JUNE 16, 2025
From Stonewall to Supreme Court: The Legal Evolution of LGBTQ+ Rights and Our Professional Duty to Safeguard Them This Pride Month
The LGBTQ+ rights movement in the United States has never followed a linear path. It is a saga of unprecedented courage and resistance in the face of systemic erasure, criminalization, and brutal violence. Once a band of guerrilla revolutionaries has now evolved into a global movement that reshaped civil rights, legal precedent, and the nation’s outlook on the LGBTQ+ community.
An epochal moment in the movement occurred on June 27th 1969, when LGBTQ patrons of the Stonewall Inn in New York City protested after an arbitrary police raid. Over several nights, thousands took to the streets to fight back and voice their disapproval of the blatant discrimination the LGBTQ community was facing.
Activists like Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans woman who declared “I got my civil rights!” as she threw a shot glass at a mirror, and Sylvia Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) which provides shelter, food, and advocacy for trans youth and drag performers. The first Gay Pride March, held a year later, commemorated the uprising and launched a tradition of honoring the past LGBTQ heroes and solidarity in promoting future progress.
But Stonewall was not the beginning. In August 1966, trans women and drag queens at Gene Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco resisted police harassment by throwing coffee and rioting, marking one of the earliest organized acts of transgender resistance in American history. That neighborhood still stands as the Transgender District, the world’s first legally recognized cultural epicenter for trans people.
The fight continued on legal and medical fronts. In 1972, activist Barbara Gittings participated in a panel discussion with the American Psychiatric Association, leading to the landmark decision a year later that declassified homosexuality as a mental illness.
In the meantime, ONE, Inc., a pro-gay news publication, fought government censorship all the way to the Supreme Court. The 1958 ruling affirmed gay-friendly literature as constitutionally protected speech under the First Amendment, establishing a crucial precedent for LGBTQ+ expression rights.
In 1970, Jack Baker and Michael McConnell became the first known same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license, and after being retroactively recognized in 2019, the marriage marked the first legally acknowledged same-sex marriage in US history.
Decades later, Edith Windsor fought for her marital rights in front of the Supreme Court. The federal government refused to recognize her union with her deceased wife for inheritance purposes. However, in 2013, the Supreme Court held in favor of Windsor in United States v. Windsor, forcing federal recognition of same-sex marriages, and struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, paving the way for the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Most recently, the Supreme Court, in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), held that Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, recognizing discrimination against trans and gay individuals as a form of sex discrimination. Justice Gorsuch’s textualist interpretation established that discrimination “because of sex” necessarily encompasses LGBTQ+ status. These rulings have propelled LGBTQ+ rights tremendously and highlight how long it has taken for this community to be entitled to the same rights that cisgender heterosexual individuals have always been privy to.
Regardless, the movement has continued to press forward despite horrific retaliations. The 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Wyoming, brought national attention to the brutality of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes. It led to the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, signed into law by President Obama, who also was responsible for repealing President Clinton’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” finally allowing LGBTQ members to serve openly in the military for the first time.
What started as a few radical pioneers protesting has grown into Supreme Court victories and mass mobilizations. The LGBTQ+ rights movement is an unrelenting justice-driven machine that fights for the affirmation of lives and ensuring protected legal rights for all.
While there has been monumental progress such as the decriminalization of homosexuality to the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage, threats from conservative organizations and the country’s Executive Branch seek to cripple the movement’s power and invalidate the achievements the movement has accomplished.
Today, a growing wave of political backlash aims to strip freedoms from LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly trans youth and queer people of color.
At the center of this conservative effort is the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, led by President Donald Trump with the support of evangelical Christian nationalists. This well-funded political campaign has inflicted harm to marginalized communities.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has characterized this movement as a form of domestic religious extremism. Critics have pointed to efforts to restrict LGBTQ+ rights, limit reproductive freedoms, and challenge the constitutional separation of church and state.
Some commentators have expressed concern that the American government is not taking accountability for extremists affecting our democratic system. For example, in Oklahoma, a city employee and church leader has publicly called for the execution of LGBTQ+ people and remains in his government position.
States like Texas and Oklahoma have enacted restrictive legislation including abortion bans and limitations on LGBTQ+ curriculum in public schools. These efforts are transforming American society in ways that the LGBTQ+ rights movement has fought hard to prevent.
One of the most concerning examples is Trump’s 2025 executive order issued that has already threatened the lives of several marginalized communities. This order raises serious constitutional concerns, including equal protection questions under the Fourteenth Amendment and potential violations of the separation of powers doctrine.
The executive order bans gender-affirming medical care for trans youth nationwide including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery, while still allowing cisgender youth to access similar treatments. This underscores the discriminatory intent behind these actions.
Hospitals and other medical centers across the country have been forced to cancel care to many patients which has threatened the mental health and bodily autonomy of American youth. In response, the ACLU, alongside Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Maryland, has filed a lawsuit seeking to block this order on constitutional grounds.
Beyond these restrictions, MAGA proponents have advocated for banning trans individuals from military service, permitting government discrimination against trans employees, and more broadly, repealing workplace discrimination protections.
This restrictive mentality is reminiscent of conservative activist Anita Bryant’s nationwide campaign, “Save Our Children” to repeal LGBTQ protections by spreading accusations of pedophilia and grooming during the late 70s that led to banning gay individuals from teaching in public schools. Despite Bryant’s efforts, the LGBTQ+ community prevailed by boycotting Bryant’s brand sponsor, Florida orange juice.
However, those same assumptions are still voiced around the country as evidenced by Project 2025, a plan created by right-wing institutions to consolidate executive power, revoke civil right protections, and enforce a rigid, Christian nationalist system. This plan includes nullifying the Affordable Care Act’s protections against sex discrimination in health care, undoing the 2024 Title IX rule that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and cut off protections for LGBTQ+ individuals in regard to workplace discrimination under Title VII.
At the center of this current conflict is Donald Trump who has empowered evangelical leaders to influence American politics. For instance, he has openly supported Paula White, who preaches about “spiritual warfare,” and how sinful LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, and feminists are. Trump has provided authority to effectuate this religious doctrine on a federal level.
Trump has cultivated a substantial population to stand by him through methods of fear, misinformation, and invocations of God. As a result, Trump has exercised control over bodies, identities, education, reproductive choices, and the narratives allowed in public discourse. Critics describe this conservative philosophy as dangerous because of the real consequences these executive orders will have for the LGBTQ+ community.
We have passed hypothetical worst-case scenarios. Trans youth are being forced to forgo essential medical treatment for gender dysphoria and endure psychological distress that could amount to suicidal ideation. Women are currently dying after being denied miscarriage care due to abortion bans. Teachers are threatened for acknowledging queer history or utilizing pronouns in classrooms. The problem has surpassed a few volatile bigots and has now become a well-organized political machine.
The LGBTQ+ movement must now fight to defend the rights past generations earnestly secured. This movement centers on liberation and as demonstrated by the history of this community, liberation requires resistance, solidarity, and persistence. The LGBTQ+ community has withstood unimaginable hardships and has flourished into an even more expansive collection of identities who have accomplished even greater feats.
Take Action Now: Defend LGBTQ+ Rights
1. Speak Out: In the words of Vito Russo, founder of GLAAD, “No one ever asks what causes heterosexuality because no one is interested in stopping it.” His message brings to light the double standards prevalent in our society; LGBTQ+ people are constantly asked to justify their existence while cisgender heterosexuality has traditionally been unquestioned. This oppressive standard calls for us to speak up.
2. Use Your Platform: At the time when AIDS was an unknown puzzling plague, activists such as Pedro Zamora educated masses on the virus and preventative care available. He emphasized, “if you want to reach me as a young man – especially a young gay man of color – then you need to give me information in a language and vocabulary I can understand and relate to.” Reflecting on that notion, it is vital we educate those who do not understand how their religious ideologies are depriving fellow citizens of civil liberties. It is pertinent that we not only promote visibility of these issues but the severity and imminence as well.
3. Honor LGBTQ+ History: While conservative forces aim to eradicate the activism of the LGBTQ+ community, it is our job to commemorate the pioneers who sacrificed their lives for this cause. From Compton’s Cafeteria to Obergefell, this community is filled with revolutionaries who deserve recognition. This can start with supporting local petitions to maintain LGBTQ+ literature in public schools or donating to organizations such as the ACLU, litigating on behalf of impacted LGBTQ+ members.
4. Join the Legal Battle: There is never enough support for organizations like the ACLU, Lambda Legal, Transgender Law Center, and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, who are all on the frontlines of fighting these discriminatory executive orders. It is necessary more than ever to volunteer your time, donate if able, or circulate notifications and statements made by these organizations.
References
- The Trevor Project. (2022). “LGBTQ+ History.” Retrieved from The Trevor Project website: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/LGBTQ-History.pdf
- Stern, M. J. (2025, January). “Anita Bryant’s Death Reminds Us What the Gay Rights Movement Was Up Against.” Slate. Retrieved from: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/01/anita-bryant-dead-gay-lgbtq-rights-movement.html
- National Women’s Law Center. (2025). “How Project 2025 Tries to Demonize LGBTQI People and Why It’ll Fail.” Retrieved from NWLC website: https://nwlc.org/how-project-2025-tries-to-demonize-lgbtqi-people-and-why-itll-fail/
Bhavleen Sabharwal is the Managing Partner of the Law Office of Bhavleen Sabharwal which is a firm focused on handling claims of employment discrimination, harassment and defense.
Josephine Thomas is a rising 2L at Cardozo Law School.