Gender identity

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, testing whether Colorado can bar Catholic preschools from its universal preschool program unless they drop Church teaching on marriage and gender identity. Becket represents two parishes, an archdiocese, and a family; the Trump administration backed the schools. It is Colorado's fourth Supreme Court clash since 2018 over religious liberty and sexual-orientation and gender-identity rules, following Masterpiece Cakeshop, 303 Creative, and Chiles v. Salazar.

Liberal justices framed the case as a request for an exemption akin to Smith; others focused on exclusion of religious institutions, invoking Trinity Lutheran, Espinoza, and Carson. Justice Kavanaugh questioned why the state didn't pursue accommodation instead of litigation. A ruling could reshape how states structure faith-based participation in public benefit programs.

Virginia voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to amend the state constitution to remove its existing ban on same-sex marriage and replace it with language affirming marriage equality. The proposed amendment also references "sex" and "gender," language that opponents say extends protections tied to gender identity. If approved, Virginia would become the fifth state to repeal a constitutional same-sex marriage ban through a ballot measure.

The measure has drawn sharp debate, with supporters framing it as codifying marriage equality and critics raising concerns about privacy, safety and religious liberty tied to gender-identity provisions. The vote is being watched as part of a broader pattern of states revisiting dormant constitutional bans following federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

The South Carolina Arts Commission has been engulfed in controversy after board members moved to deny operating grants to the Greenville Gay Men's Chorus and Proud Mary Theatre Company, citing concerns tied to a Trump executive order on gender identity. The board required only the two LGBTQ+-focused groups to re-prove their artistic merit, later adopting a vague resolution barring funding for work that "promotes any ideology." After months of delay and an accelerated, lightly attended vote, the commission denied both groups' funding on Oct. 1. The ACLU and arts advocates called the process discriminatory. Board chair Flavia Harton and commissioner Russell Parks, who had pushed the policy, both resigned. The commission later also denied a grant to an emerging Mexican-American artist under the same ideology rule.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed AB 1803, a law requiring all employers with five or more workers—including churches and religious nonprofits—to provide "anti-hate speech" training starting January 1, 2028. The law directs the state's Civil Rights Department to define what constitutes speech that "vilifies, humiliates, or incites hatred" based on protected characteristics such as sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, but does not itself define these terms.

Critics, including the California Family Council, argue the measure fails to exempt religious organizations' First Amendment rights and could compel churches to adopt messaging conflicting with biblical teachings on sexuality and marriage. The requirement builds on existing sexual harassment training rules, which California has already interpreted to classify misgendering as harassment. Employers may use the state's free curriculum or develop their own training. Opponents are urging religious organizations to seek faith-based accommodations and are preparing legal pushback ahead of the law's implementation.

A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel has thrown out a lower court order requiring Oregon to house transgender women inmates in prisons matching their gender identity. The unanimous ruling, authored by Judge Eric Tung and joined by two other Trump-appointed judges, reversed an April decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke that had mandated individualized safety assessments before placement decisions.

The panel found the plaintiffs failed to show Oregon acted with deliberate indifference toward transgender inmates, saying the lower court relied on outdated evidence and disregarded contrary evidence from the state. Two transgender women had sued the Department of Corrections in 2025, alleging severe risk of sexual and physical violence in men's prisons.

Tung's opinion, which repeatedly referred to transgender women as "male inmates who claim to be female," drew criticism from civil rights attorneys and even Oregon's own Attorney General's Office, which welcomed the outcome but disavowed the court's language. The underlying lawsuit continues in federal district court, and attorneys for the plaintiffs say they intend to keep pursuing the claims.

Jefferson County Public Schools (Jeffco) in Colorado has sued the Trump administration after federal officials threatened to cut $50 million in funding over the district's transgender-inclusive policies. Interim Superintendent Rob Stein says complying would violate Colorado's state anti-discrimination law, which protects transgender students, leaving the district caught between conflicting state and federal mandates.

The Education Department claims Jeffco violated Title IX by letting students use facilities and join sports teams based on gender identity, citing a disputed figure of 61 boys on girls' teams that the district says actually refers to managers, mascots, and a shared coaching roster. The case, one of more than five dozen similar federal investigations nationwide, has drawn in high-profile figures including Justice Department civil rights lawyer Harmeet Dhillon and law firm led by former special counsel Jack Smith, now representing Jeffco and other targeted districts. The dispute highlights broader tension between Trump's executive orders on gender and sex and state-level protections, with advocates calling Jeffco's legal pushback a rare exception to widespread institutional compliance.

The U.S. Department of Justice has sued the Kansas City, Kansas school district (KCKPS) over guidance on transgender students, alleging it violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment by letting staff develop gender transition plans without notifying parents. Officials describe it as the first such lawsuit against a school district. The complaint cites guidance instructing staff to loop in a principal, who may withhold a student's transgender status from parents on a case-by-case basis. Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon said the department would not tolerate "radical gender ideology" in schools, while U.S. Attorney Ryan Kriegshauser said withholding such information undermines trust between families and educators. The district, Kansas's fifth-largest with over 20,000 students, says it is disappointed by the suit, insists it complies with federal law, and calls the material nonbinding guidance rather than policy. The suit follows a Department of Education probe and the Trump administration's earlier funding threats over similar policies in Maryland and Michigan.

The case is part of broader administration efforts targeting transgender rights, including threats to cut federal funding from schools with similar policies, executive actions recognizing only two sexes, and moves to ban gender-affirming care for minors. The Justice Department has also sought healthcare providers' records on transgender youth, though several courts have blocked those efforts. The lawsuit follows a Supreme Court ruling in March blocking a California policy that barred automatic parental notification of a student's gender identity change.