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Navigating the Legal Landscape: Recent Developments in LGBTQ+ Rights

This webinar will discuss litigation and legislative developments affecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people at the federal and state level since the beginning of 2025. The litigation discussion will provide an overview of both recent court decisions and ongoing litigation about topics impacting LGBTQ+ people’s lives. The legislative discussion will cover the federal and state legislative sessions, including the status of bills impacting the rights of LGBTQ+ people.

Topics covered include:

Civil Rights Law Practice Legal Industry Trends

Agenda:

Introductory Overview

About Lambda Legal and its mission
Preview the roadmap: federal landscape and state landscape

Federal Landscape

Executive orders
Federal court litigation developments

SCOTUS decisions
Federal court decisions

Federal legislative developments

State Landscape

State legislative developments
State court litigation

Outlook

Federal landscape
State landscape

Questions & Answers (as time permits)

Duration of this webinar: 60 minutes

Originally broadcast: July 23, 2025 11:00 AM PT

Webinar Highlights

This webinar is divided into section summaries, which you can scan for key points and then dive into the sections that interest you the most.

00:00 Introduction

Carl Charles is introduced as the speaker, a senior attorney at Lambda Legal known for litigating cases to protect transgender rights. The webinar will cover navigating the legal landscape and recent updates to LGBTQ+ rights, including federal and state developments. Carl plans to discuss executive orders, Supreme Court cases, and legislation affecting LGBTQ+ rights.

05:29 Federal Executive Orders Affecting LGBTQ+ Rights

Executive Order 14168 aims to erase trans identity for federal government purposes, affecting areas such as identity documents and prison housing assignments. The State Department swiftly changed passport policies, suspending applications for gender marker changes. The ACLU filed a class action lawsuit challenging the executive order, securing a preliminary injunction for affected individuals. Lambda Legal also filed a case challenging the passport provision, representing individuals denied accurate passports. Executive Order 14187 attempts to ban medical care for trans youth, threatening federal funding to institutions providing affirming care. PFLAG v. Trump challenges this order, and a preliminary injunction has been granted against it. Another executive order targets transgender military service, leading to separations despite legal challenges and injunctions.

23:52 Supreme Court Cases and Legal Implications

The Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti affects equal protection analysis for state laws banning medical interventions for trans youth. The ruling states Tennessee's law does not violate the equal protection clause, since it involves age and medical use classifications. The decision has significant implications for plaintiffs challenging similar laws in other states, making legal battles more difficult. Mahmoud v. Taylor addressed parental rights to opt children out of a curriculum involving LGBTQ+ themes, with the Supreme Court supporting opt-out rights. Kennedy v. Braidwood Management addressed the appointment of preventative healthcare task force members, affecting the preventative care mandate. Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services challenged employment discrimination standards, affecting LGBTQ plaintiffs. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that heightened evidentiary standards are inconsistent with Title VII. Upcoming Supreme Court cases will address conversion therapy bans and athletic participation bans for trans youth.

37:30 Federal and State Legislation and Court Challenges

Proposed federal legislation includes numerous bills targeting transgender people, with healthcare bans being a major focus. State legislation has seen a significant increase in anti-LGBTQ+ bills, with many targeting gender identity and transgender status. The South and Midwest have the highest concentration of LGBTQ+ adults, where they face restrictive state laws. State court litigation has challenged anti-LGBTQ+ laws, with successful cases leveraging state constitutional rights. Resources like StateCourtReport.org provide valuable information on state court litigation and privacy protections.

Please note this AI-generated summary provides a general overview of the webinar but may not capture all details, nuances, or the exact words of the speaker. For complete accuracy, please refer to the original webinar recording.

Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Credits

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California CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 General

Earn Credit Until: June 30, 2026

New Jersey CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.20 General

Earn Credit Until: June 2, 2026

North Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 General

Earn Credit Until: February 28, 2026

South Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 General

Difficulty: All Levels

Earn Credit Until: December 31, 2025

Texas CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 General

Earn Credit Until: June 30, 2026

This presentation is approved for one hour of General CLE credit in California, North Carolina, and South Carolina (all levels). This program has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 1.20 hours of total CLE credit. This course has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of Texas Committee on MCLE in the amount of 1.00 credit hours.

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