This looseleaf treatise explains the affect of the law on gay and lesbian clients in the areas of employment discrimination, civil rights, family law, immigration, criminal defense, and a wide variety of other areas. A collection of problem solving strategies, techniques, and materials are included in the work.

This book gives an overview of how the laws of the time affect lesbians and gay men in how they go about their lives.

The increase in prevalence and visibility of sexually gender diverse (SGD) populations illuminates the need for greater understanding of the ways in which current laws, systems, and programs affect their well-being. Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, transgender, non-binary, queer, or intersex, as well as those who express same-sex or -gender attractions or behaviors, will have experiences across their life course that differ from those of cisgender and heterosexual individuals. Characteristics such as age, race and ethnicity, and geographic location intersect to play a distinct role in the challenges and opportunities SGD people face. Understanding the Well-Being of LGBTQI+ Populations reviews the available evidence and identifies future research needs related to the well-being of SDG populations across the life course. This report focuses on eight domains of well-being; the effects of various laws and the legal system on SGD populations; the effects of various public policies and structural stigma; community and civic engagement; families and social relationships; education, including school climate and level of attainment; economic experiences (e.g., employment, compensation, and housing); physical and mental health; and health care access and gender-affirming interventions. The recommendations of Understanding the Well-Being of LGBTQI+ Populations aim to identify opportunities to advance understanding of how individuals experience sexuality and gender and how sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status affect SGD people over the life course.

This Nutshell presents a very timely overview of legal topics relating to sexual orientation, gender identity and the law. Topics covered include: regulation of sexuality, gender identity and expression, parenthood, marriage, United States military, nondiscrimination statutes and ordinances, freedom of expression, freedom of association, and religious freedom. Discussion includes developments at the federal, state and local level. Statutes discussed include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title IX; the Fair Housing Act; the Affordable Care Act; Don't Ask, Don't Tell; Defense of Marriage Act, as well as some of the anti-LGBT rights measures that have been adopted in various states.

This book identifies, analyses and discusses the nexus of legal issues that have emerged in recent years around sexuality and gender. It audits these against specific human rights requirements and evaluates the outcomes as evidenced in the legislation and caselaw of six leading common law jurisdictions. Beginning with a snapshot of the legal definitions and sanctions associated with the traditional marital family unit, the book examines the subsequently evolving key concepts and constructs before outlining the contemporary international framework of human rights as it relates to matters of sexuality and gender. It proceeds by identifying a set of themes, including the rights to identity, to form a family, to privacy, to equality and to non-discrimination, and undertakes a comparative evaluation of how these and other themes indicate areas of commonality and difference in the approaches adopted in those common law jurisdictions, as illustrated by the associated legislation and caselaw. It then considers why this should be and assesses the implications.

This book is the first to examine sexual orientation from the viewpoint of international human rights law. It does not simply `create' a platform of rights and argue for their `introduction' in human rights law. Rather, it examines how extant international norms should be construed to include rights against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, including rights of privacy, equality, speech, expression, and association. It raises questions of cultural relativism, religious faith, social science, and legal theory. It will be of interest to international jurists, human rights organizations, gay rights organizations, constitutional scholars, and anyone interested in expanding the role of international human rights law as a formidable adversary of persecution and discrimination throughout the world.

In the last fifteen years constitutional issues regarding the rights of gays, lesbians and same-sex couples have emerged on a global scale. The pace of recognition of their fundamental rights, both at judicial and legislative level, has dramatically increased across different jurisdictions, reflecting a growing consensus toward sexual orientation equality. This book considers a wide-range of decisions by constitutional and international courts, from the decriminalization of sexual acts to the recognition of same-sex marriage and parental rights for same-sex couples. It discusses analogies and differences in judicial arguments and rationales in such cases, focusing in particular on human dignity, privacy, liberty, equality and non-discrimination. It argues that courts operate as major exporters of models and principles and that judicial cross-fertilization also helps courts in increasing the acceptability of gays' and lesbians' rights in public opinions and politics. Courts discuss changes in the social perception of marriage and family at national and international levels and at the same time confirm and reinforce them, forging the legal debate over sexual orientation equality. Furthermore, by promoting the political reception of the achievements of foreign gay movements in their own jurisdictions, courts play an essential role in breaking the political stalemate.