Abstract

The Supreme Court’s decision extending marriage rights to same-sex couples has brought more and more gay and lesbian couples to the altar or the courthouse over the past year. But the decision also produced a backlash as opponents lobbied for bills allowing businesses, groups or individuals to dissociate themselves from same-sex unions based on religious or moral objections. Two of the broadest bills, enacted in North Carolina and Mississippi, are being challenged in court. Meanwhile, the Obama administration has thrown its weight behind equal treatment for transgender individuals. The Department of Education has told school districts to allow transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity rather than their sex at birth. More than 20 states are challenging the policy, and on Aug. 21 a federal District judge in Texas issued a preliminary injunction against it.

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