Report

Evidence of Discrimination in Public Accommodations Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

An analysis of complaints filed with state enforcement agencies, 2008-2014
February 2016

In 21 states and D.C., state laws prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodations. This study analyzes how frequently these laws are used by LGBT people.

Highlights
Four complaints of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in public accommodations are filed for every 100,000 LGBT adults each year.
Filing rates of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination complaints are similar to rates of complaints based on race and sex discrimination.
Data on discrimination complaints were collected from 16 states that prohibit public accommodations discrimination against LGBT people.
Data Points
9.5
million adults in the US identify as LGBT
52%
of the LGBT adult population is not protected from sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination under state laws
3
complaints of race discrimination in public accommodations are filed for every 100,000 adults of color each year
1
complaint of sex discrimination in public accommodations is filed for every 100,000 women each year
Report

Executive Summary

As of February 2016, twenty-one states and the District of Columbia expressly prohibited discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation.1 Seventeen of those states and the District of Columbia also expressly prohibited discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of gender identity.2 This report measures how frequently these laws are used by LGBT people, compared to how frequently race non-discrimination laws are used by people of color, and sex non-discrimination laws are used by women.

An aggregation of all available state-level data shows that sexual orientation and gender identity public accommodations non-discrimination laws are used by LGBT people at rates similar to the use of race non-discrimination laws by people of color, and the use of sex non-discrimination laws by women. Nationally, on average, approximately 4 complaints of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in public accommodations are filed for every 100,000 LGBT adults each year, compared to approximately 3 complaints of race discrimination filed for every 100,000 adults of color, and 1 complaint of sex discrimination filed for every 100,000 women.

The findings refute the argument that discrimination against LGBT people does not occur often enough to establish a need for protective laws. Additionally, even with similar filing rates, sexual orientation and gender identity complaints will not overwhelm government agencies because the raw number of such complaints filed is low. Each year, on average, 93 complaints of sexual orientation or gender identity public accommodations discrimination were filed nationally, across all 16 states that provided data.

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Evidence of Discrimination in Public Accommodations Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

These states are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. For purposes of this report, DC is considered a “state.”

All states listed above except Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Wisconsin.