In its fourth edition, this fully revised and updated survey covers the rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people under present law, specifically in regard to freedom of speech and association, employment, housing, the military, family and parenting, and HIV disease. Utilizing an accessible question-and-answer format and nontechnical language, The Rights of Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Transgender People provides an overview for understanding both the general themes in legal doctrine and the way in which individuals can begin the process of asserting rights provided by the law.

The volume is a useful starting point for people facing discrimination or legal uncertainty and helps readers navigate the turbulent and constantly changing waters of the laws regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. New to this edition are two appendixes that include contact information for national and regional LGBT legal groups, an overview of the legal system to explain some of the terms and concepts that appear throughout the book, and a summary of highlights of the law state by state.

Investigates social parents – people who function as parents but who may not be recognized as such in the eyes of the law What makes a person a parent? Around the world, same-sex couples are raising children; parents are separating and re-partnering, creating blended families; and children are living with grandparents, family friends, and other caregivers. In these situations, there is often an adult who acts like a parent but who is unconnected to the child through biogenetics, marriage, or adoption—the common paths for establishing legal parenthood. In many countries, this person is called a “social parent.” Psychologically, and especially from a child’s point of view, a social parent is a parent. But the legal status of a social parent is hotly debated. Social Parenthood in Comparative Perspective considers how the law does—and how it should—recognize social parenthood. The book begins with a psychological account of social parenthood, establishing the importance of a relationship between a child and a social parent and the harms of not protecting this relationship. It then turns to social scientists to identify and explore some circumstances when a child may have a social parent. And to compare legal responses to social parenthood, the book draws on the expertise of legal scholars in nine countries in North America and Europe. The legal contributors describe the existing laws governing social parents, critique their efficacy, and offer new insights. Though almost all of the countries analyzed have adapted to the new reality of family life by recognizing social parents in some manner, the nature and extent of the recognition varies widely. The volume concludes by discussing some of the issues flowing from the decision to recognize social parents, including whether social parents should have the same legal rights and responsibilities as other legal parents, whether all social parents must be treated identically, whether the law should limit a child to two parents, and much more. Families are changing, and the law must adapt accordingly. Social Parenthood in Comparative Perspective charts a way forward by offering solutions to help policymakers consider options for addressing social parenthood.

This casebook offers professors and students a doctrinally comprehensive, theoretically ambitious, and up-to-date exploration of the treatment of sexuality and gender issues in American public law. The Fifth Edition opens with the historically grounded first chapter from earlier editions, which maps the three primary constitutional themes of liberty, equality, and expression through the end of the twentieth century. Throughout, the book fully integrates the ramifications stemming from the latest court decisions, including Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization and new religious liberty decisions and debates. Highlights of the Fifth Edition include: A probing of where the Court's turn in recent years toward an equal liberty analysis stands in the wake of Dobbs, including threats posed by the reversal of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey to the doctrinal foundations of Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges. The increasing prominence of the argument that discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer-identified persons constitutes discrimination "because of sex," as recognized by the Supreme Court's opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, interpreting Title VII, and the related question of how Bostock will affect interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause and other antidiscrimination statutes. Increased coverage of how the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act are being deployed aggressively by the Supreme Court to carve out exemptions and allowances for individuals, companies, and religious institutions to discriminate against women and LGBTQ persons. Examples include questions such as whether Fulton v. Philadelphia limits or partially overrules Obergefell by requiring a government program to discriminate against same-sex married couples and the extent to which expansion of "the ministerial exception" undermines workplace protections. The book's distinctive fourth chapter introduces the student to natural law theory (which is on the upswing in federal courts), feminist and other liberal theories, and postmodern theories claiming that what many people treat as inflexible and natural are actually contingent, socially constructed, and dynamic. Increased coverage of issues related to transgender people in a range of contexts, including custody and visitation actions involving transgender parents or transgender children, schools and the workplace, on athletic teams, in the military, and in prisons. The Fifth Edition expands upon the book's distinctive integration of sexuality and gender issues and increases coverage of the racialization of these dynamics in American law. From its first edition, this casebook has prioritized inclusion of the perspectives of transgender and intersex persons, as well as lesbians and straight women, gay men, and bisexuals of different races and ethnicities. In addition to the opening segments focused on constitutional law and theory, the remaining chapters contain the most comprehensive and deepest coverage available of sexuality and gender issues in the workplace, the family, schools, the armed forces, and prisons.

This casebook offers law professors and students a doctrinally comprehensive, theoretically ambitious, and up-to-date exploration of the treatment of sexuality and gender in American public law. The Fourth Edition extends the historically grounded first chapter from the Third Edition - establishing the three primary doctrinal strands of liberty, equality, and expression - through the end of the twentieth century. The second chapter focuses on the turning points that now define the field: The post-Roe "undue burden" standard as it has evolved from Planned Parenthood v. Casey to Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstadt; The elimination of criminal laws against sexual conduct based on morality in Lawrence v. Texas and queries as to the reach of that principle; and The legalization of same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges. Discrimination against women and against trans- and non-binary persons is highlighted throughout the book, from the historical chapter through the most contemporary disputes in workplace and family law. The book's distinctive chapter on the theoretical debates that underlay the field contains more coverage of intersectional and trans-influenced thinking, and a new chapter focuses on the conflict between equality and religious liberty claims, which increasingly dominate in both LGBT and reproductive rights cases. With Professor Courtney Joslin of UC-Davis Law School joining as a new co-author, Sexuality, Gender, and the Law continues to provide both the most comprehensive and deepest coverage of this dynamic field.