Gov Docs: LGBTQ+ Resources : Legislative Resources

United States Reports
Supreme Court of the United States, 1958
Marx Library Gov Docs Bookstacks (2nd FL South)
JU 6.8:355
-- This was the first Supreme Court opinion to deal with homosexuality and marked one of the first landmark victories for LGBTQ+ rights. SCOTUS ultimately ruled to affirm the right of free speech for “pro-homosexual” writing, ensuring that a majority of queer publications wouldn’t be cut down by state obscenity laws.

United States Reports
Supreme Court of the United States, 2003
***Also available in Paper in Documents Bookshelves (2nd Floor South)
JU 6.8:539
-- This Supreme Court opinion decriminalized all same-sex relations throughout the United States. SCOTUS ruled that it was unconstitutional to police the private relations between two consenting adults, reaffirming a person’s “right to privacy.”

United States Reports
Supreme Court of the United States, 2013
***Also available in Paper in Documents Bookshelves (2nd Floor South)
JU 6.8:570
-- This Supreme Court opinion struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that had legally defined marriage as the union between one man and one woman, thus giving states the right to refuse same-sex marriages/unions as a result. Consequently, this SCOTUS opinion was the first real step to legalizing same-sex marriage throughout the entire United States.

United States Reports
Supreme Court of the United States, 2015
JU 6.8:576
-- This Supreme Court opinion legalized same-sex marriage throughout the entire United States. In it, SCOTUS ruled that the 14th Amendment fully protected an individual’s right to certain personal choices, including the right to marry whomever they choose.

United States Reports
Supreme Court of the United States, 2020
JU 6.8:590
-- This Supreme Court opinion ruled that a person’s sexuality/gender identity falls within the category of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ensuring that LGBTQ+ people are protected from discrimination in the workplace.

Public Law No. 101-955 (11/29/1990)
-- This act reformed the Immigration Act of 1965 by working to fix certain discriminatory practices in the U.S. immigration process. In regards to queer history, this meant the removal of homosexuality as grounds for exclusion.

Public Law No. 111-321 (12/22/2010)
-- This act officially repealed the discriminatory Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, which barred openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service.

Public Law No. 117-228 (12/13/2022)
-- This act officially repealed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) by guaranteeing the federal rights, benefits, and obligations of marriage in the federal code for both same-sex and interracial couples.

U.S. Food & Drug Administration, January 2023
-- In the 1980s, the FDA placed a ban on gay and bisexual men from donating blood. This policy was enacted in response to the AIDS epidemic in an attempt to prevent the spread of HIV through America's blood supply. In recent years, however, this decision has been intensely contested amid a nationwide shortage, and by 2015, the FDA ultimately lifted their lifelong ban and replaced it with a deferral of one year for any man who has had sex with another man during the past 12 months. This policy continues to evolve, however, with newly proposed criteria drafted in January 2023.

The White House, January 2021
-- The transgender ban was first lifted from the U.S. military in June 2016, marking the first time trans individuals were able to serve openly in the Armed Forces. While this ban would ultimately return during the Trump administration, it was repealed again on January 25, 2021 by President Biden.

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Oversight and Reform, 2020
***Also available in Paper in Documents Bookshelves (2nd Floor South)
Y 4.OV 2:116-93

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, 1987
Marx Library Gov Docs Bookstacks (2nd FL South)
Y 4.J 89/1:99/132

U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, 2012
***Also available in Paper in Documents Bookshelves (2nd Floor South)
Y 4.L 11/4:S.HRG.111-1134

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services, 2019
***Also available in Paper in Documents Bookshelves (2nd Floor South)
Y 4.ED 8/1:116-16

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, 2008
***Also available in Paper in Documents Bookshelves (2nd Floor South)
Y 4.ED 8/1:110-99

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, 2020
Y 4.F 49/20:116-64

U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, 2024
Y 4.J 89/2:S.HRG.118-52

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Armed Forces, 2011
***Also available in Paper in Documents Bookshelves (2nd Floor South)
Y 4.AR 5/2 A:2011-2012/41

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, 2021
Y 4.F 49/20:117-61

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee on Military Personnel, 2020
***Also available in Paper in Documents Bookshelves (2nd Floor South)
Y 4.AR 5/2 A:2019-2020/8

By Kristy N. Kamarck
CRS Report (R44321), 2019 [vers. 15]
LC 14.23:R 44321/

By Rodney M. Perry
CRS Report (R43886), 2015
Marx Library Gov Docs Bookstacks (2nd FL South)
LC 14.23:R 43886/2015

By Jared P. Cole
CRS Legal Sidebar (LSB10352), 2019
LC 14.25:LSB 10352

By Jared P. Cole
CRS Legal Sidebar (LSB10496), 2020 [vers. 2]
LC 14.25:LSB 10496

By Jared P. Cole
CRS Legal Sidebar (LSB10531), 2020 [vers. 2]
LC 14.25:LSB 10531/

By James E. Parco & David A. Levy
Maxwell Air Force Base, Air University Press, 2010
***Also available in Paper in Documents Bookshelves (2nd Floor South)
D 301.26/6:AT 8

U.S. Office of Special Counsel, 2014
Y 3.C 83/3:2 L 56

By James E. Copple & Patricia M. Dunn
U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2017
J 36.2:G 28

U.S. Congress, House, Committee of Financial Services, 2021
Y 1.1/8:117-65

U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
S 1.2:L 56/2/
2023 - present

U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development, 2016
HH 14.20:HF-020

U.S. Dept. of Labor, 2015
L 1.2:L 59

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2016
Y 3.EQ 2:2 T 68

U.S. Dept. of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), 2015
L 35.2:T 67/3

U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2021
ED 1.2:H 21

U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2021
ED 1.2:IN 8/14

U.S. Dept. of Education, 2021
ED 1.2:T 68/9

SOUTHcat is the catalog for the libraries at the University of South Alabama. Use this to find records for books, electronic books, media items, and government documents in our collection.

The list of electronic databases and reference sources subscribed to by the Marx Library. Use this link to find newspaper, magazine, and academic journal articles from a variety of sources.

The list of newspapers, magazines, and journals subscribed to by the library. Use this to search a specific periodical or to locate a citation.

Contact information for the reference department at the Marx Library. Includes phone, email, and live chat information.