The ACLU is committed to fighting discrimination based on gender identity and expression. We have won important rulings in lower courts by applying protections against sex discrimination to transgender people. Many states have enacted laws that protect gender identity in addition to sexual orientation. Although a few states make it difficult for transgender people to be parents, most family courts do not have rules outlawing adoption and foster care based on gender identity. But we must do more to overcome blatant abuse and prejudice that judges and lawmakers often accept or dismiss.

Related ACLU Cases

• Schroer v. Library of Congress
  Our Title VII sex discrimination lawsuit against the Library of Congress. Diane Schroer was offered a job as a terrorism research analyst at the Library of Congress, but the offer was rescinded when she told her future supervisor that she was undergoing gender transition.


• Sundstrom v. Frank
  ACLU and Lambda Legal lawsuit on behalf of two transgender inmates in Wisconsin. The lawsuit charges that barring transgender inmates from access to individualized medical care, such as hormone therapy or sex reassignment surgery, while in state custody violates the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection and the guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment.