LGBTQI+ Rights

LGBTQI+ people are a vital part of our nation and have remained resilient in their fight for equal rights.

However, the LGBTQI+ community is currently facing unprecedented levels of discrimination: State attacks explicitly targeting the rights of LGBTQI+ people have surged in recent years, while attempts to ban gender-affirming health care and criminalize drag performances have spread through various state houses across the country. Not only does the passage of these measures directly harm LGBTQI+ people and communities, but data also show that the mere introduction of these kinds of bills—which are often fueled by hateful and misinformed rhetoric—adversely affects LGBTQI+ people, especially youth.

CAP is dedicated to providing research that highlights the need for legal and lived equality for LGBTQI+ people as well as advancing policy solutions that further comprehensive nondiscrimination protections in tandem with policies that support the economic security, health, and safety of LGBTQI+ people.

Photo shows a black wrought iron fence next to a brick sidewalk. Small, colorful pride and transgender flags line the fence.
Colorful pride flags line a wrought iron fence at Christopher Park, part of the Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village, New York. (Getty/John Senter/UCG/Universal Images Group)
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LGBTQI+ Policy

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Discrimination and Barriers to Well-Being: The State of the LGBTQI+ Community in 2022
Report Intersex Progress Pride flag

Discrimination and Barriers to Well-Being: The State of the LGBTQI+ Community in 2022

A comprehensive new CAP study finds that many LGBTQI+ people continue to face discrimination in their personal lives, employment, housing, and health care, as well as in the public sphere.

Caroline Medina, Lindsay Mahowald

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5 Connections Between Attacks on Abortion Care and Transgender Medical Care in Idaho Court Cases Article
Photo shows a group of people demonstrating in front of the Supreme Court building. One sign reads

5 Connections Between Attacks on Abortion Care and Transgender Medical Care in Idaho Court Cases

Two court cases originating in Idaho—Idaho v. United States and Poe v. Labrador—reveal five connections between attacks on abortion care and transgender medical care and highlight how the politicization of the judiciary is fueling the politicization of medicine.

2023 Progressive Wins Video

2023 Progressive Wins

This year saw protections for transgender rights, women's rights, the environment, and U.S. democracy overall, as well as strides in building the economy and keeping communities safe.

Hai-Lam Phan, Toni Pandolfo, Ming Gault, 1 More Jeremy Hill

2023 CAP IDEAS Conference Past Event
CAP IDEAS Conference logo

2023 CAP IDEAS Conference

Join the Center for American Progress as we celebrate 20 years of innovative policy solutions and look boldly forward to a progressive future.

Paid Leave Policies Must Include Chosen Family Article
Photo shows a couple sitting together on a park bench.

Paid Leave Policies Must Include Chosen Family

In order to better support all workers—especially LGBTQI+ workers—policymakers must design paid leave policies that are inclusive of chosen family and reflect the diverse caregiving needs of people across the country.

Caroline Medina, Molly Weston Williamson

Discrimination and Barriers to Well-Being: The State of the LGBTQI+ Community in 2022 Report
Intersex Progress Pride flag

Discrimination and Barriers to Well-Being: The State of the LGBTQI+ Community in 2022

A comprehensive new CAP study finds that many LGBTQI+ people continue to face discrimination in their personal lives, employment, housing, and health care, as well as in the public sphere.

Caroline Medina, Lindsay Mahowald

Advancing Health Care Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBTQI+ Communities Report
A woman wears a pride flag in her hair in Manassas, Virginia.

Advancing Health Care Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBTQI+ Communities

New data reveal that LGBTQI+ communities encounter discrimination and other challenges when interacting with health care providers and health insurers, underscoring the importance of strengthening nondiscrimination protections through Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.

Caroline Medina, Lindsay Mahowald

How Congress can illuminate LGBTQI+ experiences — and craft equitable solutions In the News

How Congress can illuminate LGBTQI+ experiences — and craft equitable solutions

Caroline Medina and Rose Khattar discuss the historic House passage of the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act and underscore how comprehensive data collection is critical to better understand LGBTQI+ communities, shed light on persistent disparities, and craft responsive policy solutions.

The Hill

Caroline Medina, Rose Khattar

Fact Sheet: LGBT Workers in the Labor Market Fact Sheet
Activists holding signs that read

Fact Sheet: LGBT Workers in the Labor Market

New data from the Census Bureau reveal economic insecurity and labor market gaps experienced by LGBT people compared with non-LGBT populations.

Caroline Medina, Lindsay Mahowald, Rose Khattar, 1 More Aurelia Glass

LGBTQ+ Military Members and Veterans Face Economic, Housing, and Health Insecurities Article
Thousands of people take the streets to protest then-President Donald Trump’s proposal to ban transgender people from serving in the military. The person in the foreground holds a sign that says

LGBTQ+ Military Members and Veterans Face Economic, Housing, and Health Insecurities

New analysis shows that LGBTQ+ service members and veterans face a bevy of social, economic, and health concerns—while contending with the legacy of discriminatory policies as well as ongoing social stigma and limits to benefits.

Lindsay Mahowald

State Attacks Against LGBTQI+ Rights Article
A protestor in front of the Minnesota capitol holds a sign reading

State Attacks Against LGBTQI+ Rights

Learn more about the discriminatory anti-LGBTQI+ bills advancing in states across the country and what can be done to oppose these damaging legislative attacks.

Caroline Medina, Sharita Gruberg

States’ anti-LGBTQI+ attacks underscore need for the Equality Act In the News

States’ anti-LGBTQI+ attacks underscore need for the Equality Act

Sharita Gruberg argues that the Senate must enact comprehensive nondiscrimination protections at the federal level amid an onslaught of anti-LGBTQI+ legislative attacks across the United States.

The Hill

Sharita Gruberg

The 2022 Legislative Landscape for LGBTQI+ Rights Article
A participant is seen holding a sign reading

The 2022 Legislative Landscape for LGBTQI+ Rights

State-level attacks against LGBTQI+ rights are poised to continue in the year ahead, heightening the need for the Senate to pass the Equality Act.

Sharita Gruberg, Caroline Medina

‘Mayor Pete’ Past Event
Poster for the documentary film

‘Mayor Pete’

A Reel Progress Screening and Discussion

Key Issues Facing People With Intersex Traits Article
A young child carries a box of chalk outside their home, September 2018, in Milwaukee. They are one of a growing number of intersex children whose parents are raising them without early genital surgery. (Getty/John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service)

Key Issues Facing People With Intersex Traits

New CAP data and analysis offer insights into the experiences of people with intersex traits.

Caroline Medina, Lindsay Mahowald

Protecting and Advancing Health Care for Transgender Adult Communities Report
A man guides his stepdaughter in a wheelchair through a parking lot outside a wound care clinic in Los Angeles, 2021. His stepdaughter is transgender. (Getty/Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

Protecting and Advancing Health Care for Transgender Adult Communities

The federal government and policymakers must address health disparities and barriers to care for transgender communities by implementing holistic policy solutions.

Caroline Medina, Thee Santos, Lindsay Mahowald, 1 More Sharita Gruberg

Black LGBTQ Individuals Experience Heightened Levels of Discrimination Article
People holding signs supporting Black transgender people gather during a candlelight vigil in West Reading, Pennsylvania, on September 14, 2020. (Getty/Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle)

Black LGBTQ Individuals Experience Heightened Levels of Discrimination

The compounding effects of discrimination for Black LGBTQ Americans are evident in the workplace, health care systems, and police interactions, leading to gaps in economic advancement and mental and physical health outcomes.

Lindsay Mahowald

LGBTQ People of Color Encounter Heightened Discrimination Article
A protestor holds a “Resist” sign at a rally in support of transgender people at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, February 2017. (Getty/Spencer Platt)

LGBTQ People of Color Encounter Heightened Discrimination

A nationally representative survey conducted in June 2020 by the Center for American Progress highlights that LGBTQ people of color are more likely than white LGBTQ individuals to encounter discrimination in a variety of settings.

Lindsay Mahowald

Millions Will Gain Nondiscrimination Protections Under the Equality Act Article
Protestors march in support of transgender lives during a demonstration in New York City, October 2020. (Getty/John Lamparski/SOPA Images/LightRocket)

Millions Will Gain Nondiscrimination Protections Under the Equality Act

These fact sheets highlight how the Equality Act will result in expanded nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people, women, communities of color, and foreign-born individuals in states across the country.

Caroline Medina, Lindsay Mahowald, Sharita Gruberg

The American Rescue Plan Act Will Significantly Address LGBTQ Poverty Article
The ARPA’s investments are a critical first step on the road to recovery for LGBTQ communities living in poverty. (Getty/Kristina Barker)

The American Rescue Plan Act Will Significantly Address LGBTQ Poverty

LGBTQ people—particularly LGBTQ people of color and transgender people—were among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ARPA’s investments are a critical first step on the road to recovery.

Sharita Gruberg

What You Need To Know About the Equality Act Fact Sheet
 (LGBTQ rights demonstrators rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., October 2019.)

What You Need To Know About the Equality Act

This fact sheet outlines how the Equality Act would provide much-needed civil rights protections for LGBTQ people, women, people of faith, and others.

Thee Santos, Caroline Medina, Sharita Gruberg

Making the Case for Chosen Family in Paid Family and Medical Leave Policies Article
Transgender women at an outreach center in Washington in 2016. (Getty/Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

Making the Case for Chosen Family in Paid Family and Medical Leave Policies

To ensure that LGBTQ individuals are included in paid family and medical leave policies, lawmakers must design the policies to cover diverse family relationships and allow for caregiving of chosen family.

Lindsay Mahowald, Diana Boesch

Lessening the Pandemic’s Burden on LGBTQ Workers and Families Article
Blue and Emerson kiss their 7-year-old daughter on the cheek in Monterey, California, 
January 2019. (Getty/Barcroft Media)

Lessening the Pandemic’s Burden on LGBTQ Workers and Families

Government strategies to address COVID-19 and improve socioeconomic conditions must include targeted assistance for LGBTQ workers and households.

Caroline Medina, Lindsay Mahowald

Fair Play Report
A teacher plays softball with a group of students, May 2019. (Getty/Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald)

Fair Play

Despite recent legislative pushback, schools across the country are recognizing the important benefits of equal participation in sports for all young people, including transgender youth.

Shoshana K. Goldberg

Improving the Lives and Rights of LGBTQ People in America Report
 (LGBTQ rights supporters gather during a candlelight vigil in West Reading, Pennsylvania, on September 14, 2020.)

Improving the Lives and Rights of LGBTQ People in America

The incoming Biden administration has stated its commitment to advancing LGBTQ equality, which will require undoing the harms caused during the last four years and by generations of discrimination, as well as proactively championing a progressive agenda.

Caroline Medina, Sharita Gruberg, Lindsay Mahowald, 1 More Thee Santos

How Religion and LGBTQ Rights Intersect in Media Coverage Report
Then-Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg addresses a congregation while attending Sunday service at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, February 2020. (Getty/Win McNamee)

How Religion and LGBTQ Rights Intersect in Media Coverage

A study of recent news articles across national and local media outlets reveals that media coverage of LGBTQ rights more often cites religiously identified sources who oppose LGBTQ equality than those who support it.

Rucha Modi, Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, Maggie Siddiqi, 1 More Rasheed Malik

Transforming U.S. Foreign Policy To Ensure Dignity and Rights for LGBTI People Report

Transforming U.S. Foreign Policy To Ensure Dignity and Rights for LGBTI People

America must restore its leadership role in advancing LGBTI equality and human rights more broadly on the global stage.

Phil Crehan, Susan Dicklitch-Nelson, Kerry-Jo Ford Lyn, 5 More Jay Gilliam, Sharita Gruberg, Ryan Kaminski, Chloe Schwenke, Ryan Thoreson

Supreme Court Case Could Give Taxpayer-Funded Service Providers a Broad License To Discriminate Against LGBTQ People Article
A pride flag is waved in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on March 26, 2013, in Washington, D.C. (Getty/AFP/Saul Loeb)

Supreme Court Case Could Give Taxpayer-Funded Service Providers a Broad License To Discriminate Against LGBTQ People

A case before the U.S. Supreme Court could allow discrimination against same-sex couples seeking to foster children and may also have broad negative impacts on nondiscrimination laws that affect a broad range of services and individuals.

Lindsay Mahowald, Caroline Medina

The State of the LGBTQ Community in 2020 Report
A participant holds a rainbow flag as the Reclaim Pride Coalition takes to the streets of Manhattan for the second annual Queer Liberation March, June 2020. (Getty/Erik McGregor)

The State of the LGBTQ Community in 2020

A comprehensive new study from the Center for American Progress finds that many LGBTQ people continue to face discrimination in their personal lives, in the workplace and the public sphere, and in their access to critical health care.

Sharita Gruberg, Lindsay Mahowald, John Halpin

The Trump Administration’s Latest Attack on Transgender People Facing Homelessness Report
 (A hall in the Seattle Center has been turned into a temporary men's shelter in Seattle on April 6, 2020.)

The Trump Administration’s Latest Attack on Transgender People Facing Homelessness

As homelessness among transgender people increases, the Trump administration is attempting to cruelly and illegally restrict their access to critically needed housing services.

Thee Santos, Lindsay Mahowald, Sharita Gruberg

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