Paul E. and Courtney F. disagreed about the appropriate response to their child’s gender dysphoria. After a week-long trial, the judge issued an opinion awarding primary custody to the father, but also ordering that the child’s then-current therapist continue treating the child. The court also appointed an expert in the mental health of transgender children to advise the parties and the court about ongoing treatment. The Supreme Court remanded the matter back to the trial court to determine...
Our Voices
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia that the City of Philadelphia violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by failing to give Catholic Social Services (CSS) an exemption from the nondiscrimination provision in city contracts for foster care providers, even though the contract authorized exemptions and the City had granted exemptions to other providers. The opinion by the court written by Chief Justice Roberts was joined by Justices Breyer, Kagan,...
In 2012, Colorado residents David Mullins and Charlie Craig visited Masterpiece Cakeshop to order a cake for their upcoming wedding reception. Masterpiece owner Jack Phillips informed them that because of his religious beliefs, the store would not serve customers who wanted to order cakes to celebrate a same-sex couple’s wedding. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission and the Colorado Court of Appeals both ruled that Masterpiece’s denial of service to Mullins and Craig violated the...
LGBT civil rights groups filed a lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s sweeping anti-LGBT law, HB 2. The plaintiffs allege that through HB 2, North Carolina sends a purposeful message that LGBT people are second-class citizens who are undeserving of the privacy, respect, and protections afforded others in the state. The trial court granted the plaintiffs motion for preliminary injunction and halted enforcement of HB 2. On October 25, 2016, NCLR filed an amicus brief before the Court of Appeal...
Debra H. and Janice R. were a same-sex couple living in New York who planned to have a child together and entered a Vermont civil union. After Janice gave birth to a child conceived through alternative insemination, Debra and Janice lived together and parented their child together for over two years. After the couple separated, Debra continued to visit the child regularly, until Janice cut off contact when the child was four-and-a-half years old. A trial court awarded Debra visitation, and...