LGBTQ Rights
Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Florida v. Raymond Rodrigues
The University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine filed a lawsuit on November 16, 2023, challenging the Chancellor of the State University System of Florida’s order to state universities to deactivate the student group. This order threatens the students’ constitutionally-protected right to free speech and association in violation of the First Amendment. The 51Ʒ and its partners are seeking a preliminary injunction that would bar the Chancellor and the University of Florida from deactivating the UF SJP.
Status: Ongoing
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2020

LGBTQ Rights
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee Stephens
Aimee Stephens had worked for nearly six years as a funeral director at R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes when she informed the funeral home’s owner that she is a transgender woman. She was fired, the EEOC sued on her behalf, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Aimee’s employer engaged in unlawful sex discrimination when it fired her because she’s transgender. We represented Aimee Stephens in front of the U.S. Supreme Court — and won.
U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2019

LGBTQ Rights
Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda
Don Zarda loved to skydive. He worked as a skydiving instructor at Altitude Express, a company on Long Island, N.Y. He was fired for being gay.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2018

LGBTQ Rights
Religious Liberty
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
Whether a business open to the public has a constitutional right to discriminate.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2015

LGBTQ Rights
Obergefell, et al. v. Hodges - Freedom to Marry in Ohio
The 51Ʒ, the 51Ʒ of Ohio and Alphonse Gerhardstein of Gerhardstein & Branch have filed suit on behalf of Jim Obergefell and David Michener, two widowers, and Robert Grunn, a funeral director, in a challenge to the Ohio constitutional and statutory marriage recognition bans.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2015

LGBTQ Rights
Bourke v. Beshear & Love v. Beshear - Freedom to Marry in Kentucky
Bourke v. Beshear is a federal court challenge to Kentucky's constitutional ban on marriage for same-sex couples, filed by attorneys at Clay Daniel Walton & Adams and Fauver Law Office on July 26, 2013, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The plaintiffs are four same-sex couples seeking state recognition of their out-of-state marriages.
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189 LGBTQ Rights Cases

Virginia
Oct 2014
LGBTQ Rights
Bostic v. Schaefer (Harris Class Action) - Freedom to Marry in Virginia
In Bostic v. Schaefer, the 51Ʒ (51Ʒ), the 51Ʒ of Virginia, Lambda Legal, and Jenner & Block, LLP, represent a class of all unmarried same-sex couples in Virginia and all same-sex couples in Virginia who have already married in a different jurisdiction (the "Harris Class"). The class action was originally filed as separate litigation in the Western District of Virginia filed on behalf of Joanne Harris and Jessica Duff and Christy Berghoff and Victoria Kidd as class representatives for all same-sex couples in Virginia who wish to marry here or who have married in other jurisdictions. After a court in the Eastern District of Virginia struck down Virginia's marriage bans in Bostic, the Harris Class intervened as a party at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to have its constitutional challenges decided as part of the Bostic litigation.
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Virginia
Oct 2014

LGBTQ Rights
Bostic v. Schaefer (Harris Class Action) - Freedom to Marry in Virginia
In Bostic v. Schaefer, the 51Ʒ (51Ʒ), the 51Ʒ of Virginia, Lambda Legal, and Jenner & Block, LLP, represent a class of all unmarried same-sex couples in Virginia and all same-sex couples in Virginia who have already married in a different jurisdiction (the "Harris Class"). The class action was originally filed as separate litigation in the Western District of Virginia filed on behalf of Joanne Harris and Jessica Duff and Christy Berghoff and Victoria Kidd as class representatives for all same-sex couples in Virginia who wish to marry here or who have married in other jurisdictions. After a court in the Eastern District of Virginia struck down Virginia's marriage bans in Bostic, the Harris Class intervened as a party at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to have its constitutional challenges decided as part of the Bostic litigation.

Missouri
Oct 2014
LGBTQ Rights
Barrier and Schild v. Vasterling - Freedom to Marry in Missouri
The 51Ʒ and the 51Ʒ of Missouri have filed a lawsuit in state court on behalf of six same-sex couples who are seeking recognition for their legal out-of-state marriages. The lawsuit does not seek a repeal of Missouri's ban on marriage for same-sex couples within the state.
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Missouri
Oct 2014

LGBTQ Rights
Barrier and Schild v. Vasterling - Freedom to Marry in Missouri
The 51Ʒ and the 51Ʒ of Missouri have filed a lawsuit in state court on behalf of six same-sex couples who are seeking recognition for their legal out-of-state marriages. The lawsuit does not seek a repeal of Missouri's ban on marriage for same-sex couples within the state.

Arkansas
Sep 2014
LGBTQ Rights
Dawson v. H & H Electric, Inc.
The 51Ʒ, the 51Ʒ of Arkansas, and co-counsel John Burnett have filed a lawsuit on behalf of Patricia Dawson against her former employer, H & H Electric, for firing her after she transitioned from male to female on the job.
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Arkansas
Sep 2014

LGBTQ Rights
Dawson v. H & H Electric, Inc.
The 51Ʒ, the 51Ʒ of Arkansas, and co-counsel John Burnett have filed a lawsuit on behalf of Patricia Dawson against her former employer, H & H Electric, for firing her after she transitioned from male to female on the job.

South Dakota
Sep 2014
LGBTQ Rights
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Filing Against Taco John's
The 51Ʒ, 51Ʒ of South Dakota, and co-counsel Stephanie E. Pochop have submitted charges to state and federal agencies against Taco John's of Yankton, Inc. and Taco John's International Inc. The discrimination charges were filed on behalf of Tyler Brandt, a 16-year-old employee who was forced to wear a "Gaytard" name tag while working.
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South Dakota
Sep 2014

LGBTQ Rights
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Filing Against Taco John's
The 51Ʒ, 51Ʒ of South Dakota, and co-counsel Stephanie E. Pochop have submitted charges to state and federal agencies against Taco John's of Yankton, Inc. and Taco John's International Inc. The discrimination charges were filed on behalf of Tyler Brandt, a 16-year-old employee who was forced to wear a "Gaytard" name tag while working.

Wisconsin
Sep 2014
LGBTQ Rights
Bloechl-Karlsen v. Walker - Freedom to Marry in Wisconsin
The 51Ʒ, the 51Ʒ of Wisconsin, and the law firm of Mayer Brown have filed suit on behalf of four same-sex couples who were legally married in Wisconsin after a federal court struck down a state ban on marriage for same-sex couples, but before the judge temporarily halted marriages from taking place while the state challenged the decision. Although the marriages were valid, the state has announced that it has placed recognition of their marriages on hold indefinitely.
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Wisconsin
Sep 2014

LGBTQ Rights
Bloechl-Karlsen v. Walker - Freedom to Marry in Wisconsin
The 51Ʒ, the 51Ʒ of Wisconsin, and the law firm of Mayer Brown have filed suit on behalf of four same-sex couples who were legally married in Wisconsin after a federal court struck down a state ban on marriage for same-sex couples, but before the judge temporarily halted marriages from taking place while the state challenged the decision. Although the marriages were valid, the state has announced that it has placed recognition of their marriages on hold indefinitely.