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Homophobia in the United States

LGBT rights in the United States
USA orthographic.svg
Same-sex sexual activity legal?

Legal nationwide since 2003
(Lawrence v. Texas)

Legal in some areas since 1962
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Yes, openly (for lesbian, gay, and bisexual members); "Don't ask, don't tell" policy repealed in September 2011

In Question: As of July 26 2017, President Trump has announced banning Transgender people from serving; Policy currently being worked out.
Family rights
Recognition of
relationships

Legal nationwide since 2015 except American Samoa and some tribal jurisdictions
(Obergefell v. Hodges)

Recognized by the federal government since 2013
(United States v. Windsor).
Adoption Legal in 50 states since 2016, not legal in American Samoa, and some tribal jurisdictions

Legal nationwide since 2003
(Lawrence v. Texas)

Yes, openly (for lesbian, gay, and bisexual members); "Don't ask, don't tell" policy repealed in September 2011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 are considered among some of the most advanced in the world; however they 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 has no federal law outlawing discrimination nationwide, leaving residents in some states without protection from discrimination, other than from federal executive orders which have a more limited 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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Wikipedia

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