Protecting your rights in the South

a project of Campaign for Southern Equality

the need for

legal resources
in the south
The South is home to more than a
third of the U.S.s LGBT population,
and LGBT people live as second-class
citizens in every Southern state.

The South is home to more LGBT

Americans than any other region.
According to the Williams
Institute, 35 percent of LGBT
Americans live in the South.
LGBT individuals in the South
face an elevated risk of poverty,
especially lesbian-headed
households and those living in
rural areas.

State
Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia

Number
of LGBT
adults
103,533
78,339
536,028
260,044
131,125
111,491
58,229
246,363
105,665
129,018
629,428
183,545
45,613

LGBT
adults as
% of adult
population
2.8
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.9
3.2
2.6
3.3
2.9
2.6
3.3
2.9
3.1

% of samesex couples
raising
children
20
21
13
20
18
20
29*
18
19
18
20
16
18

At 29%, Mississippi
leads the nation with
the highest relative
percentage of same-sex
couples raising children.
Same-sex couples in
Southern states are
more likely to be raising
children than same-sex
couples in other regions.

*Based on 2014 data

Sources: The Williams Institute, Gallup, Movement Advancement Project

lgbtrightstoolkit.org

The hostile legal climate in the South means

that LGBT people have to take extra steps to
protect themselves and their families.
Every LGBT person in the South lives
as a second-class citizen in the most
basic spheres of life and has unmet
legal needs.

Employment
discrimination
protections
by state

No Southern state has extended

employment protections on the basis of
sexual orientation and gender identity,
same-sex marriage is still banned in
half of Southern states, LGBT youth
across the South are vulnerable to
conversion therapy and transgender
people in every Southern state face
hurdles in the gender change process.

No employment protections
Protections for public sector workers only
Sources: Lambda Legal and HRC

These problems are exacerbated by

the reality that there are limited
LGBT-friendly resources and services,
especially in rural areas. It is difficult
for LGBT Southerners to find clear,
accurate information about their rights
and how to protect them.

LGBT people in the South live with great dignity

and courage and are often savvy navigators
of the legal system. But the reality is that
discrimination persists and must be addressed.
Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Executive Director, CSE

lgbtrightstoolkit.org

spotlight on

Mississippi
legal landscape
No protections
against
discrimination
in employment,
housing or public
accommodations.

Same-sex couples prohibited from

adopting jointly. No second-parent
adoption.

Estimated adult
LGBT population:

Adverse consideration for

homosexuality in custody disputes.

58,229

Religious freedom
law that could lead
to discrimination.

Law requiring
surgery for
changing the
gender marker on a
birth certificate.

No protections against
discrimination in education.
Anti-bullying law doesnt
specifically include bullying on
the basis of sexual orientation or
gender identity.

Hate crimes law

doesnt include
sexual orientation
or gender identity.

Percent of same-sex
households raising
children:

29
Percent of LGBT
people in committed
relationships:

50

Sources: Lambda Legal, HRC, US Census Bureau, The Williams Institute, Movement Advancement Project

lgbtrightstoolkit.org

The problem of a hostile legal

environment is exacerbated by the lack of
funding for LGBT issues in the South.
Out of every dollar
of national LGBT
funding, only four
cents goes to the
entire South.

Despite having the highest regional

population of LGBT people in the
country, the South receives only 3-4
percent of funding from national LGBT
organizations. Almost no funding reaches
small towns and rural communities. In
Mississippi, only 71 cents is spent per
LGBT adult annually.

Amount spent by LGBT funders per

LGBT adult by region
$9.35

$4.72

$10.10

$4.76

$1.71

Source: Funders for LGBTQ Issues

lgbtrightstoolkit.org

the new lgbt

rights toolkit
To address these disparities,
the Campaign for Southern Equality
has launched an expanded LGBT
Rights Toolkit with a dedicated
website, www.lgbtrightstoolkit.org.
This online Toolkit is designed to
help LGBT Southerners especially
those in small towns and rural areas
understand and protect their rights.

Whats in the Toolkit?

Health Care
Power of Attorney

forms for every

Southern state

These documents allow LGBT

people to designate the person
they trust most to make
emergency medical decisions.

The Toolkit directs LGBT

Southerners to culturally
competent service providers.

Name and
gender change
guides for every
Southern state

The Toolkit provides step-bystep guides for the name and

gender change processes. This
information is especially relevant
to transgender people.

In a rapidly-shifting legal
landscape, the Toolkit is a source
for policy and legal updates.

Legal, safety
and mental
health
resources

LGBT-friendly
attorney and
physician lists

Updates about
state and
federal laws that
impact LGBT
Southerners.

The Toolkit has links to resources

for LGBT people in crisis from
suicide hotlines to bias crime
reporting.

lgbtrightstoolkit.org

Properly executed legal documents

and access to accurate legal information
are often the difference between being
treated with dignity or disrespect. As
an attorney working in the South to
advance and protect the rights of LGBT
people, I cant stress how important it is
to have these legal documents in place
as early as possible, and to update them
as often as necessary.
Beth Littrell, Senior Attorney,
Lambda Legal Southern Regional Office

Many LGBT organizations and direct service

providers are working tirelessly to respond to
pressing legal needs across the South.
A list of LGBT-friendly legal organizations
working in the South can be found at
http://lgbtrightstoolkit.org/legal-resources/.

lgbtrightstoolkit.org

The online Toolkit complements CSEs free,

in-person Community Law Workshops.
Since launching in 2011, the Campaign for
Southern Equality has reached thousands of
LGBT Southerners with our free Community
Law Workshops on topics such as name
changes, Health Care Power of Attorney
forms and transgender employment rights.

Volunteer attorneys helped 144 clients complete Health Care

Power of Attorney forms at Charlotte Pride in 2014.

During 2014 alone, CSE offered 13

Community Law Workshops across
Mississippi, North Carolina and South
Carolina. We provided free legal education
to 830 individuals, and offered Health Care
Power of Attorney forms to 526 individuals.
These forms are completed with the assistance
of an attorney and notarized on-site so that
individuals leave with a safety net in place to
ensure that their choices will be respected in a
medical emergency.

I have seen CSE help transgender folks

through the name change process including
people who wanted to do this for years but
didnt know where to start, or didnt have
money for an attorney.
Ivy Hill, Founder, Gender Benders

Based in Asheville, North Carolina, the Campaign for Southern Equality is a

non-profit organization that advocates for the full equality of LGBT individuals
and families across the South. Learn more at www.southernequality.org.

lgbtrightstoolkit.org