“Nearly forty years ago, when I entered federal prison as a terrified, isolated, nineteen-year-old transgender woman, the world told me I had no rights. I was being taught that I had no right to exist. In that darkness, I prayed for an answer — and I got Shannon Minter. Shannon told me, and showed me, that I am somebody. I carried that truth with me all the way to the United States Supreme Court.” — Dee Farmer

This past week, Shannon Minter was named to the 2026 TIME100, recognizing the 100 most influential people of 2026. For those of us at NCLR — and for the countless people like Dee whose lives he has shaped — this recognition means a great deal. 

For more than 30 years, Shannon has been a go-to expert and a defining leader of our movement. Under his leadership in 2025, NCLR filed multiple lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies and executive orders — continuing a career defined by showing up for our community when it matters most.

Shannon served as lead counsel in the landmark 2008 California marriage equality case, and he led NCLR’s contributions to multiple U.S. Supreme Court cases, including Obergefell v. Hodges, Pavan v. Smith — which recognized that marriage equality protects parental rights — and Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, which upheld university anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students against a religious freedom challenge.

An appointee to President Obama’s Commission on White House Fellowships, Shannon was one of the most senior transgender appointees in the Obama administration. He is one of the nation’s foremost experts on conversion therapy and a steadfast advocate for the rights of transgender people.

Quietly, faithfully, relentlessly, Shannon has fought for the dignity of every human being — and the number of lives he has touched, protected, and transformed is beyond measure.

Congratulations, Shannon! Your leadership, expertise, and love for our community shine through in everything you do. NCLR is proud to follow your lead.

Lesbian Visibility Week is an annual international movement that celebrates lesbians, queer women, and nonbinary people. LVW works to ensure lesbians’ lives, culture, and communities are visible across public, social, and cultural spaces. Lesbian Visibility Week centers community connection and diverse leadership

Join NCLR for a virtual panel on April 23 at 12:00 PT / 3:00 ET outlining Trump administration and state legislative threats to family equality. NCLR President, Imani Rupert-Gordon and Senior Staff Attorney Amy Whelan, will be joined by Milan Pham, a member of NCLR’s National Family Law Advisory Council, and Kris Williams, an NCLR client and parent with a current challenge pending before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. This webinar qualifies for 1 hour of Elimination of Bias MCLE credit to eligible attorneys in California who attend. A request for 1 hour of General MCLE credit approval has been submitted to the State Bar of Nevada. This event will be live via zoom, and registration is required to attend.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Chiles v. Salazar, NCLR is working with states to revise their laws protecting youth from conversion therapy to address the concerns raised by the Court. Our thirty-year commitment to the families, survivors, and advocates who have stood with us is stronger than ever.

Conversion therapy remains unethical. It violates the professional standards of every major mental health organization in the country. It exposes vulnerable patients—often minors—to treatments that are both harmful and ineffective. That is malpractice, and it is actionable.

“Survivors can still bring malpractice and consumer fraud claims. Licensing boards can still discipline providers who engage in unethical or harmful conduct.” — Shannon Minter, NCLR Legal Director

NCLR is advancing several strategies to protect LGBTQ youth:

• Legislation: We are partnering with lawmakers in California, Colorado, Maryland, Illinois, and other states to revise existing protections in response to the Court’s ruling and to pass laws extending the window for survivors to sue for damages.
• Accountability: We are pressing licensing boards to discipline practitioners who engage in conversion therapy.
• Litigation: We are supporting survivors who bring civil claims against the therapists who harmed them. 

The Court’s ruling does not make conversion therapy safe, ethical, or legal—and it does not prevent states from protecting young people from it. NCLR is helping states draft stronger, more durable laws that address the Court’s concerns, and we will continue to pursue accountability for anyone who uses a practice condemned by every major medical and mental health organization in the United States.

The Evident Media/PBS documentary, Fighting to Serve featuring NCLR transgender military ban plaintiff Major Erica Vandal has been nominated for a News & Documentary Emmy! NCLR’s VP of Communications and Public Affairs worked closely with Erica and the Evident Media/PBS team on this project and it’s so inspiring to see our plaintiff Erica and the team who produced her powerful story receiving some of the recognition they deserve.

Watch the film. 

NCLR President Imani Rupert-Gordon will join a delegation of 16 U.S. leaders, together with representatives from the Southern Poverty Law Center, The Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice, the Kettering Foundation, and MADRE for On the Front Lines: A Leaders Exchange Program as they travel to Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, Brazil in May.

This exchange will bring frontline civil society organizations and leaders from the U.S. and Brazil together to strengthen strategic relationships, foster mutual learning, and build lasting solidarity in defense of democracy and human rights.

Brazilian civil society is successfully confronting authoritarian tendencies and building resilient, representative democratic institutions. These are lessons directly relevant to our own struggle, and NCLR is excited to share learnings that Imani brings home with her.

Resource Center in Dallas, Texas has been a vital community hub and health center for the North Texas LGBTQ community for 43 years, and on May 5th, they will celebrate the grand opening of their new healthcare building, where they provide comprehensive medical care, a food pantry, hot lunch, pharmacy, mental health counseling and other support services.

The new building provides a welcoming and nurturing environment to all who enter and features a series of portraits commemorating icons that have contributed to the rich history of LGBTQ Texans.

NCLR is proud to share that our own Vice President of Legal, Shannon Minter, will be honored with one of these portraits. Congratulations, Shannon!

NCLR President Imani Rupert-Gordon and panelists met on March 26 and discussed the findings in the LGBTQ+ Women’s Survey. The conversation was grounded in data, truth, and lived experience of LGBTQ+ women, trans men, gender-expansive people, and lesbians across identities.

Watch the recording.

The conversations we’re starting, the stories making noise, and the posts you don’t want to miss.

• Trans lawyer Shannon Minter named to TIME100 list | Advocate.com
• On Trans Day of Visibility, Supreme Court Sides With Conversion Therapy – Mother Jones
• Families sue San Diego’s Rady Children’s over trans care | Advocate.com
• San Diego families file civil rights suit over cutoff of transgender care at children’s hospital | KPBS Public Media
• NCLR Instagram: NCLR files lawsuit to stop Rady Children’s Health from cutting off health care for transgender youth. 
• Op-Ed | Transgender people as legal scapegoats | amNewYork