LGBT rights in Louisiana

Laws against same-sex sexual activity

Homosexuality was legal until 1805, when Louisiana enacted its first penal code after annexation by the US.

Sexual acts between persons of the same sex are legal in Louisiana. They were previously criminalized under the state's sodomy law, which applied to both homosexuals and heterosexuals. The law was rendered unenforceable in 2003 by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas.

In 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down the part of the statute that criminalized adult consensual anal and oral sex.

In 2013, law enforcement officers in East Baton Rouge Parish arrested men who agreed to engage in sexual activity banned by the statute. The District Attorney did not prosecute those arrested, and both he and the parish sheriff supported repealing the sodomy statute. In April 2014, a bill to repeal the statute failed in the Louisiana House of Representatives on a 66–27 vote after lobbying in opposition by the Louisiana Family Forum.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, held that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples is unconstitutional, invalidating the ban on same-sex marriage in Louisiana.

In 1988 and 1999, Louisiana added provisions to its Civil Code that prohibited same-sex couples from contracting to marry and prohibited the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. Louisiana added bans on same-sex marriage and civil unions in its constitution since 2004

Two lawsuits challenged the state's bans. In state court in Costanza v. Caldwell, the plaintiffs won initially, but the ruling was stayed pending appeal, which was left unresolved after oral argument was heard on January 29, 2015. In federal court in Robicheaux v. George, plaintiffs challenged the state's refusal to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman ruled on September 3, 2014, for the state, writing that "Louisiana has a legitimate interest ... whether obsolete in the opinion of some, or not, in the opinion of others ... in linking children to an intact family formed by their two biological parents". On appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the case remained unresolved at the time of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell on June 26, 2015. Following the Supreme Courts ruling, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the case back to the District Court, where Judge Feldman reversed his order ruling in favor of the Robicheaux plaintiffs.

Adoption and parenting

On September 22, 2014, state trial court Judge Edward Rubin found Louisiana's prohibition against married same-sex couples from adopting to be unconstitutional and granted the first same-sex adoption in the state of Louisiana in Costanza v. Caldwell.

Prior to Judge Rubin's ruling, Louisiana allowed single persons to adopt and did not explicitly deny adoption or second-parent adoption to same-sex couples.

Louisiana has successfully defended in federal court its refusal to amend the birth certificate of a child born in Louisiana and adopted in New York by a married same-sex couple, who sought to have a new certificate issued with their names as parents as is standard practice for Louisiana-born children adopted by opposite-sex married couples. On October 11, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from Lambda Legal, representing the plaintiffs in the case, Adar v. Smith, to review the case.

Discrimination protections

On February 17, 1992, Governor Edwin Edwards issued an executive order prohibiting discrimination in state employment on the basis of sexual orientation. In August 1996, Governor Murphy J. Foster, Jr. allowed the executive order to lapse. On December 4, 2004, Governor Kathleen Blanco reissued Edwards' executive order. In August 2008, Governor Bobby Jindal allowed it to expire. On April 13, 2016, Governor John Bel Edwards reinstated the provision, as announced shortly after his election.

In May 2015, a House committee rejected a bill that would have protected people who exercise their religious beliefs on same-sex marriage. However, Governor Jindal then issued an executive order to that end. On April 13, 2016, Governor Edwards rescinded that executive order.

On April 28, 2016, the Senate Labor Committee approved in a 4–3 vote a bill that would ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The cities of Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Shreveport, along with the parish of Jefferson prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Hate crimes law

Louisiana is one of the few southern states which has a hate crime law that provides for penalty enhancements for crimes motivated by the victim's sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation. Passed in 1997, after a lobbying effort of five years, its passage made Louisiana the first state in the Deep South to have such a law. It does not cover gender identity.

National Guard

Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor in June 2013 invalidating Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, the U.S. Department of Defense issued directives requiring state units of the National Guard to enroll the same-sex spouses of guard members in federal benefit programs. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on October 31 said he would insist on compliance. On December 3, Louisiana agreed to conform with DoD policy stating that state workers would be considered federal workers while enrolling same-sex couples for benefits.