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GLAD Lawsuit Tests Trump’s Reversal of Healthcare Protections for Trans People Under ACA

“The Trump administration’s new interpretation of Section 1557 contradicts the Affordable Care Act, is dangerous to transgender people, and won’t survive federal challenge,” said GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. GLAD is currently in federal court challenging the denial of healthcare to a transgender man under the ACA’s non-discrimination statute referred to as Section 1557.

Pangborn v. Ascend, a federal lawsuit brought by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) on behalf of a transgender man denied coverage for gender affirming care, will test the legitimacy of the Trump administration’s reversal of an HHS rule that had previously made clear that transgender people are covered under the ACA’s non-discrimination provision known as Section 1557. The case alleges, among other claims, that Alexander Pangborn’s employer violated the ACA by categorically excluding insurance coverage for transgender people’s medical needs relating to gender transition.

Section 1557 of the ACA bars discrimination in healthcare access and insurance on the basis of sex as well as race, color, national origin, age, and disability. The Department of Health and Human Services published a final rule today formalizing the Trump administration’s claim that Section 1557 does not protect transgender people from discrimination in health care, reversing HHS’s prior interpretation of the law.

“The Trump administration’s new 1557 rule contradicts the statute. It’s contrary to established case law, dangerous to transgender people, and can’t survive legal challenge,” said Jennifer Levi, GLAD Transgender Rights Project Director. “Unfortunately, the new rule is likely to confuse healthcare practitioners, insurers, and employers, and invites providers to turn away transgender people when seeking basic medical care. This is yet another callous policy coming from an administration intent on appeasing the far right and ignoring sound legal and medical policies.”

“Alexander Pangborn is a hospice nurse who provides compassionate care every day to his patients and their families, yet he was denied access to the health care he himself needs,” said Chris Erchull, GLAD Staff Attorney representing Pangborn. “The purpose of the ACA is to ensure Americans have access to healthcare. The purpose and the legal meaning of the nondiscrimination protections in Section 1557 are to ensure that individuals like Alexander are not denied care because of anti-transgender prejudice or other bias. The Trump administration’s repudiation of those protections is both cruel and unjust. It will not hold up in court.”

Read GLAD’s comment submitted in opposition to this rule.

Advocacy Groups Urge NCAA to Remove Events from Idaho

June 10, 2020: GLAD and other advocacy groups signed onto a letter calling for the NCAA to remove events in Idaho in response to new anti-trans legislation. The letter can be found below, and the fully annotated version is available in PDF here.

Click here for sample social media posts to share, encouraging the NCAA to relocate their championship events from Idaho.

Dear NCAA Bid Selection Committees,

We are writing to request you relocate all NCAA events, including the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship games, from Idaho due to the state’s recent passage of dangerous anti-transgender legislation that prohibits certain groups of student athletes from participating in school sports.

Given Idaho’s adoption of a discriminatory law that directly impacts college athletics, violates NCAA values, and undermines the dignity and well-being of NCAA athletes, Idaho schools no longer qualify to host NCAA events.

On March 30, 2020, Idaho enacted House Bill 500 (HB500), a law that bans transgender girls from competing on college teams, including at Idaho’s NCAA member schools. This law also forces women and girls to be subject to invasive medical procedures simply because they are, or are suspected to be, transgender. Idaho is the only state in the country with such an extreme, harmful, and discriminatory blanket ban on the participation of transgender women and girls in sports. This law is in direct conflict with NCAA Championship policies. In fact, Idaho’s law is so extreme that it prompted the NCAA to speak out against its passage.

Idaho’s law blatantly targets an already-marginalized community in athletics and decreases their participation in sports. Transgender students already participate at significantly lower rates and feel unsafe in athletic spaces. Further, while the harm of this law explicitly falls on transgender girls, the impact extends even further. Idaho’s new law is the first in the country to categorically ban transgender girls from sports statewide, but past research has found that when states adopt policies that create new barriers for transgender athletes to participate in sports, the number of participants in sports among all LGBTQ youth drops. This harms the NCAA’s goals of protecting athlete wellbeing and promoting diversity and inclusion in athletics.

As a law that expressly violates the NCAA’s values, HB500 disqualifies Idaho schools from hosting the seminal NCAA event. According to the NCAA’s anti-discrimination policy, the NCAA “must and shall operate [their] championships and events in alignment with [their] values as [they] strive to promote an inclusive atmosphere in which student-athletes participate…”. This includes NCAA Championship sessions, series, and final events. When North Carolina passed HB2 in 2016, the most extreme anti-LGBTQ law in the country at the time, the NCAA recognized that a law targeting transgender people’s access to restrooms went against their values, and subsequently relocated championship games from North Carolina.  Like HB2, HB500 strikes directly at the core of the NCAA’s values, going even further in excluding students from college athletics. All NCAA sponsored events therefore should be removed from Idaho immediately.

Further, Idaho should not be permitted to host an NCAA event while HB500 is in effect. With this sweeping discriminatory law in place, they simply cannot reflect NCAA values and treat all athletes with the dignity and respect expected of NCAA membership schools.

We appreciate the NCAA’s commitment to inclusion and anti-discrimination. In keeping with these values, we encourage you to take immediate action to ensure the integrity of NCAA events and the wellbeing of all athletes.

Sincerely,

  • National Center for Transgender Equality
  • American Civil Liberties Union
  • Leadership Conference on Civil and
  • National Women’s Law Center
  • American Association of University Women
  • Athlete Ally
  • Atlanta Pride Committee
  • Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative
  • Center for American Progress
  • Center for Disability Rights
  • CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers
  • Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues
  • Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
  • Equality California
  • Equality Federation
  • Equality North Carolina
  • Equality Texas
  • Family Equality
  • Feminist Majority Foundation
  • Fenway Health
  • FORGE, Inc.
  • Freedom for All Americans
  • GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)
  • GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality
  • Human Rights Campaign
  • Inclusion Playbook
  • Japanese American Citizens League
  • JustUs Health
  • Lambda Legal
  • Legal Voice
  • LGBTQ Allyship
  • Lou Weaver Consulting
  • Mazzoni Center
  • Minority Veterans of America
  • Modern Military Association of America
  • National Black Justice Coalition
  • National Center for Lesbian Rights
  • National Coalition for LGBT Health
  • National Education Association
  • National Equality Action Team
  • National LGBTQ Task Force
  • National Partnership for Women & Families
  • Oasis Legal Services
  • OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates
  • One Colorado
  • OutNebraska
  • PFLAG National
  • Planned Parenthood Federation of America
  • SAGE: Advocacy and Services for LGBT Elders
  • Silver State Equality-Nevada
  • SPLC Action Fund
  • The Trevor Project
  • The Volunteer Lawyers Project of Onondaga County, Inc.
  • Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund
  • Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico
  • True Colors United
  • Whitman-Walker Health and Whitman-Walker Institute
  • Women’s Sports Foundation

 

The accompanying letter from student athletes is here: https://www.athleteally.org/student-athletes-ncaa-idaho
The accompanying letter from professional athletes is here: https://www.athleteally.org/athletes-ncaa-idaho

 

Take action by showing your support on social media!

Here are some sample social media posts for you to share:

Twitter:

I urge the @NCAA to relocate their championship events from Idaho, where lawmakers passed a bill banning transgender youth from playing high school sports. ALL young athletes should be able to play the sport they love and be part of a team. #SupportTransAthletes

Transgender student athletes simply want to play the sport they love and be a part of a team, just like any other student. That’s why I urge @NCAA to move their events from Idaho, which passed #HB500, banning trans youth from participating in high school athletics.

Facebook:

I’m standing up for ALL youth athletes—including those who are transgender, and simply want to play they love and be part of a team. Our laws should protect trans youth, not encourage discrimination against them. That’s why I’m urging the NCAA to relocate their championship events from Idaho, where lawmakers passed a bill banning trans youth from participating in high school athletics. I hope the NCAA continues to demonstrate their commitment to inclusion by taking swift action.

 

Blog

Work for LGBTQ+ equality is inextricably linked to work for racial justice, and it is critical for white LGBTQ+ people to be engaged in anti-racist work.

On June 9, white people working in the LGBTQ+ movement, in partnership with the LGBTQ #BlackLivesMatter Town Hall hosted by Equality Florida, held a live conversation focusing on the responsibility and opportunities white people have to challenge systemic racism and white supremacy and to hold systems of power accountable.

YouTube video

SPEAKERS:

  • Shannon Minter, He/him, National Center for Lesbian Rights
  • Rea Carey, she/they, National LGBTQ Task Force
  • Mary Bonauto, she/her GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)
  • Monica Meyer, she or any, OutFront Minnesota
  • Ian Palmquist, he/him, Equality Federation

Click here for more resources

This event was co-hosted by GLAD, GLSEN, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National LGBTQ Task Force, OutFront Minnesota, and Equality Federation.

LGBTQ+ Community Dismantling White Supremacy: White People Engaging White People

Work for LGBTQ+ equality is inextricably linked to work for racial justice.

That work could not be more urgent.

GLAD invites you to attend a virtual town hall discussion on how white people can work for racial justice in and beyond the LGBTQ community.

RSVP and more info below

Fill out my online form.

LGBTQ Organizations Unite to Combat Racial Violence

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Those words, written over 30 years ago by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, remind us that indifference can never bridge the divide of hate. And, today, they should serve as a call to action to all of us, and to the Movement for LGBTQ equality.

This spring has been a stark and stinging reminder that racism, and its strategic objective, white supremacy, is as defining a characteristic of the American experience as those ideals upon which we claim to hold our democracy — justice, equality, liberty.

  • We listened to the haunting pleas of George Floyd for the most basic of human needs — simply, breath — as a Minneapolis police officer kneeled with cruel indifference on his neck.
  • We felt the pain of Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend as he called 9-1-1 after plainclothes Louisville police kicked down the door of their home and shot her eight times as she slept in her bed.
  • We watched the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery by white vigilantes in Brunswick, GA, aware that they evaded the consequence of their actions until the video surfaced and sparked national outrage.
  • We saw the weaponizing of race by a white woman who pantomimed fear in calling the police on Christian Cooper, a Black gay man bird-watching in Central Park.
  • We have heard and read about the killings of transgender people — Black transgender women in particular — with such regularity, it is no exaggeration to describe it as a epidemic of violence. This year alone, we have lost at least 12 members of our community: Dustin Parker, Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, Yampi Méndez Arocho, Monika Diamond, Lexi, Johanna Metzger, Serena Angelique Velázquez Ramos, Layla Pelaez Sánchez, Penélope Díaz Ramírez, Nina Pop, Helle Jae O’Regan, and Tony McDade.

All of these incidents are stark reminders of why we must speak out when hate, violence, and systemic racism claim — too often with impunity — Black Lives.

The LGBTQ Movement’s work has earned significant victories in expanding the civil rights of LGBTQ people. But what good are civil rights without the freedom to enjoy them?

Many of our organizations have made progress in adopting intersectionality as a core value and have committed to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. But this moment requires that we go further — that we make explicit commitments to embrace anti-racism and end white supremacy, not as necessary corollaries to our mission, but as integral to the objective of full equality for LGBTQ people.

We, the undersigned, recognize we cannot remain neutral, nor will awareness substitute for action. The LGBTQ community knows about the work of resisting police brutality and violence. We celebrate June as Pride Month, because it commemorates, in part, our resisting police harassment and brutality at Stonewall in New York City, and earlier in California, when such violence was common and expected. We remember it as a breakthrough moment when we refused to accept humiliation and fear as the price of living fully, freely, and authentically.

We understand what it means to rise up and push back against a culture that tells us we are less than, that our lives don’t matter. Today, we join together again to say #BlackLivesMatter and commit ourselves to the action those words require.

SIGNED:

Affirmations, Dave Garcia, Executive Director

AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Aisha N. Davis, Director of Policy

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director

Arkansas Transgender Equity Collaborative, Tonya Estell, Board of Directors

Campaign for Southern Equality, Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Executive Director

Cathedral Of Hope UCC, Rev. Dr. Neil G Thomas, Senior Pastor

Center on Halsted, Modesto Valle, CEO

Equality Arizona, Michael Soto, Executive Director

Equality California, Rick Chavez Zbur, Executive Director

Equality Delaware, Mark Purpura and Lisa Goodman, Board Chairs

Equality Federation, Rebecca Isaacs, Executive Director

Equality Florida, Nadine Smith, Executive Director

Equality Illinois, Brian Johnson, CEO

Equality New Mexico, Adrian N. Carver, Executive Director

Equality New York, Amanda Babine, Executive Director

Equality North Carolina, Kendra R Johnson, Executive Director

Equality Ohio, Grant Stancliff, Communications Director

Equality Texas, Ricardo Martinez, CEO

Fair Wisconsin, Megin McDonell, Executive Director

Fairness Campaign, Tamara Russell, Board Member

Family Equality, Denise Brogan-Kator, Chief Policy Officer

Freedom for All Americans, Kasey Suffredini, CEO & National Campaign Director

FreeState Justice, Mark Procopio, Executive Director

Gay City: Seattle’s LGBTQ Center, Fred Swanson, Executive Director

Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), Kelsey Louie, CEO

Georgia Equality, Jeff Graham, Executive Director

GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO

GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), Janson Wu, Executive Director

GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality, Hector Vargas, Executive Director

GLSEN, Eliza Byard, Executive Director

GSAFE, Brian Juchems, Co-Director

Human Rights Campaign, Alphonso David, President

Immigration Equality, Aaron C. Morris, Executive Director

Ingersoll Gender Center, Karter Booher, Executive Director

Lambda Legal, Kevin Jennings, CEO

LGBT Community Center of the Desert, Mike Thompson, CEO

LGBT Life Center, Stacie Walls, CEO

Louisiana Trans Advocates, Peyton Rose Michelle, Director of Operations

Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, Tre’Andre Valentine, Executive Director

MassEquality, Tanya V. Neslusan, Executive Director

Movement Advancement Project, Ineke Mushovic, Executive Director

National Black Justice Coalition, David Johns, Executive Director

National Center for Lesbian Rights, Imani Rupert-Gordon, Executive Director

National Center for Transgender Equality, Mara Keisling, Executive Director

National LGBTQ Task Force, Rea Carey, Executive Director

NMAC, Paul Kawata, Executive Director

Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, Joe Hawkins, CEO

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, Erin Uritus, CEO

One Colorado, Daniel Ramos, Executive Director

One Iowa, Courtney Reyes, Executive Director

OutFront Minnesota, Monica Meyer, Executive Director

OutNebraska, Abbi Swatsworth, Executive Director

Pacific Center for Human Growth, Michelle Gonzalez, Executive Director

PFLAG National, Brian K. Bond, Executive Director

PRC, Brett Andrews, CEO

Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County, Kiku Johnson, Executive Director

Resource Center, Cece Cox, CEO

Sacramento LGBT Community Center, David Heitstuman, CEO

San Francisco Community Health Center, Lance Toma, CEO

SF LGBT Center, Rebecca Rolfe, Executive Director

SAGE, Michael Adams, CEO

San Diego LGBT Community Center, Cara Dessert, CEO

Silver State Equality, André C. Wade, State Director

Tennessee Equality Project, Chris Sanders, Executive Director

The Diversity Center, Sharon E Papo, Executive Director

The Gala Pride and Diversity Center, Michelle Call, Executive Director

The Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, Glennda Testone, Executive Director

The LGBTQ Center, Long Beach, Porter Gilberg, Executive Director

The LGBTQ Center, NYC, Reg Calcagno, Senior Director of Government Affairs

The Trevor Project, Amit Paley, CEO

Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), Emmett Schelling, Executive Director

Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF), Andy Marra, Executive Director

TransOhio, James Knapp, Chair & Executive Director

Uptown Gay & Lesbian Alliance (UGLA), Carl Matthes, President

Wyoming Equality, Sara Burlingame, Executive Director

 

Click here to view this letter as a PDF.

Blog

As the new Supreme Court term begins, the issues we care about are already front and center at the nation’s highest court.

One case, Fulton vs. City of Philadelphia, scheduled for oral argument on November 4, could have sweeping ramifications for our community.

Watch GLAD’s Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi explain what the case is about and what’s at stake:

YouTube video

LEARN MORE AND STAY UP-TO-DATE ABOUT THE CASE

 

TRANSCRIPT:

>> Hi, I’m here with GLAD attorney Jennifer Levi to talk about case, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, that the United States Supreme Court will hear next term. Hi Jennifer, thanks so much for joining me today. I’ve heard Fulton is an important case for the LGBTQ community. Can you tell me a little bit about it?

>> Yeah, sure. This is a case in which Catholic Social Services sued after the City of Philadelphia ended its contract with them because the agency refused to work with same-sex couples who wanted to become foster parents.

It’s a case like so many we’ve seen where a religiously-based organization is asking to be exempted from non-discrimination laws. You probably remember a case from 2018 brought against a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. Many of us expected that case, Masterpiece Cake Shop, to be the one where the Supreme Court would decide whether religiously owned businesses get a pass on complying with non-discrimination laws. But Masterpiece Cake didn’t turn out to be that case. Instead with Justice Kennedy as the swing vote the Court decided the case narrowly, avoiding the larger legal question. That makes Fulton, the case the Court has now taken up the first to be heard on the issue since Justice Kavanaugh replaced Justice Kennedy.

>> Okay then. Wow. That makes it sound pretty important. What else can you tell me about it?

>> Catholic Social Services is one of about 30 agencies – almost all religious – that contracts with Philly to do foster placements. And after the City learned that Catholic Social Services wouldn’t work with married same-sex couples, it ended their contract. And Catholic Social Services sued. They lost in the trial court. They lost in the appeals court. And now they’re making their case to the Supremes. GLAD is part of a national team strategizing to make sure this case doesn’t end up gutting the non-discrimination laws that are so important to so many people.

>> I can surely see why this is an important case for couples in the Philadelphia area who want to become foster parents. But what makes it so important for everyone else?

>> That’s a great question. I mean there are a number of issues in the case but probably most significant for the LGBTQ community is one that pits Philly’s non-discrimination requirement against Catholic Social Services free exercise claim. But we should probably back up a little bit.

Under well settled precedent, laws that don’t specifically target religious entities and applied equally to everyone, religious and non-religious people alike, are presumptively constitutional. The court calls those neutral laws of general applicability. The court says that they would stand constitutional challenge even if they have some incidental impact on a person’s religious practices. And this isn’t some progressive idea. It’s based on a case called Smith that was decided by Justice Antonin Scalia decades ago. The reason so many eyes are on Fulton now is because it’s a case where the new conservative majority could change the law in a way that would allow substantially more discrimination against LGBTQ people and others in a wide variety of contexts. It’s been a goal of the Religious Right to do this basically since Smith was decided.

>> But doesn’t our constitution provide special protections for people to be able to follow their religious beliefs? I mean what’s so wrong with that?

>> Well sure our Constitution does say that you can’t target religious beliefs for a particular hostile treatment by the government. But that’s not what non-discrimination laws do. Far from it. And what Justice Scalia reasoned in Smith was that allowing a person to do whatever they want based on their religious beliefs would basically mean that every person becomes a law unto themselves and that would undermine the rule of law and create chaos.

You also have to remember that this is a case about the conditions a city like Philly gets to put on its spending. I mean the city is basically just saying if you want to get government money you can’t discriminate against LGBTQ people. Seems pretty straightforward when you think of it that way.

>> Yeah I guess it does. So how big a deal is this case anyway?

>> That depends on where the court lands on how far it extends its analysis. At the far end a decision in the case could allow pretty much any religious entity to refuse to provide services to anyone and it can also force government at all levels to fund discriminatory groups. Pretty scary really.

>> Wow. I see that. I mean, so many people rely on government services for food, housing, health care, and so much more. Are you saying people could be turned away from housing shelter just because they’re gay?

>> That’s certainly possible if the court overturns the Smith precedent. It might even mean that private businesses could do that. The implications are seriously far-reaching.

>> Okay wow. I’m really just trying to take this all in. The case sounds seriously important. Thanks for talking to me about it. Definitely sounds like something all of us who care about non-discrimination should follow closely. I’ll make sure to keep checking GLAD’s website regularly so I can keep up on this case and so many more that I know will make a big difference in my life and the lives of so many people I care about. Thanks again and I hope you’ll come back and talk to me again sometime.

>> You bet I will. Any time.

(Video recorded in May 2020)

Blog

Jennifer Levi, GLAD’s Transgender Rights Project Director, explains the Supreme Court cases that will decide whether LGBTQ workers are legally protected from discrimination. The Court will rule any day now – sign up to hear as soon as they do and learn directly from GLAD experts what the decision means to you!

YouTube video

Register for the exclusive online briefing.

Dee Farmer, the First Transgender Plaintiff in a Supreme Court Case, Mourns the Passing of Aimee Stephens

Dee Farmer, the First Transgender Plaintiff in a Supreme Court Case, Mourns the Passing of Aimee Stephens

Dee Farmer, the first transgender plaintiff to bring a case before the United States Supreme Court, issued the following statement in response to the death of Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman whose employment discrimination case is currently pending before the Supreme Court:  

“I am saddened by the passing of Aimee Stephens, my sister in faith and love. Yet my heart is filled with warmth knowing that her voice will continue to be heard through her case in the Supreme Court. May this fact comfort us all.”

Dee Farmer’s litigation began in 1989, when she filed a federal lawsuit to hold prison officials responsible for failing to protect her from being sexually assaulted in a federal prison in Indiana, where she was housed with male inmates. Farmer’s case eventually reached the Supreme Court, which issued a landmark opinion in 1994 holding that prisoners have a right to be protected from sexual violence and that Farmer could seek damages from the officials who had placed her in danger.

The Court’s decision, Farmer v. Brennan, has been cited by thousands of courts. Farmer’s case was also a major catalyst for the Prison Rape Elimination Act, which was enacted by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush into law in 2003.

Farmer, who has spent decades incarcerated, was released on May 10, just a day before Aimee Stephen’s death on May 11, 2020.

“As we await the Supreme Court’s decision in Aimee Stephen’s historic case, it is important to remember the decades of advocacy that made this moment possible,” said Shannon Minter, a transgender man who serves as the legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “Dee Farmer is a legend in the transgender rights movement. This June will mark the twenty-sixth anniversary of her groundbreaking victory, which marked the first time the Supreme Court had a chance to learn about the struggles faced by transgender people. In the decades since, Dee’s courage has inspired countless other advocates to educate legislatures and courts about the humanity of transgender people and their urgent need for basic legal protections.”

“Few individuals have made as big a difference in the lives of others as Dee Farmer,” said Jennifer Levi, the Director of the Transgender Rights Project at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, and co-counsel with NCLR in several cases challenging Trump’s transgender military ban. “The transgender movement has made tremendous progress since Dee brought her case, and we owe no small part of it to her courage and foresight.”

In 2019, Farmer was featured in an award-winning documentary, Where Justice Ends, which tells the story of her arrest for a non-violent crime, the horrific treatment she endured while incarcerated, and the lawsuit that changed the law of the land.

In the past two years, Farmer has consulted with NCLR to help guide its advocacy on behalf of other transgender prisoners. Currently, NCLR represents Adree Edmo, a transgender woman incarcerated in Idaho. Last year, a federal district court ordered the prison to provide Ms. Edmo with medically necessary care to treat her gender dysphoria. The Ninth Circuit affirmed that decision, and Idaho has asked the Supreme Court to take the case.

“Our movement owes a huge debt of gratitude to Dee Farmer and the many other Black transgender women who have led the way in fighting for justice and dignity for all people,” said Imani Rupert-Gordon, who joined NCLR as its Executive Director in March. “NCLR is committed to honoring Dee’s legacy and to continuing the work that she and others began, and we will not rest until every transgender person can live safely and freely, and until the horrific violence and mistreatment that too many transgender prisoners still endure is at an end.”

GLAD and NCLR Respond to US Navy Granting Waiver to Transgender Officer Who Sued to Challenge Military Ban

The U.S. Navy announced last night that it has granted the first waiver to a transgender service member under the transgender military ban which has been in effect for more than a year.

GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) filed suit in March on behalf of the Naval Officer who has been granted the waiver. The government was due to file its response to the suit next week.

“The ban has been in place for over a year and this is the first waiver to be granted,” said Jennifer Levi, GLAD Transgender Rights Project Director. “While we are relieved that our client, a highly qualified Naval officer, will be able to continue her service, there are other equally qualified transgender service members who have sought waivers and are still in limbo, despite being perfectly fit to serve. Dedicated military service members shouldn’t have to bring a lawsuit to be able to continue doing their job.”

“There is no basis for treating transgender service members differently by requiring them to seek a waiver that no one else has to obtain in order to continue to serve,” said Shannon Minter, NCLR Legal Director. “While we are relieved for our client, requiring transgender service members to jump through this discriminatory hoop makes no sense and only underscores the irrationality of the ban. Being transgender has nothing to do with a person’s fitness to serve, and transgender individuals should be held to the same standards as other service members.”

“We are ecstatic both for the Sailor and the breach of the waiver logjam,” said Emma Shinn, president of SPART*A, which advocates for actively serving transgender military members, veterans, and their families. “I am hopeful that this is the first of many; but the fight is far from over.”

Click here to learn more about the case.

News

GLAD Executive Director Janson Wu issued the following statement on the death of Aimee Stephens, whose landmark transgender status employment discrimination case is currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court:

“We are deeply saddened by the news of Aimee Stephens’ death. Our hearts go out to Aimee’s wife, Donna, their daughter Elizabeth, and all who loved her.

All of us owe Aimee a debt of gratitude. Her decision to speak out and challenge the discrimination she faced at a job she had loved for years demonstrated true courage. Her willingness to publicly share her story and to persist in her fight all the way to the Supreme Court has already made a tremendous difference to transgender people across the country.

Aimee’s life reminds us that at the center of every civil rights case is a human story, an individual who made the choice to try and change things for themselves and for all of us. Today we celebrate Aimee’s life and thank her and her loved ones for the gift they gave our community.”

Aimee Stephens’ case, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, is currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court and concerns the question of whether transgender workers are protected from discrimination under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act.

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