Simone Chriss, Director of the Transgender Rights Initiative at Southern Legal Counsel: “The extensive factual record in this case speaks for itself, and we believe that this Court will see the State’s politically motivated endeavor for what it is: a cruel attempt to strip healthcare from marginalized people without justification.”

A MESSAGE TO FLORIDA'S TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY: YOU ARE NOT ALONE

A Statement from SLC's Transgender Rights Initiative Director

Nov. 7, 2024

 Yesterday was a heavy day for America. We know that so many of our clients are feeling afraid about what the results of this election mean for the rights of LGBTQ+, and particularly transgender, Floridians. The collective hurt that we are feeling is not about politics, it is about humanity. And while we cannot take those burdens from you, we can walk beside you and share the weight. 

Florida-based legal aid organizations today filed a federal lawsuit challenging a St. Johns County ordinance passed in May 2023 in an effort to stop panhandling.

“As a parent, it is heartbreaking to see my right to make healthcare decisions for my child taken away by political bullies, and the hurt and harm that has caused my child.”

The suit claims that that the state’s management of its Medicaid Long Term Care (LTC) Waiver program violates the U.S. Constitution, the Medicaid Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Lawsuit was filed in response to a state-funded website dedicated to interfering with the vote on the citizen-led initiative to limit government interference with abortion.

 In 2-1 ruling, 11th Circuit Allows Florida Transgender Health Ban to Take Effect Pending Action on State’s Appeal of Decision Blocking the Law

Federal Court Rules State of Florida’s Transgender Healthcare Ban Discriminates Against State Employees on the Basis of Sex. Federal district court judge Mark Walker ruled in favor of transgender state employees in SLC’s lawsuit Claire v. Florida Department of Management Services, finding that the state of Florida’s transgender healthcare ban discriminates against state employees on the basis of sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker on July 10 denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging a Florida statute that bars transgender and nonbinary teachers from using titles and pronouns that express their gender identities and threatens to decertify and fire teachers who do so.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger ruled July 18 that a Daytona Beach ordinance that criminalizes requests for donations under certain circumstances and in certain public spaces is unconstitutional. Berger’s order permanently blocks Daytona Beach from enforcing the ordinance and sets a damages trial for Sept. 16.

Federal Court Rebukes State Defendants for “Misleading Assertions.”

Yesterday, a federal district court denied the State of Florida’s request to stay a June 11 decision blocking enforcement of Florida’s law banning health care for transgender minors and restricting it for transgender adults.

“With legislators having loudly and proudly proclaimed their [anti-transgender] bias, the defendants ought not be allowed to hide from it now”

Criminalizing homelessness can cause a destabilizing cascade of harm. Rather than helping people to regain housing, obtain employment, or access needed treatment and services, criminalization creates a costly revolving door that circulates individuals experiencing homelessness from the street to the criminal justice system and back. - Justice Sotomayor’s dissent

State of Florida Loses Federal Challenge as Court Strikes Down and Enjoins Law Targeting Transgender Adults and Adolescents

Today’s ruling in Doe v. Ladapo permanently blocks adult and minor health care restrictions in Florida SB 254 and the Florida Boards of Medicine rules and finds that Florida unlawfully targeted transgender people, in challenge brought by Southern Legal Counsel, GLAD, NCLR, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and Lowenstein Sandler.