The USA

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in the United States are among the most socially, culturally, and legally permissive and advanced in the world, with public opinion and jurisprudence on the issue changing significantly since the late 1980s. In 1962, all 50 states criminalized same-sex sexual activity, but by 2003 all remaining laws against same-sex sexual activity were invalidated in Lawrence v. Texas. Beginning with Massachusetts in 2004, LGBT Americans had won the right to marry in all 50 states by 2015. 
Additionally, in many states and municipalities, LGBT Americans are explicitly protected from discrimination in employment, housing, and access to public accommodations. Many LGBT rights in the United States have been established by the United States Supreme Court, which has 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, made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, and prohibited employment discrimination against gay and transgender employees. 
American public opinion is overwhelmingly supportive of same-sex marriage. A 2022 Grinnell College National Poll found that 74% of Americans agree that same-sex marriage should be a guaranteed right while 13% disagree, with strong majorities among both Republicans and Democratic voters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_United_States
== Law ==
LGBT-related anti-discrimination law regarding housing and private and public services varies by state, leaving residents of some states unprotected. Twenty-three states plus Washington, D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation, and twenty-two states plus Washington, D.C. outlaw discrimination based on gender identity or expression. The Equality Act, which is currently proposed in the United States Congress, would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity nationwide. Family law also varies by state. Adoption of children by same-sex married couples is legal nationwide since June 2015 following the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (though Mississippi did not have its same-sex adoption ban struck down by a federal court until March 2016). Policies regarding adoption vary greatly between jurisdictions. Some states allow adoption by all couples, while others ban all unmarried couples from adoption. Hate crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity are punishable by federal law under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, but many states lack state-level hate crime laws that cover sexual orientation and/or gender identity. LGBT people of color face the highest rates of discrimination and hate crimes, especially trans women of color. Hate speech laws, including those that relate to sexual orientation or gender identity, are unconstitutional, due to the First Amendment to the United States's broad protections for free speech.
Civil rights for LGBT people in the United States are advocated by a variety of organizations at all levels and concentrations of political and legal life, including the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Center for Transgender Equality, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Since April 11, 2022 United States passports give the sex/gender options of male, female and X by self determination. In March 2022, the Social Security Administration announced that people can choose the options of male, female and X (in the future) by self determination on Social Security card applications. 
== LGBTQ+ Rights Table ==
LGBT right 	Federal protection 	State-level protection
Same-sex sexual activity legal 	\surd (under Lawrence v. Texas, 2003) 	\surd
Equal age of consent 	\surd 	\surd
Romeo and Juliet laws apply equally to same-sex couples as to opposite-sex coupleshttps://khmnlaw.com/2013/08/27/what-is-a-romeo-and-juliet-law/ 	\surd 	\surd/ X
Anti-discrimination laws in employment 	\surd 	\surd/ X
Anti-discrimination laws in housing 	\surd/ X (HUD, a federal agency, changed its interpretation of the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. However no law has been passed by congress (or reinterpreted by the supreme court) to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in housing.)	\surd/ X
Anti-discrimination laws in public accommodations 	\surd 	\surd/ X
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services 	X 	\surd/ X
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas 	X 	\surd/ X
Anti-discrimination laws in health insurance 	X 	\surd/ X
Anti-bullying legislation in schools and colleges 	X 	\surd/ X
Anti-discrimination laws in schools and colleges 	X 	\surd/ X
Anti-discrimination laws in hospitals 	X 	X
Anti-discrimination law in homeless shelters 	X 	\surd/ X
Discrimination against Intersex or non-binary persons is interpreted to be a violation of anti-discrimination laws when gender identity and/or sex is enumerated as a protected class 	
* \surd for non-binary people
* X for Intersex people 	\surd/ X
LGBT anti-discrimination law in prisons, juvenile halls, and immigration detention centers, including but not limited to transgender people required to be housed according to their gender identity and coverage of transition care	X 	\surd/ X
Transgender-disenfranchising voting laws repealed/absent 	? 	\surd/ X
Transgender people allowed to use restrooms and other gender-segregated spaces that correspond to their gender identity 	? 	\surd/ X
Transgender people allowed to participate in the sport of their gender identity 	\surd 	\surd/ X
Single-person restrooms with gender-segregated signage (and a lock) are given new signs saying "All-Gender Restroom" (by policy/law) 	X 	\surd/ X (Five states and Four cities have enacted laws that mandate all single-user gender-segregated bathrooms be unisex)
Gender confirmation surgery, puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and other transition-related healthcare for transgender people required to be covered under health insurance and state Medicaid policies 	X 	\surd/ X / ? (Some states ban coverage of such medical practices, while others require coverage of it, and others are ambiguous on the issue)
LGBT education 	X 	\surd/ X (Mixed policies: Multiple states have Anti-LGBT curriculum laws in place that limit instruction and discussion of LGBT issues in the classroom, while others, such as California, Oregon, Colorado, Illinois, and New Jersey mandate education on LGBT issues in school)
Hate Crime laws inclusive of Sexual orientation 	\surd (Since 2009 under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act) 	\surd/ X (35 states enhance sentences for crimes committed against someone on the basis of their sexual orientation, while one state, Michigan, accounts for Hate Crimes committed on the basis of sexual orientation when collecting data on Hate Crimes)
Hate Crime laws inclusive of Gender identity 	\surd (Since 2009 under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act) 	\surd/ X (24 states enhance sentences for crimes committed against some on the basis of them being Transgender or gender non-conforming)
Ban on police profiling on the basis of both perceived and/or actual gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation 	X 	\surd/ X
Sexual orientation allowed as grounds for asylum 	\surd (Since 1994) 	\surd
Gender identity allowed as grounds for asylum 	X 	\surd/
Prohibition on the detention of immigrants on the basis of their LGBT identity. 	X 	\surd/
Prohibition of deportations of LGBT immigrants back to countries with the death penalty for homosexuality 	X (Currently there is a 100-day suspension on all deportations via a Joe Biden executive order) 	?
Endorsable visas for immigrants and travelers who are legally recognized as non-binary or Intersex in their country of origin 	X 	\surd/ X
Surrogacy legal for male same-sex couples 	? 	\surd/ X
Same-sex marriage 	
* \surd Since 2015 nationwide
* X American Samoa, Navajo Nation and several other reservations 	\surd
Recognition of same-sex couples 	
* \surd
* X American Samoa, Navajo Nation and several other reservations 	\surd
Step-child adoption by same-sex couples 	
* \surd
* X American Samoa, Navajo Nation and several other reservations 	\surd
Joint adoption by same-sex couples 	
* \surd
* X American Samoa, Navajo Nation and several other reservations 	\surd
Paid family leave for same-sex parents and couples 	? 	\surd/ X
LGBT anti-discrimination law in adoption, custody, and visitation rights 	? 	\surd/ X
Conjugal visits for same-sex couples 	N/A (conjugal visits banned in federal prisons regardless of sexual orientation) 	\surd/ X (only in New York and California)
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military 	\surd (since 2011) 	\surd
Transgender people allowed to serve openly in the military 	\surd (Most Transgender personnel allowed to serve openly since 2021) 	\surd
Intersex people allowed to serve openly in the military 	X (current Department of Defense policy bans "hermaphrodites" from serving or enlisting in the military) 	?
Right to change legal gender 	\surd (Does not require SRS for a gender change on passports or Social Security's records) 	\surd/ X (20 states allow a gender change on birth certificates after SRS, 27 states allow it without being required to undergo such treatments, one state bans all amendments to birth certificates, and two are ambiguous at the moment)
Legal recognition of non-binary gender 	X 	\surd/ X
Legal recognition of non-binary gender on US passports 	\surd (since 2022) 	X
Abolition of gender-based dress codes which may discriminate against transgender students at schools 	X 	\surd/ X / ? (Known cities with such a policy include New York City)
Airport security screening gender neutral (body scanning, etc.) 	\surd (since 2022) Cessation of "alarm" or "anomaly" security flags on bodily characteristics deemed not congruent, or not to "match" sex designations, as may occur for some transgender persons 	X
United States census counts number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and recognizes a non-binary gender or Intersex option 	X 	X
Intersex minors protected from invasive surgical procedures 	X 	X
Conversion therapy banned on minors 	X 	\surd/ X
Gay panic and trans panic defenses banned by law 	X 	\surd/ X (11 States currently ban it.)
Gay and Lesbian Criminal records expunged 	X 	\surd/ X
Homosexuality declassified as a mental illness 	\surd (since 1973) 	\surd
Transgender identity declassified as a mental illness 	\surd (since 1994) Not considered a mental illness. 	N/A
Intersex sex characteristics declassified as a physical deformity 	? 	\surd/ X
MSMs allowed to donate blood 	\surd / (3-month deferral period) 	N/A
Female sex partners of MSMs allowed to donate blood 	\surd/ (3-month deferral period) 	N/A
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