Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund is committed to ending discrimination based upon gender identity and expression and to achieving equality for transgender people through public education, test-case litigation, direct legal services, and public policy efforts.
Today, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) and co-counsel Reed Smith filed name change petitions in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh on behalf of three transgender women of color –Chauntey Mo’Nique Porter, Monae Alvarado, and Priscylla Renee Von Noaker – who are currently banned from obtaining legal name changes because they have felony convictions in their pasts.
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a district court ruling determining that the North Carolina State Health Plan for Teachers and Employees, a state entity, could be sued under the nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act for denying comprehensive gender-affirming health care coverage.
Late yesterday, a federal court permitted plaintiffs to continue to pursue several claims in Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY) et al v. HHS, a lawsuit challenging the Trump-Pence Administration’s rule that seeks to undermine healthcare nondiscrimination protections contained in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The federal government had filed a motion to dismiss the case, but the court allowed many of the claims to proceed, while postponing consideration of others that are part of other court cases challenging the rule, and dismissing only some limited parts of the suit.
Today, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF), Equality North Carolina, and the LGBTQ Center of Durham announced that following advocacy on behalf of two transgender women living in North Carolina and two North Carolina-based employers—Equality North Carolina and the LGBTQ Center of Durham—Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) has changed its policies to include coverage for gender-affirming facial surgery and voice therapy as medically necessary care.
Today, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) and the Empire Justice Center celebrated the signing of the NYS Gender Recognition Act (S.4402/A.5465) into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The Gender Recognition Act is a comprehensive law that has created streamlined and privacy-protective processes for transgender and nonbinary New Yorkers to update and obtain accurate identification documents.
Today, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) issued the below statement in response to the U.S. State Department’s announcement that it would be changing its policy to allow individuals to self-select the gender for and adding an X gender marker option to U.S. passports.
Today, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) issued the following statement by Executive Director Andy Marra (she/her) in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Fulton v. Philadelphia:
“We are gutted to know that foster children will be denied loving homes in Philadelphia. Still, we are grateful that this ruling does not affect other publicly funded contractors and agencies. Across the country, governments can and must continue to enforce laws protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination."
Today, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) issued the following statement by Executive Director Andy Marra in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in California v. Texas:
“Today’s decision means that transgender people will continue to have expanded access to affordable, affirming health care and to be covered by Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which provides critical non-discrimination protections."
On June 16, 2021, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) will host Pride & Joy, its first-ever virtual storytelling event for transgender and non-binary young people, along with their families and friends. The event features transgender storytellers and leaders, and aims to provide family-friendly opportunities to celebrate Pride month, particularly as lawmakers in legislatures across the country consider more than 100 anti-trans bills that would have significant negative impacts on young transgender people.
Minutes before a Monday federal court hearing in Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY) et al v. HHS, a lawsuit challenging the Trump-Pence Administration’s rule undermining healthcare nondiscrimination protections contained in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Office for Civil Rights will interpret and enforce Section 1557 and Title IX’s prohibitions on discrimination based on sex to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Today, the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) with support from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic delivered a letter to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava inviting her and other county officials to discuss the mistreatment and abuse of transgender people in Miami-Dade County jails and engage in a structured negotiation with their clients. The organizations represent Jae Bucci (she/her), a woman of transfeminine experience; Christian Pallidine (he/him), a transgender man; and Gabriela Amaya Cruz (she/her), a transgender woman -- all of whom were arrested during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, and detained and abused at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK). The charges against them were later dropped.
Learn about our Name Change Project process or fill out a confidential Name Change Project intake form.
Email: namechange@transgenderlegal.org*
* Please note that we are unable to provide intakes or legal advice by email.
Updated on Sep 27, 2021
