Support the ACLU: Let’s Protect LGBTQ Communities

WHO WE ARE:

The ACLU works to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, & queer people belong everywhere and can live openly and authentically without discrimination, harassment, or violence. The ACLU has a long history of advancing LGBTQ equality, including a Supreme Court victory to secure the right for same-sex couples to marry. Today, the ACLU brings more LGBTQ rights cases and advocacy initiatives than any other national organization.

The ACLU works in and out of the courtroom to protect and advance equality for LGBTQ people.

As we continue to see dismaying attacks on trans people and especially youth from policy makers across the country, we know it’s more important than ever to amplify their voices. In parallel, we must promote educational resources that explain how devastating these policies are on trans people, their families, and broader LGBTQ communities.

Freedom to Be campaign:

We created the "Freedom to Be" campaign to elevate personal and poignant stories from trans young people and their families. The campaign focuses on a critical – yet largely absent – element from the national discourse surrounding the lives of trans people and their families: their joy.

The freedom to be loved, to be safe, to be trusted with decisions about our own health care. That's what we are fighting for. Learn more about the campaign, our storytellers, their families, and how they are advocating for their freedom here (https://www.aclu.org/campaigns-initiatives/freedom-to-be).

Below are some of the ACLU’s critical cases:

Restricting Access to Gender-Affirming Care:

PFLAG v. Trump

Through an executive order, the President is trying to ban gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19. In February 2025, the ACLU, Lambda Legal, ACLU of Maryland, and our partners filed a lawsuit on behalf of two transgender young adults and five transgender adolescents and their families whose health care has been disrupted by this order. Also joining the case are PFLAG National, the nation’s largest organization supporting LGBTQ+ people and their families, with over 550,000 members and supporters and nearly 350 chapters across the country; and GLMA, the country’s largest organization of LGBTQ+ and allied health professionals.

Trump's order attempts to force healthcare providers to stop providing gender-affirming medical care for young people altogether, threatening to withhold research and education grants from medical schools and hospitals and pulling Medicare and Medicaid funding for providers who treat trans people under 19.

In early March, in a victory for transgender people and their families, a federal judge granted a request for a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of this executive order – a lifesaving victory for the trans community.

U.S. v. Skrmetti

In December 2024, the ACLU, Lambda Legal, ACLU of Tennessee, and our partners were at the Supreme Court to defend access to gender-affirming care in U.S. v. Skrmetti. Even though this new administration reversed the stance of the U.S. government, the case remains briefed and argued, and the Supreme Court must consider the same question of whether Tennessee’s law banning this necessary care violates the Constitution. A decision is expected from the court by June 2025. More about the case here: (https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/supreme-court-adjourns-oral-argument...)

Denying Accurate Passports:

Orr v. Trump

In February, the ACLU, ACLU of Massachusetts, and our partners sued to block the government from denying trans and intersex people from getting passports that accurately reflect their gender. Having inaccurate passport ID puts people in danger: trans people would face being outed while flying, opening bank accounts, enrolling in school, and more – risking discrimination and violence. This is clearly another unconstitutional attempt to force trans people out of public life. We are currently awaiting a court decision.

Regardless of who you are, what you look like, how you dress, or where you're from, you deserve the right to move freely in the world without facing discrimination or harassment. These policies aren't just wrong and harmful – they're also illegal.

Thank you for your continued support.