Introduction Lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, gender nonconforming, and transgender (LGBTQI) youth are well documented as disproportionally represented in the juvenile justice system. These disparities, coupled with the high visibility of LGBTQI youth as leaders amongst prominent campaigns to abolish the youth prison model, emphasize the importance of examining the concerns facing LGBTQI youth involved in the prison abolition movement, and the strengths they bring to the effort. This...
The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Utah, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Today, two Utah families filed a legal challenge in Utah state court against House Bill 11, which prohibits transgender girls from competing in school sports. The law, which the Legislature enacted over Governor Spencer Cox’s veto, singles out transgender girls in order to exclude them from girls’ sports. It bars every...
Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP and NCLR File Federal Complaint in Florida’s Northern District On March 31, 2022, lawyers from Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) filed a federal complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida challenging Florida House Bill 1557 (widely known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law). The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Equality Florida and Family Equality, as well as students, parents, and a...
NEW YORK, NY – The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) leads a coalition of over 400 signatories in condemning the coordinated political attack on books in schools playing out across the country. As a staunchly non-partisan organization dedicated to defending students’ right to read for nearly 50 years, NCAC is gravely concerned by the increasing number of school districts allowing the personal viewpoints of some to determine what books all students are allowed to access. Policies...
New website from GLAD, GLSEN, NCLR, and PFLAG National provides support and resources for LGBTQI+ students. SAN FRANCISCO, CA — As schools and school districts across the country face hostile protests of LGBTQI+ inclusive education, students who are experiencing discrimination, bullying and harassment based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression now have a new resource to help defend their rights. “Safe Schools for All” is a unique resource to help make schools...
NCLR partners with the Pacific Juvenile Defense Center on “COVID-19 and California’s Detained Youth: Vulnerable and Overlooked.” Published in the California Journal of Politics and Policy, this article describes the unique dangers posed by COVID-19 to incarcerated youth in county-run detention facilities in California. It delves into the efforts of advocates to urge government stakeholders to implement health and safety protocols, and draws on the experience of the past year and a half to...
In 2018, the State of Washington passed a law prohibiting state-licensed therapists from trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a patient under 18 years old. Every leading medical and mental health organization in the country has warned that these practices do not work and put young people at risk of serious harm, including depression, substance abuse, and suicide. In 2021, an anti-LGBTQ legal group filed a federal lawsuit challenging the new law on behalf of Brian...
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has added a new and urgent justification for ending the harmful, ineffective and expensive practice of locking up youth who are in conflict with the law. Youth in custodial settings are at great risk of exposure to a highly contagious virus. Probation personnel, facility staff, attorneys, youth and others enter and leave these facilities every day, increasing the risk of contagion. Youth detention centers and prisons are notoriously unsanitary environments,...
On November 25, 2019, the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed an amicus brief in the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in support of Gavin Grimm, a transgender student who was mistreated in school because he is transgender. Representing a coalition of organizations that work with families raising transgender youth, the brief tells the stories of families raising transgender children in states within the Fourth Circuit (Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 3, 2019 Contact: Shannon Minter – 415-624-6071; Email sminter@nclrights.org Born Perfect Applauds Amazon Decision to Stop Promoting Dangerous “Gay Cure” Fraud to Parents (Seattle, WA) Today Amazon, the nation’s largest seller of online books, stopped marketing A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality by Joseph Nicolosi, a California therapist who promoted...
