LGBT rights in the United States

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in the United States have changed over time, and different states have different rules about them. Sexual acts between adults (depending on the age of consent in each state. This varies from age 16 to 21), and adolescents of an age close to an adult, of the same sex have been legal in the U.S. since 2003.

LGBT American flag

LGBT map of America.

Family, marriage, and anti-discrimination laws are different in every state. On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court said that states could not have laws against same-sex marriage. This decision is called Obergefell v. Hodges. Before Obergefell v. Hodges, same-sex marriage was legal in 36 states and in Washington, D.C.^[1]

Twenty-one states plus Washington, D.C. have made discrimination because of sexual orientation illegal. Sixteen states plus Washington, D.C. have made discrimination because of gender identity or expression illegal.^[2] Hate crimes because of sexual orientation or gender identity can also be punished under Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.

Human Rights Campaign is the biggest LGBT-rights group in the U.S.^[3]