LGBTQ+ Rights

We work to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people can live openly without discrimination and enjoy equal rights, personal autonomy, and freedom of expression and association.

LGBT Rights

The ACLU of Florida works to create a Florida free of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This means a Florida where LGBTQ+ people can live openly, where our identities, relationships and families are respected, and where there is fair treatment on the job, in schools, housing, public places, health care, and government programs.

Since taking its first LGBTQ+ rights case in 1936, the ACLU has been involved in many high-profile legal challenges to discriminatory laws and policies that impact the LGBTQ+ community. The ACLU of Florida recently enjoyed a major victory for LGBTQ+ rights by challenging and succeeding in overturning the state’s discriminatory law banning gay men and lesbians from adopting.

The ACLU’s LGBTQ+ rights strategy is based on the belief that fighting for the society we want means not just persuading judges and government officials, but ultimately making society safer for and more inclusive of LGBTQ+ people. To end discrimination, the ACLU seeks both to change the law and to convince Americans that sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination is wrong.

The Latest

Publication | Guide
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Gender-Affirming Care Resources in Florida

News & Commentary
A row of prison doors.

Why Anti-Trans Policies in Prison Are Everyone’s Problem

January 22 is Trans Prisoner Day of Solidarity and Action, and there has never been a more important time to commemorate it.
Know Your Rights
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Know Your Rights: Florida’s Public Restroom & Changing Facility Ban

Resource
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ACLU’s Guide to Voting in Florida While Trans, Nonbinary, or Gender Nonconforming

Every vote matters and your voice deserves to be heard.
Court Case
Jan 15, 2026

Naples Pride v. City of Naples

Our client Naples Pride, a nonprofit that provides services and hosts events for the LGBTQ+ community, filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Naples and its entities for denying the nonprofit organization a special events permit to host a family-friendly drag performance in one of the city’s public parks as part of its annual Pridefest celebration. The city’s refusal to grant a permit was part of a years-long effort to target drag performances and LGBTQ+ pride events in violation of the First Amendment. The complaint was filed on April 10, 2025. The district court granted a preliminary injunction on May 12, 2025, but the Eleventh Circuit -- in a split, 2-1 decision -- placed a stay on that ruling on June 6, 2025, the day before the event. The event went forward on June 7 with the drag performance indoors.
Court Case
Jun 05, 2025

Tray v. Florida State Board of Education

In June 2024, the ACLU of Florida and partners filed a lawsuit representing parents of Florida public school students who sued the DeSantis administration’s Board of Education for violating their First Amendment rights through the implementation of 2023’s HB 1069.
Court Case
Dec 13, 2024

Keohane v. Dixon

On September 30, 2024, the Florida Department of Corrections rescinded its policy regarding treatment of gender dysphoria, which allowed for hormone therapy when deemed medically necessary, as well as access to clothing and grooming standards that accord with one’s gender identity.
Court Case
Oct 15, 2020

Claire et al v. Florida Dep't of Mgmt Servs. et al