News & Commentary

The transgender community has been getting a lot of attention lately. Recently, the majority of this attention has centered on public accommodations and the rights of transgender people to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. All of this media attention leads many to believe that this new phenomenon of “being transgender” is a passing fad, that we’re giving too much attention to a new group of people that have just popped up. The only problem with this thinking? Transgender people have been around throughout all of human history! Hundreds of Cultures Honor, Celebrate Transgender People Transgender people have existed for as long as humans have been around. In fact, throughout the majority of human history we have recognized (and even celebrated) more than two genders.

Kristen Henry, Abuse & Neglect Team Leader, Staff Attorney, Disability Rights Ohio; Andrew Brennan, Staff Attorney, Disability Rights Ohio; Adrienne Gavula, regional director, ACLU of Ohio

Photo by Erik Dorst from Flickr Commons.

The Question

“Freedom of expression is the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every other form of freedom.”
—U.S. Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo in Palko v. Connecticut
The government cannot control individual thought. But if it were to try, its first step would be to limit speech.

The ACLU, as a staunch protector of civil liberties for all, inserts itself into controversies between the government and private groups and individuals. This causes us to be associated with some individuals and organizations with whom we may fundamentally disagree. But we don’t defend these groups because we agree with their underlying message, we defend them because we recognize that when it comes to freedom of expression, their right to express themselves is indivisible from our own.