As of September 2012, 16 US states – California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawai’i, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington – plus Washington DC, and 143 cities and counties have passed non-discrimination laws or ordinances protecting people on the basis of gender identity or expression. Furthermore, at least 446 companies nationwide have adopted non-discrimination policies that explicitly protect Transgender people as of August 2007. See http://transgenderlaw.org/ndlaws/index.htm for more information.
For more information on what each law covers, see the joint TLPI-NGLTF comprehensive chart, “Scope of Explicitly Transgender-Inclusive Non-Discrimination Laws” in PDF format here.
Individual state/county/city anti-discrimination laws
Arizona
Tucson
Citywide protection since 1999.
California
Statewide protection since 2003: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_196&sess=CUR&house=B&author=leno
Colorado
Boulder
Citywide protection since 2000.
Denver
Citywide protection since 2001: http://livepublish.municode.com/3/lpext.dll/Infobase8/1/308f/3530/3259?fn=altmain-nf.htm&f=templates&2.0
District of Columbia
Citywide protection since 2005: http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/lims/getleg1.asp?legno=B16-0389
Florida
Gulfport
Citywide protection since 2005.
Key West
Citywide protection since 2003.
Miami Beach
Citywide protection since 2004.
Monroe County
Countywide protection since 2003: http://transgenderlaw.org/ndlaws/monroe.pdf
Georgia
Atlanta
Citywide protection since 2000: link
Hawai’i
Hawaii’s non-discrimination law, in effect since 2005, covers only discrimination in housing, not in employment or public accommodations.
Illinois
Statewide protection since 2005: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=093-1078
Indiana
Bloomington
Citywide protection since 2006.
Indianapolis
Citywide protection since 2005: PDF file
Iowa
Iowa City
Citywide protection since 1996.
Kentucky
Covington
Citywide protection since 2003: http://www.covingtonky.com/pdf/hro.pdf
Jefferson County
Countywide protection since 1999.
Lexington-Fayette County
Countywide protection since 1999.
Louisville
Citywide protection since 1999.
Louisiana
New Orleans
Citywide protection since 1998.
Maine
Statewide protection since 2005: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/billtexts/LD119601-1.asp
Maryland
Baltimore
Citywide protection since 2002: http://www.freestatejustice.org/pubdocs/Ord%2002-453.pdf
Massachusetts
For more information on the current efforts to secure statewide protection in MA, see http://masstpc.org/
Boston
Citywide protection since 2002: http://www.glad.org/Your_Rights/Boston_TG_Ordinance.pdf
Cambridge
Citywide protection since 1997.
Northampton
Citywide protection since 2005.
Michigan
Ann Arbor
Citywide protection since 1999.
East Lansing
Citywide protection since 2002: http://cityofeastlansing.com/CITYGOV/CLERK/pdf/Ord977.pdf
Ferndale
Citywide protection since 2006.
Grand Rapids
Citywide protection since 1994.
Huntington Woods
Citywide protection since 2001.
Ypsilanti
Citywide protection since 1997.
Minnesota
Statewide protection since 1993: http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/363/01.html
Minnesota was the first US state to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression on a statewide level, in 1993. It is also home to the first-ever citywide ordinance to protect people on this basis, which was in Minneapolis in 1975.
Missouri
University City
Citywide protection since 2003.
New Jersey
Statewide protection since 2007: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/BillView.asp?BillNumber=S362
New Mexico
Statewide protection since 2003: http://legis.state.nm.us/Sessions/03%2520Regular/bills/senate/SB0028.html
New York
Albany
Citywide protection since 2004.
Buffalo
Citywide protection since 2002.
Ithaca
Citywide protection since 2003.
New York City
Citywide protection since 2002: http://www.nyc.gov/html/cchr/html/ch1.html#2
Rochester
Citywide protection since 2001.
Suffolk County
Countywide protection since 2001.
Tompkins County
Countywide protection since 2004.
Ohio
Cincinnati
Citywide protection since 2006.
Toledo
Citywide protection since 1998.
Oregon
Beaverton
Citywide protection since 2004.
Bend
Citywide protection since 2004.
Benton County
Countywide protection since 1998.
Hillsboro
Citywide protection since 2006.
Lake Oswego
Citywide protection since 2003.
Lincoln City
Citywide protection since 2005.
Multnomah County
Countywide protection since 2001.
Portland
Citywide protection since 2000: http://ordlink.com/codes/portland/_DATA/TITLE23/Chapter_23_01_CIVIL_RIGHTS_/index.html
Salem
Citywide protection since 2002.
Pennsylvania
Allentown
Citywide protection since 2002.
Easton
Citywide protection since 2006.
Erie County
Countywide protection since 2002.
Harrisburg
Citywide protection since 1983.
Lansdowne
Citywide protection since 2006.
New Hope
Citywide protection since 2002.
Philadelphia
Citywide protection since 2002.
Pittsburgh
Citywide protection since 1997.
Scranton
Citywide protection since 2003.
Swarthmore
Citywide protection since 2006.
West Chester
Citywide protection since 2006.
York
Citywide protection since 1998.
Rhode Island
Statewide protection since 2001: http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Billtext/BillText01/HouseText01/H5920A.htm
Texas
Austin
Citywide protection since 2004.
Dallas
Citywide protection since 2002.
El Paso
Citywide protection since 2003.
Washington
Statewide protection since 2006.
Wisconsin
Madison
Citywide protection since 2000.
Milwaukee
Citywide protection (inclusive of SOFFAs! First of its kind!) since 2007:
07 August 2007
Breaking important new ground, the Milwaukee Common (City) Council last week passed the first US legislation forbidding discrimination in housing and employment not only for Transgender and gender diverse individuals, but also for SOFFAs – Significant Others, Friends, Family, and Allies.
“I am thoroughly delighted and pleased,” said long-time SOFFA advocate and FORGE member Loree Cook-Daniels. “For the first time, we have managed to pass legislation to protect not just the Transgender person him- or herself, but also our family members. It is our hope and belief that now that Milwaukee has shown the way, other communities advocating for new anti-discrimination laws will use this new, more inclusive language so that far more of our community members and families are protected from Transphobia.”
The new language amends several municipal non-discrimination codes by adding, among other groups, “gender identity or expression” and “or an individual’s affiliation with, or perceived affiliation with any of these protected categories.”
The amendments were adopted on a unanimous vote of 13-0, with 2 excused absences. Mayor Tom Barrett has pledged to sign the new legislation.
In addition to FORGE, members of the coalition working for the new law included representatives of Center Advocates, Project Q/Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, Gemini Gender Group, Metropolitan Community Church of Milwaukee, Underwood Memorial Baptist Church, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (Milwaukee), Pathfinders/The Counseling Center of Milwaukee, and numerous individuals.
The coalition particularly thanks Lisa Mottet of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, who assisted in drafting materials for the Common Council’s use.
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