Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Louisiana may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized in Louisiana as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas. Same-sex marriage has been recognized in the state since June 2015 as a result of the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. New Orleans, the state's largest city, is regarded as a hotspot for same-sex couples. In recent years, Baton Rouge has also been noted for its increasing support of the LGBTQ community. However, Louisiana lacks comprehensive anti-discrimination laws for sexual orientation or gender identity, though some local ordinances offer broader protections than statewide law.
In September 2014, two courts, one federal and one state, produced contradictory rulings on the constitutionality of the state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples. The U.S. Supreme Court resolved that conflict when it ruled such bans unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015. Two days later, Governor Bobby Jindal said the state would comply with that ruling and license same-sex marriages.
Discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited in employment as a result of Bostock v. Clayton County, but not in the areas of housing, health care, education, credit or public accommodations. A 2017 opinion poll from the Public Religion Research Institute showed that 63% of Louisiana residents supported anti-discrimination legislation protecting LGBTQ people.
Laws against same-sex sexual activity There were no laws against same-sex sexual acts in Louisiana until 1805, when the Louisiana Territory enacted its first criminal code after annexation by the United States. The code contained a sodomy provision with the common-law definition and a mandatory penalty of life imprisonment at hard labor, whether heterosexual or homosexual. In 1896, the state amended its sodomy statute, reducing the penalty to 2–10 years' imprisonment but the hard labor provision remained. It also extended the law's application to fellatio (oral sex). In the 1914 case of State v. Murry, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that the law included the "act called 'fellatio,' and perhaps that other perversion called 'cunnilingus', committed with the mouth and the female sexual organ". In 1942, a comprehensive criminal code revision was passed, reducing the maximum penalty for sodomy to five years' imprisonment, adding a fine of 2,000 dollars and making the hard labor provision optional.
In one of only four court cases dealing with consensual lesbian activity in the country, in State v. Young et al. (1966), the Louisiana Supreme Court unanimously held that cunnilingus between lesbian partners was also criminal. In 1974, Louisiana adopted a constitutional provision dealing with the right to privacy, reading:
Despite the passage of the aforementioned provision, the state Supreme Court in State v. Lindsey (1975) ruled that the sodomy statute was not "unconstitutionally vague" nor a violation of privacy rights. That same year, the Louisiana State Legislature enacted a unique statute distinguishing between "homosexual rape" and "heterosexual rape", both punishable by death, though the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the death penalty for rape two years later in Coker v. Georgia. It also abolished the minimum penalty of two years' imprisonment (but kept the maximum penalty of five years), and inserted explicit language that sodomy could be committed with someone "of the same sex or opposite sex". Solicitation for sodomy, whether heterosexual or homosexual, was made a felony in 1982. In 1992, the state enacted a sex offender registration law, under which those convicted of consensual private sodomy would be registered as "sex offenders" on par with rapists and child abusers. The law required the offender to report any change of address and provide a photograph and fingerprints to the sheriff.
The sodomy law was rendered unenforceable in 2003 by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas.New York Times: "Supreme Court Strikes Down Texas Law Banning Sodomy," June 26, 2003. Retrieved April 13, 2011. 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 had engaged 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, thus keeping an unconstitutional law on the books.
In early May 2018, the Louisiana House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill toughening laws against bestiality and separating them from the unconstitutional sodomy law. The Senate passed the bill later that month in a 36–1 vote, and it was signed into law by Governor John Bel Edwards on May 25. Initially, ten Republican lawmakers stated their opposition to the anti-bestiality bill, which was also opposed by conservative groups, including the Louisiana Family Forum.10 Louisiana Republicans voted to keep bestiality legal & anal sex against the law, LGBTQ Nation, April 11, 2018
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 marrying and prohibited the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions.La. C.C. arts. 89, 3520 Louisiana added bans on same-sex marriage and civil unions to its Constitution in 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. Caldwell, 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 Court 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
Adoption by married couples On September 22, 2014, Judge Edward Rubin found Louisiana's prohibition on allowing married same-sex couples to adopt to be unconstitutional and granted the first same-sex adoption in the state 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.Human Rights Campaign: Louisiana Adoption Law . Retrieved April 13, 2011. In light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, married same-sex couples are entitled to the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as married different-sex couples, including full joint adoption and parental rights.
Unmarried couples In 2021, the Louisiana Supreme Court decided the case of Cook v. Sullivan. The court gave sole custody to a child's biological mother, ruling that another woman was not the parent, even though she had been in a relationship with the child's mother at the time of the birth and had acted as the second parent for years until she and the mother ended their relationship.
Birth certificates 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.NOLA: "Gay dads lose appeal in Louisiana birth certificate case," April 12, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011. 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. Louisiana birth certificates still use gender-specific terms when referring to parents; however, the Obergefell decision provides equal access to all marriage-related rights for same-sex spouses, reaffirmed by the court in Pavan v. Smith in June 2017. Preventing a married same-sex couple from being listed on their child's birth certificate is unconstitutional. As of 2021, the only options for parents of a Louisiana birth certificate are "mother" and "father", with there being no options for same-sex couples, but Louisiana Vital Records will still list both same-sex parents despite this, although one of them will need to be misgendered on the child's birth certificate.
Fertility Lesbian couples have access to fertility treatments and in vitro fertilization. State law recognizes the non-genetic, non-gestational mother as a legal parent to a child born via donor insemination, but only if the parents are married.
Surrogacy is highly restricted in Louisiana. A bill passed in 2016 makes gestational surrogacy legal, but only for couples who are Louisiana residents and have both used their own gametes in the surrogacy process. Any individual or couple who needs a donor gamete (e.g., same-sex couples, infertile different-sex couples, or single individuals) cannot complete a surrogacy contract in the state. The surrogate mother cannot use her own egg.
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, but 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. However, Bel Edwards's order was struck down in November 2017 by an appellate court which found that the Governor had "overstepped his authority". In March 2018, the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the appellate court ruling.
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 Bel Edwards rescinded that executive order.
On April 28, 2016, the Senate Labor Committee approved in a 4–3 vote a bill that would have banned employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill, however, did not advance any further and died at the end of the legislative term.
The cities of New Orleans, and Shreveport prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Lake Charles along with the parish of Jefferson prohibit discrimination against public employees only.
Bostock v. Clayton County