Articles Tagged with Transgender Rights

A state judge in Montana temporarily blocked the enforcement of a ban on certain types of gender-affirming care, while the federal Sixth Circuit found that similar bans were likely constitutional.

Seven transgender women who are inmates in Colorado men's state prisons have filed a class action lawsuit against multiple government defendants, alleging that abuse occurring in those prisons violates state anti-discrimination law, and that state prison officials are discriminating against them on the basis of gender identity. The case was filed on behalf of an estimated 170 transgender women, and alleges that they are being held in unsafe conditions which have led to systemic violence, rape, and harassment.

In an order issued today, the US Supreme Court has granted the Trump administration's request to stay orders in two cases filed in federal district courts within the 9th Circuit to block the administration's policy banning most transgender people from serving in the military from going into effect. The Court's decision permits the ban to be temporarily implemented while the cases progress through the appeals process and any Supreme Court review. The Court denied the Trump administration's request to bypass the appellate process completely, but provides a preview of how the Court will likely rule if it hears these cases on the merits.

A lawsuit has been filed in Kansas federal court challenging a state policy prohibiting gender marker changes on birth certificates for transgender people. Along with Tennessee and Ohio, Kansas is one of only three states in the country with such a ban. 

The North Carolina legislature historically has been dominated by Republicans, but times may be changing in a state known for extremely conservative lawmaking. While the Governor is a Democrat, the Republican supermajority in the legislature has pushed many laws past his veto over the last two years. One of the most notable…

Colorado baker Jack Phillips, who won a decision before the U.S. Supreme Court in June, is suing again following his refusal to bake a cake to celebrate a gender transition. His refusal resulted in a probable cause finding by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission that he had violated Colorado’s public accommodations law.…

A lawsuit has been filed against an Ohio judge for rejecting the requests of transgender teens for changing their names to match their gender identities. The plaintiffs, who are the mothers of three transgender teens, claim that Judge Joseph Kirby’s rulings denying the name-change requests may violate the adolescents' constitutional rights. All of the teens have full support from their doctors and are going through therapy and medical treatment for their gender dysphoria.

Last month, a three-judge Third Circuit panel announced just minutes after oral arguments that it would affirm a district court’s ruling in favor a school district policy that allowed transgender students to use bathroom and locker room facilities corresponding with their gender identity. This unusually quick decision was partly practical, as the judges explained that they wanted to rule before the students’ graduation date.