Indiana lawmakers to weigh bill banning transgender athletes
Indiana lawmakers will consider a Republican-backed bill that would ban transgender women and girls from participating in school sports that match their gender identity.
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Indiana AG sides with Indianapolis Archdiocese in discrimination appeal
Wading into the fight between a former school guidance counselor and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is asserting the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is prohibited from “interfering” in church decisions by the legal doctrine of the ministerial exception.
Pendleton Heights Gay-Straight Alliance wins injunction for access to school resources
A central Indiana school district must give the local high school’s gay-straight alliance access to the same advertising and fundraising resources as other noncurricular organizations, a federal judge has ruled, issuing an injunction after finding a violation of the Equal Access Act.
If Roe falls, some fear ripple effect on civil rights cases
If the Supreme Court decides to overturn or gut the decision that legalized abortion, some fear that it could undermine other precedent-setting cases, including civil rights and LGBTQ protections.
COA revives fired Cathedral High School teacher’s lawsuit against Indianapolis Archdiocese
A gay teacher who sued the Archdiocese of Indianapolis after he was terminated from his teaching position at Cathedral High School has been given another chance to make his case after the Court of Appeals of Indiana found the trial court committed reversible error in dismissing the lawsuit.
Vigo Co. Schools sued over transgender restroom access
A federal lawsuit filed Monday claims a western Indiana school district has been illegally denying two transgender high school students the use of school restrooms and locker rooms associated with their gender identity.
District attorneys refuse to prosecute some GOP-led laws
When Republican lawmakers in Tennessee blocked a policy to ease up on low-level marijuana cases, Nashville’s top prosecutor decided on a workaround: He just didn’t charge anyone with the crime.
High court could add more contentious cases to busy lineup
The Supreme Court term that begins next week is already full of contentious cases, including fights over abortion and guns. But the justices still have a lot of blank space on their calendar, with four more months of arguments left to fill.
Justice Department reviewing policies on transgender inmates
The Justice Department is reviewing its policies on housing transgender inmates in the federal prison system after protections for transgender prisoners were rolled back in the Trump administration.
20 states including IN sue over Biden admin school, work LGBT protections
Attorneys general from 20 states including Indiana sued President Joe Biden’s administration Monday seeking to halt directives that extend federal sex discrimination protections to LGBTQ people, ranging from transgender girls participating in school sports to the use of school and workplace bathrooms that align with a person’s gender identity.
Fired Roncalli counselor Starkey appeal brings ‘ministerial exception’ back to 7th Circuit
Lynn Starkey, the long-time educator fired from Roncalli High School for being married to a woman, is appealing a decision from the Southern Indiana District Court that is potentially the first to extend the “ministerial exception” to cover school guidance counselors.
Union Gospel Mission seeks high court ruling on hiring case
Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission filed a petition Monday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide a case in which the Washington Supreme Court ruled in favor of a bisexual lawyer who sued the mission over its anti-LGBTQ hiring policy.
Report: Hate crime laws lack uniformity across the US
More than half a century since they were modernized, hate crime laws in the U.S. are inconsistent and provide incomplete methods for addressing bias-motivated violence, according to a new report by advocates for better protections.
Indiana businesses urge Congress to pass LGBTQ protections
More than 100 Indiana businesses are urging Congress to pass legislation stalled in the Senate that would extend federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ people, saying in a letter that “discrimination is bad for business.”
7th Circuit says Archdiocese premature in seeking dismissal of Roncalli counselor case
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed an appeal in the lawsuit brought by former Roncalli High School counselor Lynn Starkey, saying the Archdiocese of Indianapolis’ turn to the appellate court was premature.
7th Circuit ruling expands ministerial exception, potentially impacting Indiana high school cases
Shelly Fitzgerald and Lynn Starkey, former guidance counselors at Roncalli High School, and Joshua Payne-Elliott, a former foreign language and social studies teacher at Cathedral High School, all filed separate lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis after they were all terminated from their jobs because they are in same-sex marriages. This month’s decision from the 7th Circuit in Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, 19-2142, could change the trajectory of each of those cases.
Indianapolis Archdiocese uses new 7th Circuit ruling to counter Roncalli lawsuit
Days after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found the ministerial exception protects a Chicago Catholic Church from a lawsuit brought by a fired employee, the Indianapolis Archdiocese is citing the decision to bolster its argument that the employment lawsuit filed by former Roncalli High School counselor Lynn Starkey should be dismissed.
Ex-music teacher who refused to follow Brownsburg Schools’ transgender name policy loses on religious discrimination claims
A former Brownsburg music teacher who resigned after refusing to abide by a school policy on how to address transgender students has lost his bid for partial summary judge on his religious discrimination claims against the school district.
En banc 7th Circuit splits over reach of ministerial exception
An Illinois church organist who claimed he was fired as part of a hostile work environment has split the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals over the interpretation of recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent as to how far the ministerial exception protects religious organizations.
Supreme Court won’t revive school’s transgender bathroom ban
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Virginia school board’s appeal to reinstate its transgender bathroom ban, handing a victory to transgender rights groups and a former high school student who fought in court for six years to overturn the ban.