Every year, November 13-19 marks Transgender Awareness Week – a time to learn and address the issues that the trans community faces. The week leads up to Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR) on November 20 – a day held to memorialize our trans siblings lost to violence and discrimination. This TDOR, we encourage you to honor their lives, and to commit to allyship all year round.

November is Native American Heritage Month – a time to celebrate and uplift the cultures and contributions of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and affiliated Island communities. This month, read books, learn about the Indigenous land you live on, and get plugged into land back– a movement dedicated to collective liberation.

California Supreme Court Upholds Critical Protections for Seniors: Taking Offense v. California
In 2017, the California Legislature enacted the LGBT Long-Term Care Residents’ Bill of Rights, comprehensive legislation that addresses issues concerning LGBT seniors’ access to, and treatment by, long-term care facilities. One of the issues addressed was the correct usage of preferred names and pronouns for LGBTQ residents and patients receiving care from providers working in these facilities. The legislation provides that workers who fail to use preferred names and pronouns with their patients repeatedly are engaging in discrimination. 

Taking Offense, an entity which describes itself as dedicated to opposing efforts “to coerce society to accept [the] transgender fiction that a person can be whatever sex/gender s/he thinks s/he is, or chooses to be,” filed a petition seeking to block enforcement of the pronouns provision as a violation of worker’s free speech rights under the First Amendment. On November 6, the Supreme Court of California rejected the challenge and upheld the provision.  

NCLR submitted an amicus brief, which urged the Supreme Court to view the challenged law not as a regulation of speech, but as a regulation of conduct designed to protect seniors from discriminatory treatment by professionals providing and facilitating medical treatment and intimate personal care. Citing NCLR’s brief, the Court rejected Taking Offense’s argument and ruled that the pronoun provision is valid and requires no special constitutional scrutiny. This is great news for LGBTQ seniors, who often face discrimination by professional caregivers at some of the most vulnerable moments in their lives.  

The Supreme Court will not hear Kim Davis’s Challenge to Obergefell v. Hodges 
The Supreme Court has declined to take up Kim Davis’s challenge to Obergefell v. Hodges, meaning that, for now, the Court will not be reconsidering its 2015 decision, which established the freedom to marry nationally.  

While the public’s focus on Davis’s appeal centered around the possible overturning of Obergefell, Davis’s petition was actually concerned with a more technical argument. The former clerk argued that she should be exempt from legal liability due to the First Amendment’s religious protections and was appealing the damages verdict levied against her, an argument previously rejected by a lower court. Her petition also asked the Court to revisit Obergefell, but the justices rejected that invitation and will not hear the case. 

While this is a positive outcome, NCLR will continue to work constantly in coalition with our movement partners to defend marriage equality at the local, state and federal level. We are well prepared to face any potential challenge to Obergefell that may come before the courts now or in the future. 

Read more from The Advocate: U.S. Supreme Court rejects marriage equality challenge 

NCLR Files New Lawsuit Against the Trump Administration for Rescinding Retirements 
Last week, NCLR and GLAD Law filed Ireland v. United States, a new lawsuit against the Trump administration in the Federal Court of Claims for rescinding the retirement benefits of 17 transgender servicemembers for being transgender.  

Never in history has this happened to any group of people. 

Lead plaintiff Master Sergeant Logan Ireland and NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter spoke with NBC News on Friday about the economic hardship and other impacts felt by transgender servicemembers and their families.

This will result in a loss of up to $1-2 million for each plaintiff and their families over the course of their lifetimes, as well as the loss of TRICARE health care benefits. These retirement benefits were earned and previously granted by the Secretary of the Air Force.

Pensions are essential to help military families avoid economic hardship. These pensions are earned and compensate servicemembers for the unique sacrifices and constraints of military life that make it difficult to save for retirement and create the diversified retirement portfolios that civilians can. For example, because of frequent job-related moves, members of our military typically cannot purchase a house and live there for 20 years to grow equity. 

The lawsuit argues that the rescission of retirement orders in this case violates the Air Force’s own retirement policies and procedures, which only permit retirement rescissions under very limited circumstances, none of which are present here. 

The trust built between service members is what makes our military strong, and Transgender soldiers have trained, deployed, and led with courage and conviction, proving that they can do the job with skill, determination, and commitment. They want to continue to show up, lead their teams, and uphold the highest standards of duty and honor, and NCLR has their six. Meet our clients who have not only the courage, but the right to serve. 

Courage to Serve – National Center for LGBTQ Rights 

n 2025 we saw attack after attack on our communities. From military bans to big cuts on crucial social services to efforts to undermine protections from conversion therapy, NCLR has been at the forefront, fighting back. Join NCLR’s leadership, legal and policy staff on December 11 for a virtual panel discussing how we are meeting this unprecedented moment. This will be an opportunity to connect with the NCLR team and hear about our continued fight for LGBTQ justice. There will be time for Q+A with the speakers. Email your questions to development@nclrighst.org. This event will be recorded. Registration is required. 

2025 Year End Virtual Briefing
December 11
5PM EST – 2PM PST
Via Zoom
[Register] 

Panelists include NCLR President Imani Rupert-Gordon, VP of Legal Shannon Minter, Senior Staff Attorney Amy Whelan, Director of Racial and Economic Justice Initiatives TyrONE Hanley and Director of Community Justice and Access Ming Wong. 

• NCLR Senior Staff Attorney Amy Whelan was on “The Future for Protecting LGBTQ+ Rights” panel as part of the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute’s Judicial Education Conference. The recording will be posted here: Events – Williams Institute

• NCLR’s Director of Hogar Noemi Calonje and NCLR Board Member Dulce Garcia were honored at Bay Time’s inaugural Honoring LGBTQ+ Bay Area Latine Leaders event. President Imani Rupert-Gordon was there cheering them on!  

• NCLR’s VP of Legal Shannon Minter participated in a debate at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphrey’s School of Law entitled Equality at the Finish Line: A Debate on Title XI, Trans Athletes and the Future of Women’s Sports. 

The work NCLR does to stop harmful legislation, delay implementation of discriminatory policy and defend our rights is 100% community funded, and in this critical moment LGBTQ advocacy organizations like NCLR are being outspent by our opponents. NCLR is proud to be part of a community defending our democracy and changing the legal landscape for LGBTQ people nationwide, and that change depends on you! 

Will you make a pledge to protect our community today? Your gift is an investment in the future of our democracy. 

Vice President of NCLR’s Legal Team, Shannon Minter, sat down with Paul M. Smith, Chair-Elect of the American Bar Association Civil Rights and Social Justice Section, to talk about the pending Supreme Court “conversion therapy” case Chiles v. Salazar. The conversation explores the competing constitutional arguments, and the potential consequences of a decision barring states from banning this harmful and ineffective form of therapy. Constitutionality of State Conversion Therapy Bans | How Things Work: The Legal Edition 

Trans military members lost their decades-earned health benefits after being forcibly dismissed from the military for being transgender. This has never happened to any group of people before. NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter and plaintiff Logan Ireland were on NBC News to talk about the felt impact:  Transgender members of the Air Force sue government over losing retirement pay 

New Poll Finds Majority Of MAGA Oppose Gay Conversion Therapy. | Hotspots Magazine 

• Honor the transgender lives lost too soon from violence and discrimination at community events all across the country:  

• In San Fransico, there will be a “Stages of Grief” Trans Day of Remembrance event. Be in solidarity with the trans community, and honor those lost too soon from violence. There will be speakers, a march, and a program. Instagram or TDoR SF – Transgender Day of Remembrance, San Francisco 

• Honor Trans Day of Remembrance in Palm Springs with the Transgender Health and Wellness Center. This will be a time to reflect, support one another, and raise awareness about the challenges faced by the transgender community.  Transgender Day of Remembrance – Transgender Health and Wellness Center 

• The Metropolitan Church of the Rockies will host a solidarity walk, a program, and reception in honor of TDOR. Come join Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, community advocates, activists, leaders and allies. The event will include live performances. TDoR Transgender Day of Remembrance at MCC of the Rockies 11/20/2025 – MCC Church of the Rockies 

• Have some fun with the Dallas Comedy Club at their Queer Factor: LGBTQ Variety Show in December! This show features an incredible cast of LGBTQ+ performers. It will be a hilarious evening of stand-up, improv, burlesque, drag, and more! Support live, local comedy and experience the best up-and-coming queer talent from the Dallas area and beyond! Queer Factor: LGBTQ+ Variety Show Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite 

• Get connected into queer advocacy with the Queer Neighborhood Council in Boston! They will be hosting an online space dedicated to our Action Collectives—participant-led subgroups focused on accelerating our impact and organizing beyond monthly meetings. Folks will get plugged into urgent actions based on queer issues  –  including trans shelter, right to counsel, and queer youth spaces. Come learn and contribute: Queer Advocacy Action Collectives — The Queer Neighborhood Council – Boston’s LGBTQIA+ and ally community 

• Shine A Light On It Exhibit Launch Event  

• On December 1st, join Chicago’s E3 Radio for the official launch of “Shine a Light on It: Black Women, HIV & Its Impact”, a powerful, necessary mixed-media exhibit. Experience intimate, compelling video stories paired with striking photography that celebrate resilience and joy. The event is part of a movement to disrupt stigma and center the full humanity of Black women living with HIV. Shine A Light On It Exhibit Launch Event  

• Transgender Law Center Virtual Event “Give Them Their Flowers: a Trans Community Gathering”. Give Them Their Flowers: A Trans Community Gathering