Back in 2016, after Donald Trump was elected President, we wrote an update for the community responding to people’s fears that their marriages were under threat. Today, we’re seeing the same concerns again. So here’s a short update on our original post. The short answer is that there is still no realistic reason to fear that existing marriages of same-sex couples will be invalidated. The law remains as strong as it was in 2016 that if a marriage is valid when entered, it cannot be invalidated...
On March 30, 2022, NCLR, with our colleagues at Kaplan, Hecker & Fink LLP, filed a new lawsuit challenging Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” legislation, which Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law on March 28. Along with several students, parents, and teachers, we represent Equality Florida, which has over 400,000 members, and Family Equality, the nation’s leading group for LGBTQ-parent families and their children. The new Florida law seeks to create a climate of fear,...
You have been by our side for a long time, through moments of thrilling victory and through many moments of peril and uncertainty as well. We know you look to us to do our research, be one step ahead of our foes, and be ready to pivot and fight until we win the rights and achieve the lived equality we all deserve. Rest assured, we are working harder than ever to respond to inequities and create a more just world. This past week, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, joined by...
* This piece originally appeared in them.us on September 10, 2018. A vote this November on trans rights in Massachusetts could have wide-ranging national consequences. by Shannon Minter & Jennifer Levi This November, Massachusetts voters will be the first anywhere to be asked whether they will retain a statewide law protecting transgender people’s equal access to public places. The law, Bill S.2047, was passed in 2016 with bipartisan support and signed by a Republican governor. For over...
Providing healthcare to all of our nation’s veterans is the right thing to do. Federal law requires the Veterans Administration (“VA”) to “furnish hospital care and medical services” to veterans. For most veterans, this means that after serving in the military they receive comprehensive medical care from the VA. Right now, transgender veterans’ healthcare coverage is at risk. On July 9, the Trump Administration announced it will be deciding whether to provide transgender veterans with...
* This piece originally appeared in the Los Angeles Blade and the Washington Blade on July 12, 2018. On July 9, President Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Kennedy, who authored the Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision and a number of other landmark LGBTQ rights cases, was an occasional swing vote on the Supreme Court. Though he almost always sided with the conservative justices, sometimes he voted with liberal Justices...
On January 1, for the first time in history, transgender Americans will be able to openly enlist in our nation’s military. This is an incredible moment, and one we can all celebrate. We know that many transgender Americans have been planning and preparing for over a year for this day. And many others will now begin considering this as a real option for the very first time. The military has put considerable time into preparing for this day, and has developed guidelines for those charged with...
In the wake of the elections, transgender people across the country are struggling to understand what the future may hold for our communities. In the past two decades—and especially in the past eight years under President Obama—we have made so many gains in employment protections, health care, student rights, family law, asylum, federally funded housing programs and homeless shelters, and other areas. In addition, President Obama has protected federal benefits programs and made health care...
Last month, North Carolina enacted HB2, one of the most viciously anti-civil rights laws in the country. In addition to repealing local minimum wage laws and local protections for LGBTQ people, HB2 stripped women, people of color, and other protected groups of the ability to bring discrimination cases in state courts. HB2 also openly attacked transgender people. HB2’s supporters demonized transgender people as deviants who must be excluded from shared bathrooms and locker rooms to “protect”...
Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. We’re changing Florida through lobbying, grassroots organizing, education, and coalition building — so that no one suffers harassment or discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
Come Out With Pride
The mission of Come Out With Pride Orlando is to cultivate visibility, authenticity, and acceptance by curating inclusive experiences that celebrate and embody the spirit of queer resilience.
Orlando Youth Alliance
Since 1990, the Orlando Youth Alliance (OYA) has been providing safe spaces for LGBTQ youth in Central Florida. Their coverage area includes metro Orlando, but also spans out to include the rural counties surrounding Orlando. In 2008, they created a chapter in Lakeland, Florida (Polk County). OYA oversees the highly successful Polk Pride Festival which attracts over 6,000 people annually.
Southern Legal Counsel
Southern Legal Counsel, Inc. (SLC) is a Florida statewide not-for-profit public interest law firm that is committed to the ideal of equal justice for all and the attainment of basic human and civil rights. SLC developed its Transgender Rights Initiative to fill a gap in access to justice for Florida’s transgender community, including in areas such as access to legal authenticity, access to safe and affirming school and work environments, access to medically necessary healthcare, and more. SLC’s Trans Rights Initiative protects the rights of Florida’s LGBTQ+ community utilizing federal impact litigation, policy advocacy, and individual representation. SLC has litigated many of the recent federal cases against the state of Florida, and has successfully overturned the Medicaid Ban on gender-affirming care (Dekker v. Weida); permanently enjoined the medical care bans for minors and restrictions for adults created by SB 254 and the Boards of Medicine rules (Doe v. Ladapo); preliminarily enjoined the pronoun ban for transgender teachers in Florida’s public schools; and more.
Joy Metropolitan Community Church
Joy MCC is the spiritual home to a multi-cultural, inclusive, and diverse community of faith. We are rooted in the life, ministry, and teachings of Jesus. We experience a vibrant spirituality that is positive, practical, and progressive. We’ve always been a totally open and affirming church. We welcome the full participation of people of allraces, cultures, ages, abilities, spiritual backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender identities. We share a deep sense of community where our diversity is celebrated, not merely tolerated.
ACLU of Florida
The mission of the ACLU of Florida is to protect, defend, strengthen, and promote the constitutional rights and liberties of all people in Florida. We envision a fair and just Florida, where all people are free, equal under the law, and live with dignity.
QLatinx
QLatinx is a grassroots community-led racial, social, and gender justice organization dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of Orlando’s LGBTQ+ Latinx community. QLatinx is committed to building a supportive infrastructure, addressing inequity, promoting inclusionary QLatinx aims to deepen the political consciousness of LGBTQ+ and Latinx individuals about intersections and complexities of institutional, interpersonal, and internalized forms of oppression. This work includes empowering local LGBTQ+ leadership to become cognizant of gender and racial inequities with the LGBTQ+ community and in relation to cisgender populations.
Community Spring
Community Spring is a grassroots organization dedicated to economic justice. The two pillars of our work are income and power: income to meet people’s needs and power to reshape the systems that keep them down.
Pride Community Center of North Central Florida
The Pride Community Center of North Central Florida offers safe spaces, resources, services and events to foster and enhance the well-being and visibility of LGBTQ+ people in North Central Florida. Visibility changes minds. Here in North Central Florida, LGBTQ+ people deserve access to safe spaces where they can not only express themselves, but where they can also be a part of a community. Come join us.