Fighting for LGBTQ+ Rights at a Legislative Level

While Baltimore City all of Maryland as a whole has longstanding issues with how it handles people in the criminal justice system. LGBTQ individuals face extra – often dangerous – problems throughout the system.

Major barriers like access to changing one’s name and gender on identity documents still exist, putting transgender and non-binary people at risk for discrimination in jobs, housing, travel, and schools.

All too often, transgender Marylanders are denied access to restrooms and locker rooms in places of public accommodation, despite having legal protections enshrined in state law that allow the use of restrooms consistent with one’s gender identity.

Passage of marriage equality did not resolve a host of family law issues that continue to impact LGBTQ families in Maryland, such as parental rights and custody determinations. Moreover, unexplored areas of family law as they apply to LGBTQ+ families leave parents uncertain about whether their parent-child relationships will be recognized.

The Affordable Care Act went a long way to ensure that LGBTQ+ people had access to better care, but the law doesn’t guarantee that our community will receive access to care. There is still work to be done to ensure that LGBTQ+ people have access to quality, affordable, inclusive, and often life-saving health care.

Even young LGBTQ+ people fortunate enough to have the support of their parents and guardians may find their schools to be hostile - and sometimes dangerous - environments, particularly in more conservative parts of the state. LGBTQ youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems are also at special risk of harmful, dangerous, and even deadly situations.