court ruling says transgender people cannot be excluded from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in public institutions—including carceral settings
RICHMOND, VA — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today affirmed that transgender people who experience gender dysphoria are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. The ruling reverses a Virginia district court’s dismissal of claims brought by Kesha Williams, a transgender woman who was incarcerated in a men’s detention facility, denied access to medical treatment for her gender dysphoria, and faced persistent harassment by other inmates and prison deputies.
Multiple district courts have previously found that transgender people cannot be excluded from the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Today’s decision is the first such ruling from a U.S. Court of Appeals.
A friend-of-the-court brief co-authored by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and the National Center for Lesbian Rights presented scientific research and established case law to argue that the ADA prohibits discrimination based on gender dysphoria and requires that the treatment of people with disabilities must be based on “reasoned and medically sound judgments.” The brief argued that public institutions—including prisons—must provide equal access and make reasonable accommodations when entrenched policies and practices discriminate against a person because of their gender dysphoria.
The brief was joined by the American Civil Liberties Union, Black and Pink Massachusetts, Lambda Legal, National Center for Transgender Equality, National LGBTQ Task Force, Trans People of Color Coalition, Transcending Barriers, Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, disAbility Law Center of Virginia, and Disability Rights Vermont
“This is a huge win. There is no principled reason to exclude transgender people from our federal civil rights laws,” said Jennifer Levi, GLAD Transgender Rights Project Director. “It’s incredibly significant for a federal appeals court to affirm that the protections in our federal disability rights laws extend to transgender people. It would turn disability law upside down to exclude someone from its protection because of having a stigmatized medical condition. This opinion goes a long way toward removing social and cultural barriers that keep people with treatable, but misunderstood, medical conditions from being able to thrive.”
“This is a thorough, well-reasoned opinion recognizing that the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against individuals with gender dysphoria,” said NCLR’s Legal Director Shannon Minter. “This decision sets a powerful precedent that will be important for other courts considering this critical issue.”
“The effort to exclude transgender people from their rightful protections under the ADA was always baseless and discriminatory,” said Joshua Block, Staff Attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, “and we’re thankful the Fourth Circuit affirmed that reality today. Transgender people are denied a multitude of reasonable rights and accommodations, particularly while incarcerated, and today’s ruling is a step forward for their fairness and equality.”
“We are very pleased with the outcome in the 4th Circuit decision,” commented Colleen Miller, Executive Director of the disAbility Law Center of Virginia, which also submitted a separate friend-of-the-court brief, “and especially pleased that we were able to assist the Court through our amicus brief.”
SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. University of North Carolina
UPDATE: On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court’s majority opinion ended the consideration of race as one of many factors for qualified students in college admissions. The opinion ignores the substantial factual record supporting the lawfulness of Harvard and University of North Carolina’s admissions programs and discounts present and past racial inequities the 14th Amendment to our constitution was intended to address. Read the full statement from GLAD Executive Director Janson Wu.
Universities must continue considering race as part of their holistic admissions process. A diverse learning environment prepares students to thrive in our diverse nation.
GLAD joined the National Women’s Law Center and 38 organizations in a friend-of-the-court filing in the U.S. Supreme Court cases Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. The two cases, which will be heard in October 2022, address whether universities can consider race as one factor in admissions decisions (also known as affirmative action).
As the brief explains, the inclusion of people of color is central to achieving the benefits of a diverse student body, including countering harmful stereotypes, fostering the exchange of ideas, and preparing students for a diverse society.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this week released proposed regulations that will clarify and reaffirm that Section 1557, the nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act, protects LGBTQ+ people in access to healthcare services (i.e. receiving medical care in doctors’ offices, hospitals or other settings) and in health insurance. The proposal explicitly includes care related to gender transition and reproductive healthcare including abortion among medical care covered by the nondiscrimination provision.
The proposal would both reinstate and expand regulations issued under the Obama Administration clarifying that the prohibition against discrimination based on sex includes gender identity and sexual orientation. Former President Trump issued a subsequent interpretation of Section 1557 in June of 2020 attempting to deny protections for transgender and LGB people and adding broad religious exemptions. Following the Supreme Court Bostock ruling that same month affirming that prohibitions against sex discrimination include LGBTQ+ people, the Trump rule was blocked in federal court.
The Biden administration has pledged to issue regulations clarifying the implementation of Bostock across all federal agencies. This week’s HHS proposal accomplishes that in the critical domain of healthcare, where transgender and LGBQ+ people continue to face discrimination.
“While the Trump-era rule was always unlawful, it caused considerable confusion and concern among providers, insurers, and LGBTQ+ people,” said Jennifer Levi, GLAD Transgender Rights Project Director. “No one should ever be denied essential medical care because of bias. This proposed rule will provide clarity and will ensure people can access the healthcare they need.”
HHS will soon open a public comment period for the proposal. GLAD will work with LGBTQ+ partners to encourage comments in support of the updated rule.
For the most up-to-date monkeypox information and resources, visit GLAD.org/monkeypox.
Accurate information about monkeypox can help keep our community informed and healthy. Here are some resources about monkeypox and the vaccine, JYNNEOS:
Thanks to our friends at Fenway Health for putting together this informative resources. Please click through for the full Twitter thread with information and infographics.
To ensure that our community has accurate information about monkeypox – its symptoms, how it’s spread, & when to seek medical care – Fenway Health has created these infographics. Please view and share with your networks. Together, we can keep our community healthy and informed! pic.twitter.com/Z27YkS1YJ1
VICTORY! On December 13, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Respect for Marriage Act. Learn more.
The Respect for Marriage Act will ensure that the federal government and all state governments continue to recognize and respect all marriages, without discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, or race.
The bill will give clarity and comfort to millions of families across the country. This is an important opportunity to protect the families of LGBTQ+ Americans who remain vulnerable to discrimination in their daily lives.
More information about the Respect for Marriage Act
The Respect for Marriage Act repeals the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), both parts of which have already been invalidated by the Supreme Court. The bill also ensures that all state and federal governments must continue to recognize and respect all marriages, regardless of the couples’ sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.
Yesterday, the U.S. House passed by a bipartisan vote of 228-195 the “Right to Contraception Act,” legislation that explicitly codifies the right to use contraceptives in federal law and gives health care providers the right to prescribe “any device or medication used to prevent pregnancy” to patients. The bill also allows the federal and state government, patients, and health care providers to bring civil suits against those alleged to have violated the law.
Lawmakers passed the bill in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling overturning the Constitutional right to abortion, and in which Justice Clarence Thomas’s separate concurrence invited the Court to revisit previous Supreme Court precedent mandating access to birth control as wrongly decided.
Thomas also suggested that previous rulings in favor LGBTQ rights should also be revisited in light of Dobbs. In response, the House passed the “Respect for Marriage Act,” earlier this week, which repeals previous federal laws struck down by the Supreme Court. That bill also codifies current law that federal government and state officials must provide respect to couples whose marriages are lawfully celebrated without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of the married persons.
Mary Bonauto, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders’ (GLAD) Civil Rights Project Director, issued the following statement on the House passage of the Respect for Marriage Act:
“The bipartisan passage of the ‘Right to Contraception Act’ is a crucial step to ensure that those who need it can freely access reproductive health care such as birth control,” said Bonauto. “The choice to use contraception is a personal one and the government has no interest in interfering in that decision. That is and should remain long-settled law. But as the Dobbs ruling has created widespread fear that such fundamental issues may again be up for debate, we are grateful that the House is proactively working to protect fundamental American freedoms.
“We hope that the Congress continues using its constitutional powers to protect other important rights on which Americans rely, including by passing legislation to protect voting rights and our democracy, to ensure availability of reproductive and medically necessary gender-related health care, and to prevent discrimination.
“As Dobbs demonstrates, our basic liberties and rights, such as privacy, intimacy, bodily autonomy, and to form families and raise our children are concerns of Americans more broadly. GLAD will continue to support all efforts to preserve those bedrock freedoms.”
This Disability Pride Month, we’re highlighting creators and organizations working to increase visibility and fight for justice for disabled folks. Keep reading to find out more about the incredible work that is being done to build a world where disabled people are fully included and celebrated in all areas of life!
Nasreen Alkhateeb is an award-winning visionary filmmaker focused on amplifying the voices of underrepresented populations through her work. She draws from her identities as “BIPOC, multi-heritage, Black, Iraqi, Disabled, raised Muslim, and 1st Generation” to create her art and inspire audiences.
Image description: A multi-heritage woman with long tightly wound dark brown locks, wearing red lipstick and a high neck black shirt. Background is darkly lit with one purple light illuminating her left side onto her hair.
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha is the author of Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice, Tonguebreaker, Dirty River, and other books. They are a long-time disability and transformative justice movement worker and a 2020 Disability Futures fellow. Their new book, The Future Is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes and Mourning Songs is forthcoming in October 2022.
Image description: A nonbinary femme with sand colored skin, green and brown curly hair and purple lipstick grins in front of a blooming jasmine vine.
K Copeland co-creates comics on Chaos Life and more with his spouse that delve into experiences of being transgender, navigating disabilities, and raising and relying on a service dog. The duo’s work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Discovery Channel’s Official Blog, The Australian Broadcasting Company, several anthologies, and more.
Image description: A biracial trans man with long, dark brown hair, wears a charcoal heather shirt. Beside him is a large white and brown husky-type dog. The setting is inside a vehicle, with a brightly lit background with natural light coming in from the vehicle window behind the pair.
Robert Andy Coombs is an artist living in Miami. He explores the intersections of disability and sexuality as well as themes of relationships, caregiving, and more through photography.
Image description: A white man with short dark hair, pictured without a shirt. There is a square tattooed on the right side of his chest, and other tattoos along his collar and on his right shoulder. There is light illuminating his face from the right, and the background is dark.
The Disability Law Center is a private, non-profit organization responsible for providing protection and advocacy for the rights of Massachusetts residents with disabilities.
Image description: Pictured, is a drawing of a white scale on a light blue circle background. The letters “DLC” are written across the scales in dark blue, and a white circle wraps around the drawing, with the words “the protection & advocacy agency for people with disabilities.
Disability Rights Center–NH combats barriers faced by people with disabilities regarding their civil and legal rights. By providing legal advice or representation to people with disabilities across the state in areas like special education, accessibility, employment discrimination, home and community-based services, and Medicaid, DRC-NH is committed to improving the lives of people with disabilities across New Hampshire. GLAD teamed up with DRC-NH in Mejia et al v Edelblut et al.
Image description: A navy insignia with the letters DRC intertwining, and to the right, it reads: Disability Rights Center – NH in navy with a white background.
Disability Rights Maine provides many services, including information and referrals, legal representation, education, and advocacy services to people with disabilities in Maine. GLAD and DRME joined forces in a coalition to advocate for reforms to the Maine children’s behavioral health system.
Image description: A navy blue logo reading: “Disability Rights Maine” atop a white background. In the center, the word “Rights” is written in white against a dark blue background. In the lower right corner is a silhouette of Maine against a lighter blue background.
The U.S. House today passed by a bipartisan vote of 267-157 legislation that would repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, both parts of which have already been invalidated by the Supreme Court. It ensures that neither states nor the federal government may deny respect for marriages based on the couples’ sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. Congress is using its constitutional power to assure families that their marriages will be respected.
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders Executive Director Janson Wu issued the following statement on the House passage of the Respect for Marriage Act:
“GLAD is hearing from spouses, parents, and children every day worried about what a future legal challenge to marriage equality could mean for their family. We appreciate this leadership from the Congress because no one should need to fear their marriage and their family won’t be protected and respected.
GLAD not only won the first marriage case in any state, but also brought the first coordinated challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) over a decade ago. We saw the harms LGBTQ+ married families faced every day as the status of their family relationships shifted because they crossed state lines or because the federal government categorically disrespected their marriages. The Supreme Court rightly found unconstitutional both the federal disrespect part of DOMA in Windsor and the interstate nonrecognition aspect in Obergefell. It is long past time for the Congress to remove the entirety of this harmful law from the books.
The Respect for Marriage Act also affirms what we know is true: it cannot be lawful for the states or the federal government to refuse to respect a marriage because of the sex, race, ethnicity or national origin of the couple. This provides critical assurance to millions of Americans about the stability of their crucial family relationships wherever they live, travel or relocate. We are grateful to bipartisan leaders Representatives Nadler and Cicilline, and Senators Collins, Feinstein, and Baldwin who introduced this measure and to the Representatives on both sides of the aisle who supported it today.
The Supreme Court Dobbs ruling has only added to fears many Americans have about forces destabilizing our democracy and the loss of critical protections. Congress can address these fears and ensure respect for important rights Americans rely on by passing legislation to protect voting rights, access to abortion and contraception, respect for marriage, and nondiscrimination. Today’s House vote on the Respect for Marriage Act is an important step in that direction.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling on health care for transgender youth is heartbreaking and you may have questions. GLAD Law Answers has your back. Contact our legal infolinefor information about your rights.
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