As part of coalitions of LGBTQIA+ rights and justice organizations, the Center for Constitutional Rights has submitted letters and testimony to Congressional committees, federal commissions, and state and government agencies to comment on legislative and policy initiatives in order to prevent discrimination against and criminalization of LGBTQIA+ people. This work is part of our decades-long history of protecting members of LGBTQIA+ communities and HIV-positive people from discrimination, censorship, violence, criminalization, and persecution.
Maintaining Access to Identity Documents with Appropriate Gender Markers
The Center for Constitutional Rights submitted a public comment on March 17, 2025 opposing changes to the provision of U.S. passports that would mandate they display gender markers conforming to the applicant's sex assigned at birth, creating severe consequences for trans, nonbinary, and intersex passport holders. The proposed rules evidence intention to discriminate against trans, nonbinary, and intersex people and effectively strip them of legal recognition.
Protecting Trans Access to Homeless Shelters
The Center for Constitutional Rights submitted a public comment on September 22, 2020 to the Department of Housing and Urban Development opposing a proposed rule change that would permit homeless shelter providers to deny access to trans people, assess prospective residents to determine their gender, and demand personal medical records to confirm gender before admitting them to shelters. The rule would modify a previous rule, the Equal Access Rule, that allows shelter access in accordance with a prospective resident's gender identity.
Opposing Changes to Asylum Policy
The Center for Constitutional Rights submitted a public comment on July 15, 2020 to the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice opposing a joint proposed rule change that would no longer permit various claims for asylum, effectively eliminating asylum provisions for LGBTQIA+ people and survivors of violence and torture.
On March 27, 2023, CCR submitted a public comment opposing a proposed rule that would make asylum ineligible to those who did not receive a denial of protection in a transit country, imposing a de facto ban on asylum and disproportionately impacting LGBTQIA+ migrants.
Challenging Religious Exemptions to Discrimination Protections
The Center for Constitutional Rights submitted a public comment on September 16, 2019 and eight more on February 18, 2020 to eight federal agencies to oppose proposed rule changes that would give government-funded employers and service providers a license to discriminate against the populations they serve on the basis of religion. The rule changes could have a drastic effect on religious minorities, atheists, women, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, in particular people who are already marginalized and underemployed due to existing limitations on access, bias, and criminalization.
Preventing Healthcare Discrimination
The Center for Constitutional Rights submitted a public comment on August 13, 2019 to express grave concern with the Trump Administration's proposed rule change to Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. The rule change would eliminate vital anti-discrimination protections under the Affordable Care Act that prevent transgender people, pregnant people, people with disabilities, and people who have had abortions from being denied access to healthcare or insurance. The rule change would also impact the ability of non- or limited English speakers to access healthcare.
CCR then joined amicus briefs filed in four lawsuits proceeding in New York (and appeal), Maryland, Washington, and California challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed rule. The amicus briefs discuss the barriers that LGBTQIA+ people face in accessing health care, including pervasive and harmful discrimination in health care settings, and explain that the rule will invite discrimination and exacerbate barriers to health care for LGBTQIA+ people.
In 2022, when the Biden administration proposed a rule change to reverse the 2019 changes and reinstate these protections, the Center for Constitutional Rights submitted a comment supporting the effort and providing additional suggested language to improve clarity and better serve individuals vulnerable to discrimination.
CCR submitted a public comment on June 16, 2023 in response to a proposed rule that would strengthen HIPAA privacy protections related to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare, supporting the rule and suggesting additional forms of healthcare that should be protected from disclosure. CCR also submitted a public comment on March 31, 2023 opposing a proposed rule that would require an in-person meeting before prescription of medication including gender-affirming care, which would introduce further barriers for transgender people accessing care, especially those in rural areas or places where it is increasingly dangerous to access care.
On April 11, 2025, CCR submitted a public comment opposing proposed rules that would prevent health insurance plans offered on the public marketplace from covering trans healthcare or being accessible to DACA recipients.
Supporting the Equality Act
The Center for Constitutional Rights joined a coalition of groups in sending a letter to Congress on April 1, 2019 in support of H.R. 5, the Equality Act. The bill would explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, jury service, and programs receiving federal financial assistance. In doing so, it would help address the issues that push many LGBTQIA+ people into poverty, survival economies, and the criminal legal system, as well as reduce stigma and bias.
Protecting LBTQIA Women and Non-Binary People in Prison
The Center for Constitutional Rights joined a coalition of groups in sending a letter to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on March 25, 2019 to discuss the particular challenges faced by incarcerated LBTQIA women and non-binary people. The letter urged the Commission to consider the experiences of this population of people in prison and included recommendations regarding the prevention of stigma and bias, ensuring privacy and safety in housing, improving access to healthcare, ceasing use of solitary confinement, and prevention of sexual violence.
State-Based Advocacy
The Center for Constitutional Rights has also engaged in advocacy and submitted comments regarding state-based initiatives and policy efforts that impact the rights of LGBTQIA+ people.
Alabama
The Center for Constitutional Rights submitted a comment on October 10, 2025 opposing the Alabama Public Library Service’s proposed amendment to Rule 520-2-2-.03 that would require exclusion of any material that “promotes, encourages, or positively depicts transgender procedures, gender ideology, or the concept of more than two biological genders” in library sections designated for minors under 18.
Georgia
The Center for Constitutional Rights submitted comments in March 2025 to the Georgia State House of Representatives opposing SB185/HB660, which would deny essential, evidence-based medical care to transgender individuals with gender dysphoria in the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC). When the bill passed and was signed into law, we filed a case challenging its implementation and succeeded in securing a preliminary injunction.
New York
The Center for Constitutional Rights submitted a letter to the Governor of New York, Senate Majority Leader, and Assembly Speaker in March 2025 on behalf of nearly 25 legal, advocacy, healthcare, and community-based organizations encouraging state leaders to take proactive, protective measures via legislative and policy priorities to safeguard the rights and wellbeing of trans, gender nonconfirming, nonbinary, and intersex New Yorkers as the federal government continued to advance regressive policies and executive orders.
Kentucky
The Center for Constitutional Rights submitted a letter to the Governor of Kentucky in March 2025 opposing SB2, which would deny essential, evidence-based medical care to transgender individuals with gender dysphoria in the custody of the Kentucky Department of Corrections (KDOC).
Ohio
