Gay rights in the United States
| LGBT rights in the United States | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Same-sex sexual activity legal? |
Legal nationwide since 2003 (Lawrence v. Texas) |
| Gender identity/expression | Laws vary by jurisdiction |
| Military service |
Yes, openly (for lesbian, gay, and bisexual members); "Don't ask, don't tell" policy repealed in September 2011 Yes: Transgender people are allowed to serve openly as of June 2016 |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships |
Legal nationwide since 2015 except American Samoa and some tribal jurisdictions (United States v. Windsor). |
| Adoption | Legal in 50 states since 2015, legal in Mississippi since March 2016, not legal in American Samoa, and some tribal jurisdictions |
Yes, openly (for lesbian, gay, and bisexual members); "Don't ask, don't tell" policy repealed in September 2011
Legal nationwide since 2015 except American Samoa and some tribal jurisdictions
(Obergefell v. Hodges)
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the United States vary on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis. Since June 26, 2003, sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex as well as same-sex adolescents of a close age has been legal nationwide, pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas. As of June 26, 2015, all states license and recognize marriage between same-sex couples on account of the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. However, the United States still lacks a federal law outlawing discrimination nationwide, leaving many states without any protections from discrimination, other than from federal executive orders which are more limited in scope than from protections through federal legislation.
The strongest expansions in LGBT rights in the United States have come from the United States Supreme Court. In four landmark rulings between the years 1996 and 2015, the Supreme Court invalidated a state law banning protected class recognition based upon homosexuality, struck down sodomy laws nationwide, struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, and made same-sex marriage legal nationwide.
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