Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders

New England’s leading legal rights organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on
sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression.

Rights & Resources Transgender Issues

Transgender Issues

Through our Transgender Rights Project, GLAD puts our legislative, litigation, and educational assets to work in a focused way to establish clear, affirmative protections for the transgender community.

At a Glance

Surveys

Transgender Family Law Survey GLAD is surveying New England family law practitioners about their experience and knowledge of transgender issues. Our goals are to identify areas of need, and to build more legal capacity to serve transgender clients in the family law area.

Insurance Coverage of Transition-Related Health Care GLAD is collecting stories about people’s experiences with health insurance coverage related to gender transition, to help us determine how we can best address legal concerns in this area.

Video

Everyone Matters: Dignity and Safety for Transgender People

Transgender people face serious discrimination in our society, in areas ranging from appropriate medical care to parental rights; from personal identification documents to the freedom to marry. Perhaps most common is the fact that transgender people face harassment and discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, and public accommodation - mistreatment that threatens their freedom to work and live safely in their own communities.

GLAD’s mission embraces the eradication of discrimination based on gender identity and expression across New England. Through our Transgender Rights Project, launched in June, 2008, we put our legislative, litigation, and educational assets to work in a focused way.

We continue to litigate ground-breaking cases in which a transgender person’s rights or liberties are compromised simply because that person does not meet societal expectations of what it means to be a man or a woman.

We work on legislation - ensuring that transgender people are included in anti-discrimination and anti-violence laws at the federal, state, and municipal levels.

Finally, through publications, media and public outreach, and our Legal InfoLine, GLAD works to ensure that transgender people are fully informed of their rights under law.

Learn more about the Transgender Rights Project.

Our New England transgender advocacy partners include:
Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition
ctEquality
TransGender New Hampshire

Transgender Issues: Information for Your State

Specific laws can vary
greatly from state to state

For more information, please visit a state page:

GLAD's Work On Transgender Issues

From the Docket

In re A.M.B.

Victory • 2010

GLAD filed an amicus brief with the Maine high court in support… Read More

See GLAD's Full Case Docket »

Legislation

MA: Ask Your Rep to Make Transgender Rights a Priority

November 13, 2009

A new poll just released by Lake Research Partners… Read More

See All Legislative News »

News

Maine High Court Orders New Hearing on Name Change Petition

July 02, 2010

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has ordered that a transgender man previously… Read More

Read All GLAD News »

Publications

Share Your Story

Stories Matter

The more people know their LGBT and HIV+ family, friends, and neighbors, the more likely they are to support our rights and help us work toward full equality.Read More