QUESTION: how many states have legislation prohibiting discrimination against transgender people?

question / pregunta: 

Maryland recently rejected a bill that would have prohibited discrimination against transgender people in housing, employment, and credit, but not public accommodations, such as public restrooms. How many states actually *have* legislation that prohibits discrimination (even if it's not comprehensive) against transgender people?

Answers

According to the Transgender Law and Policy Institute, 13 states + DC have some kind of explicit non-discrimination laws: California, Colorado, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

This information comes from their Transgender Issues: A Fact Sheet, which is undated. Their website has quite a few resources and an email address to which you can submit queries.

Reply to: how many states have legislation prohibiting

Good question. You may have to do a little bit of sorting if you want to rule out states that have legislation protecting sexual orientation but don't explicitly state that transgender rights are protected.

One resource I found that might be a good place to start is on the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force site, , where you'll find a map listing the states with such policies, and color coded to differentiate between states that protect protections for sexual orientation only and sexual orientation plus gender identity/expression. They also have some interesting analysis on LGBT issues under the "Reports and Resarch" tab.

Also, not a state-by-state list, but the ACLU's page on transgender issues has information about issues currently being decided in state and federal courts.

Hope this helps you get started, let us know if we can help you with anything else.

-Bronwen

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