Throughout US history, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people have been pathologized, victimized, and criminalized. Reports of lynching, burning, or murdering of LGBTQ people have been documented for centuries. Prior to the 1970s, LGBTQ people were deemed as having psychological disorders and subsequently subject to electroshock therapy and other ineffective and cruel treatments. LGBTQ people have historically been arrested or imprisoned for crimes like sodomy, cross-dressing, and gathering in public spaces. And while there have been many strides to advocate for LGBTQ rights in contemporary times, there are still many ways that the criminal justice system works against LGBTQ and their lives, liberties, and freedoms. Queering Law and Order: LGBTQ Communities and the Criminal Justice System examines the state of LGBTQ people within the criminal justice system. Intertwining legal cases, academic research, and popular media, Nadal reviews a wide range of issues-ranging from historical heterosexist and transphobic legislation to police brutality to the prison industrial complex to family law. Grounded in Queer Theory and intersectional lenses, each chapter provides recommendations for queering and disrupting the justice system. This book serves as both an academic resource and a call to action for readers who are interested in advocating for LGBTQ rights.

Throughout U.S. history, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people have been pathologized, victimized, and criminalized. Reports of lynching, burning, or murdering of LGBTQ people has been documented for centuries Prior to the 1970s, LGBTQ people were deemed as having psychological disorders and subsequently subject to electroshock therapy and other ineffective and cruel treatments. LGBTQ people have historically been arrested or imprisoned for crimes like sodomy, cross-dressing, and gathering in public spaces. And while there have been many strides to advocate for LGBTQ rights in contemporary times, there are still many ways that the criminal justice system works against LGBTQ and their lives, liberties, and freedoms. Queering Law and Order: LGBTQ Communities and Fight for Justice examines the state of LGBTQ people within the criminal justice system. Intertwining legal cases, academic research, and popular media, the author reviews a wide range of issues - ranging from historical heterosexist and transphobic legislation to police brutality to the prison industrial complex to family law. Grounded in Queer Theory and intersectional lenses, each chapter provides recommendations for queering and disrupting the justice system. The book serves as both an academic resource and a call to action for readers who are interested in advocating for LGBTQ rights.

In the decade that has passed since the first edition of this book was published, there has been a significant cultural shift towards the acceptance of LGBTQ people in the United States, yet there are many ways that institutional and interpersonal discrimination takes place in the lives of LGBTQ people. Even as the world changes for the better- with the legalization of same-sex marriage, federal protections for LGBTQ people in the workplace, and more widespread acceptance of LGBTQ people- everyday homophobia and transphobia persists. Microaggressions are subtle, unconscious, and unintentional discrimination that is experienced by people of marginalized groups. In contrast to outright assaults and hate crimes, or conscious prejudicial treatment motivated by fear or dislike of "the other," microaggressions are more covert in nature, sometimes intentional or unintentional, communicating hostile, insulting, or negative messages about people of oppressed groups. This book highlights the microaggressions that LGBTQ people face on an everyday basis and examines the impacts that such experiences have on mental health.