Whether it be at a restaurant, in schools, or in the Capitol, a person should always have safe access to the restroom that best fits their gender identity. FreeState Justice is appalled at the behavior of sitting congresspeople who are using their platform for hatred by trying to bar transgender women from using the women's restrooms in the Capitol. Their discriminatory claims of why this is necessary is a tired, deeply hateful rhetoric, one which has been proven factually false for decades. It only serves to further divide this country and perpetuate stigmas that have proven to hurt not only transgender people, but all LGBTQ+ communities at a legislative level. FSJ congratulates Congresswoman Sarah McBride for breaking barriers as becoming the first openlty transgender woman to be elected into the House of Representatives. We are deeply troubled to learn that her success is being met with such vitriol, yet we are proud to see so many of our LGBTQ+ family in Maryland and beyond coming together to support her rights. We will continue to raise awareness of this serious issue and will not stop fighting until every transgender person in this country has the respect and safety they deserve.

Even though I have been working with FreeState Justice in some capacity for over a year, my mom still struggles to remember the name of the organization. I tell her I am leaving for work, and she responds, “Okay! Have fun at the Justice League!” It is the nickname she’s been using for FreeState since I first told her about my job. I pretend to be annoyed by the constant mix-up, but secretly, I like the nickname. Calling us the Justice League makes it sound like I work with superheroes, and in a way, I do. The FreeState Justice legal team works hard to provide high-quality, free representation to members of Maryland's LGBTQ+ community who cannot afford to hire a private attorney. Our work covers a wide range of legal areas, including family law matters, such as divorce and adoption; anti-discrimination law in settings like housing, healthcare, employment, and education; and name changes and declarations of legal gender identity for children and adults. We cannot handle criminal defense, but we do help people expunge old charges that might make it difficult for them to find a job or rent an apartment. I call my coworkers superheroes because we do this work under crazy constraints. Our small team must serve clients while working within the strictures of tight budgets, formal grant rules, and official court procedures. Even on the best days, the work can be exhausting, but my coworkers and I believe that the services we provide are invaluable, and we hope our clients would agree. My time with FreeState Justice has taught me a lot about the practice of law, about myself, and about the world around me. What follows are six truths I’ve learned about working with the superheroes that make up the FreeState Justice legal team. 1. Everyone can make a difference The American legal system is complicated. If it was not, attorneys would have a difficult time finding clients. The legal system is also resistant to change and was designed to serve the interests of the majority (in other words, straight, white men with money). Because of this, people from marginalized communities are more likely to need help navigating the system. I love working at FreeState because it empowers me to make a difference in two communities that are important to me: the LGBTQ+ community, and the city of Baltimore. When you are involved in social justice work where you live, you get to contribute to your local community in a positive way every day. If, as is the case for myself and many of my coworkers, the area you work in is one that directly affects you, then you also get to give back to your own community. And even if you aren’t directly affected by your own work, you can still take pride in knowing that you are making a local difference. 2. Success has multiple meanings I have learned to define success as doing my best to help as many people as I can, subject to all the constraints that I am. In a world where my coworkers and I have unlimited time, funding, and expertise, this would mean representing every person who reaches out to us with a legal issue that has merit and winning in court every time. But as I noted above, budgets, grant restrictions, and your own capacity limit how much you can do, and you must be realistic. It helps to think of success not as winning every case, but rather as doing the best you can for every client. Some things I count as successes include helping a client successfully change their name, connecting someone with a staff attorney who might be able to help them, and referring people to other services who might be able to help them if FreeState cannot. This last one is really important; for some clients, that’s the best we can do, and we have to accept that. 3. A sense of humor is essential People’s lawyering is often frustrating. The legal system does not always provide clients with their desired outcomes, and every court has its own idiosyncrasies. Sometimes a process that was worked hundreds of times before has to be changed because a court wants filings presented differently. Other times, even the most well-thought-out arguments are not enough to convince a skeptical judge. When your best laid plans go awry, it is good to laugh. The situation you are facing might not be funny, but you can still laugh at the ridiculousness of the circumstances. It is best if you can laugh with your coworkers. This is not always possible, because you must protect confidentiality, but if your colleagues know the situation already, then you can all laugh together at the crazy new rule a court has implemented or whatever else might be bothering you. 4. Little victories matter as much as big ones It is easy to be disheartened by the ongoing shifts in the legal landscape. Ongoing attacks on people’s right to seek gender-affirming healthcare, to access media that represents them, or to participate in forms of artistic self-expression like drag performances can make the world seem like a bleak place. You might even feel powerless against the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, at times. When this happens, it is helpful to think small. Even though they may seem like small acts, helping a client update their identity documents after their name change is granted, completing a petition for someone’s declaration of legal gender identity, or drafting a will and advanced directive for a person are profound. Hearing that their name change has been granted and knowing they can go get an ID with their chosen name may be the highlight of someone’s day. Completing a name change petition helps not only helps a client in their journey to being themselves, it also forces the government to recognize clients for who they are. And wills and advanced directives are essentially ways for someone to say “I am here, I matter, my property matters, and these are the relationships the government needs to acknowledge.” These are all very powerful, when you think about how many people were forced to live in the closet without the kind of acknowledgement these services provide. 5. You cannot fix everything My coworkers may be superheroes, but they are not wizards. We can do a lot, but the truth is that we cannot fix every problem someone might want our help with. Whether because of limited funding, a lack of capacity, or because what someone wants is not something the legal system can give them, there are people we are unable to assist in-house. It is difficult to tell someone no, but it is unavoidable. When we do have to tell someone that we cannot assist them, we try to send them away with a list of other organizations that might be able to help them or creative workarounds and non-legal solutions to their problem. This can be tricky if someone is dealing with an unusually complicated issue, but we can usually find at least one or two organizations that can help. So, even if one of FreeState’s superhero attorneys cannot take on a particular case, there is probably another attorney somewhere who can. 6. There is always more work to do Social justice work is never-ending. Case in point: marriage equality, one of the most significant milestones for the LGBTQ+ community, passed in Maryland over ten years ago, but the fight for equal treatment continues. Anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, especially anti-trans discrimination, is an ever-present threat, and even in relatively progressive states like Maryland, attorneys are needed to ensure that legal protections for LGBTQ+ people are enforced and bad actors are held accountable. When we win one fight, we must pivot to the next while ensuring that our most recent victory isn’t diluted. For example, in the last session of the Maryland legislature, we saw the repeal of Maryland’s Unnatural and Perverted Practices Act, a law that criminalized consensual sexual activity between people of the same sex. The repeal of this law was important and worth celebrating, but now we must make sure no one attempts to reintroduce a similar law, and we must keep up the fight to repeal other outdated laws, like Maryland’s criminalization of HIV. In short, there is no shortage of work for the superheroes that make up FreeState Justice’s legal team.  Written by Oliver Santos, Legal Intern and Intake Specialist

Maryland has added gender-affirming care to its definition of legally protected health care, affirming its status as a sanctuary state for transgender people and healthcare providers. House Bill 691, also known as the Trans Shield Act, went into effect on Oct. 1, shielding patients and medical providers from out-of-state prosecution and investigations. It makes Maryland the 17th state to have shield law protections for gender-affirming health care, according to UCLA Law . A D.C. shield law took effect in 2022. “This law empowers individuals to access healthcare without fear of repercussions, making gender-affirming healthcare accessible to all,” Lauren Pruitt, legal director of FreeState Justice, a Maryland LGBTQ advocacy group, said in a statement. 

The Trans Shield Act is officially in effect in Maryland! Otherwise known as HB0691, this piece of legislation protects access to gender-affirming care in MD by adding it to the state’s definition of legally protected healthcare. This does a variety of essential things, from ensuring locals can access the care they need to safeguarding both clients and their physicians from legal action by any other states trying to prosecute them for receiving/giving this care. But most importantly, as FSJ’s Legal Director, Lauren Pruitt , emphasizes, this Act makes Maryland a Sanctuary for all. “Maryland's status as a sanctuary state is a beacon of inclusivity and compassion, affirming that it values the well-being and contributions of all its residents and welcomes everyone with open arms,” says Pruitt. “This law empowers individuals to access healthcare without fear of repercussions, making gender-affirming healthcare accessible to all. It highlights the importance of gender-affirming care and enables practitioners to provide optimal care without concern for criminal liability.”

FSJ has launched our 2024 FSJ Policy Report! This is your one-stop guide to the 2024 legislative session in Maryland, a comprehensive report where you'll learn about everything FSJ did to fight for LGBTQ+ rights in this year's legislature. You can read all about what bills passed/didn't pass, the many excellent groups who worked together on inclusive policy, and everything FSJ did to raise awareness about these critical issues at the button below! 

Each legislative session, FreeState Justice's policy team travels to Annapolis to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ Marylanders at a legislative level. As an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, while we focus on many issues, our efforts are always centered on bills directly related to the LGBTQ+ community and the defense of their rights in this state. This has allowed us to accomplish great things, like successfully blocking discriminatory anti-trans sports bans and ensuring trans communities have access to life-saving, gender-affirming healthcare. But beyond pushing for LGBTQ+-specific policies, what else can legislators do to ensure LGBTQ+ Marylanders' needs are met? To learn more about what policy issues were most important to LGBTQ+ voters in Maryland, FSJ's policy team partnered with SOURCE interns, a service-learning program at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Between January and March 2024, this team conducted ten in-depth interviews and one focus group discussion with 15 LGBTQIA+ Marylanders. While these interviews do not represent the views and opinions of the whole MD LGBTQ+ community, they do provide a snapshot of what many locals are worried about today. At the end of the collaboration, the students provided FSJ with a final report detailing the policy concerns that those interviewed described as most relevant to their daily lives. This report - now available on our website - will help guide FSJ's legislative, educational, and legal efforts during the 2025 legislative session. 

This post is part of a series providing in-depth and accessible breakdowns of Freestate Justice’s various policy objectives and accomplishments over the past 2024 Legislative Session within the Maryland General Assembly. For more posts like this, check out Freestate’s 2024 Legislative Session Reflection Series. 2024 has been quite eventful for LGBTQ+ Marylanders, with Freestate Justice and its coalition partners being involved in advocating for many bills that will affect the lives and well-being of Maryland’s LGBTQ+ community. One such piece of legislation that FSJ helped to pass this previous session was Senate Bill 119. This law will modify Maryland’s Health Code to include gender-affirming treatment (such as top surgery and hormone replacement therapy) within the definition of “legally protected healthcare.” Under the previous state of affairs, state law did not explicitly protect gender-affirming healthcare. This lack of protection led to much ambiguity regarding whether healthcare providers who administered this kind of care to patients (or the individuals who received it) would be subject to legal penalties, including fines and incarceration. Gender-affirming care is critically important to so many members of the LGBTQ+ community. The ability of people to define and express their gender is a human right, with a wealth of literature showing that access to gender-affirming healthcare for transgender and nonbinary individuals mitigates feelings of gender dysphoria (distress associated with a mismatch between one’s gender identity and their sex-related physical characteristics). Solidifying access to this form of support within the health code makes progress toward addressing many existing health inequities and injustices, creating a more affirming Maryland for all. 

This post is part of a series providing in-depth and accessible breakdowns of Free State Justice’s various policy accomplishments over the past 2024 Legislative Session within the Maryland General Assembly. For more posts like this, check out Free State’s 2024 Legislative Session Reflection Series. 2024 has been quite eventful for LGBTQ+ Marylanders. Free State Justice and its various coalition partners were deeply involved in advocacy regarding multiple bills affecting LGBTQ+ Marylanders that will impact their well-being for decades to come. One policy area that saw tremendous progress within the past session was education. This year, through the contributions of Free State Justice and many other coalition partners, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Freedom to Read Act (HB785/SB738). Among other things, this law dictates that all libraries within the State of Maryland will not be able to remove any piece of media (such as books, magazines, and digital materials) from their physical and digital catalogs simply because of the identity/background of the creator. The Act also raises fines for those who damage or ‘misplace’ controversial texts after checking them out, as this was proven to be a tactic by individuals to ensure nobody else could check these out. This crucial piece of legislation comes when we as a state and nation are experiencing a wave of attacks on the education system and freedom of expression. In particular, a multitude of individuals and organizations have initiated campaigns to remove certain aspects of school curriculum and make specific materials within schools and libraries inaccessible to the public. According to the Maryland State Library Agency, by the time of this Act’s passage, Maryland’s libraries had experienced a 133% increase in formal challenges to works within their collections and a 263% increase in informal challenges since 2019. Many of these were attempts by individuals to make (often baseless) objections to the inclusion of particular works within a library. Notably, many of the subjects of these attacks are works that are either written by LGBTQ+ authors or involve LGBTQ+ characters or topics - as well as many revolving around the histories and experiences of other marginalized groups, such as Black people, Indigenous people, and other people of color. As such, before the passage of this act, there was still so much ambiguity around whether Maryland’s libraries and media centers would begin to remove diverse and LGBTQ+-affirming materials from their collections or even fire librarians and media specialists who refused to do so. Under growing pressure from a small but vocal minority of those with a discriminatory agenda, it began to look like Maryland was completely unprepared against this assault on people’s ability to access the information and entertainment they desired.

This post is part of a series providing in-depth and accessible breakdowns of FreeState Justice’s various policy objectives and accomplishments over the past 2024 Legislative Session within the Maryland General Assembly. For more posts like this, check out FreeState’s 2024 Legislative Session Reflection Series. The year 2024 has been quite eventful for LGBTQ+ Marylanders. FreeState Justice and its various coalition partners were involved in much advocacy regarding a multitude of bills that will affect the lives and wellbeing of Maryland’s LGBTQ+ community. FreeState Justice worked hard this past year to repeal a longstanding law within Maryland that criminalizes the transmission of HIV. Under current statute, Maryland penalizes people (with significant fines and even imprisonment) for “knowingly transferring or attempting to transfer the human immunodeficiency virus to another individual.” This law has long been regarded for its role in further stigmatizing HIV-survivors and communities that are disproportionately affected by the condition, such as men who have sex with men (MSM). Furthermore, the law inhibits people from getting tested for the virus, as a person who do not make themselves aware of their status cannot be prosecuted under the law. Given this significant impact of this law on public health and the rights/dignity of so many LGBTQ+ community members, FreeState went into action, working to ensure that House Bill 485 - a bill to repeal the criminalization of HIV - would make it through each stage of the Maryland General Assembly. Through the Maryland Coalition to Decriminalize HIV that FreeState Justice had organized earlier, FreeState brought together various organizers and HIV-affected individuals from across the state to conduct outreach to legislators, organize public awareness campaigns, and develop testimony during the bill hearing. At the hearing, representatives gave valuable insights to General Assembly members regarding how the criminalization of HIV prevents diagnosis and the treatments necessary to tackle the HIV epidemic in the first place. They also discussed how the law’s enforcement is highly discriminatory in nature, being wielded disproportionately against Black and Latino individuals. We are saddened to relay that the bill unfortunately did not pass this session. However, we remain determined that through our continued efforts, we will see the bill passed in forthcoming sessions. This year already marks the farthest any piece of legislation that decriminalizes HIV has made it within the Maryland General Assembly, having received bipartisan support and being cross-filed within the legislature for the first time in its history. It is long overdue that Maryland removes its archaic and deeply harmful legislation regarding HIV, and we here at FreeState Justice, along with our multitude of coalition partners, will work to ensure that this change becomes a reality and that we decriminalize HIV within the State of Maryland once and for all. Written by Nic Oke, a Legal and Policy Intern at FreeState Justice