These past few years have seen a disturbing rise in anti-LGBTQ legislation across the country, including attacks on the transgender community’s ability to access essential gender-affirming healthcare. The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in United States v. Skrmetti upholding Tennessee’s ban on healthcare for transgender youth is a devastating blow to trans healthcare access in states across the country, especially throughout the South. We are appalled and upset by the decision, and committed to supporting our partners working in this sphere as they resist these attacks.
This June is Pride Month, a time to reflect on the historic struggle for LGBTQ equity. This year, the month comes with a clear call to action for all: we must stand in solidarity with our transgender loved ones, neighbors, and coworkers, and all trans people in our communities, to condemn harmful transphobic rhetoric and defend their autonomy.
As we have seen in states across the South in particular, attempts from conservative state legislatures to block local protections for LGBTQ people (including anti-discrimination protections and healthcare access) tend to follow the same playbook used to hinder local paid sick time and paid family & medical leave progress. As we outlined in a report with our partners at Equality Federation and the Local Solutions Support Center, this abusive, anti-democratic process – known as preemption – can be resisted through strategic organizing and campaigning to restore the will of progressive cities. In passing supportive work-family laws as with protecting LGBTQ rights, we know that we are stronger together, and it is more important than ever to stand alongside our partners as we fight for freedom and equity for all.
When LGBTQ workers, especially transgender workers, are able to show up as their full selves and be free of discrimination and harassment in the workplace, it lays the foundation for economic justice and broader equity, in the workplace and beyond. To that end, we released a set of know-your-rights guides with our partners at Transgender Law Center to help trans and non-binary workers understand their rights to access the time and accommodations they need to care for their own health and their loved ones.
Ensuring trans and non-binary workers understand and can exercise their rights to access the support they need in the workplace is imperative, but the work doesn’t end there. During Pride and year-round, we must fiercely resist legal attacks on the transgender community and fight for policies that support justice and equality for all individuals, regardless of gender identity.
For information about laws and policies in the United States that affect transgender people across many areas, including employment, health care, housing, civil rights, immigration, prisoners’ rights, and identity document changes, contact the Transgender Law Center’s legal information help desk.
