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Gay rights in America: How states stand on gay marriage and 6 other issues

The tapestry of federal and state laws surrounding gay rights is enormously complex. Here is a look at each state's laws regarding issues ranging from gay marriage to hate crimes to hospital visitation. 

4. Schools

John Munson/The Star-Ledger/AP/File
Former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi was found guilty of hate crimes for using a webcam to watch his roommate Tyler Clementi kissing another man. Clementi killed himself days after the webcam was used.

• Federal: No statutes.

• States: The push for antibullying legislation received national attention after the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi. In the incident’s aftermath, New Jersey strengthened its antibullying legislation, which is now regarded as the toughest antibullying law in the country. As for other states, nearly all of them legally address bullying or discrimination in schools, but many do not define categories of protection. Below are the states that have and have not addressed discrimination or bullying based on sexual orientation or gender identity. 

Full protections (19)
Prohibit harassment in schools based on both gender identity and sexual orientation: 
-Arkansas
-California
-Colorado
-Connecticut
-District of Columbia
-Illinois
-Iowa
-Maine
-Maryland
-Massachusetts
-Minnesota
-New Hampshire
-New Jersey
-New York
-North Carolina
-Oregon
-Rhode Island
-Vermont
-Washington

Some protections (1) 
Prohibits harassment in schools based on sexual orientation: 
-Wisconsin

No protections (31)
No laws prohibiting harassment in schools based on gender identity or sexual orientation:
-Alabama
-Alaska
-Arizona
-Delaware
-Florida
-Georgia
-Hawaii
-Idaho
-Indiana
-Kansas
-Kentucky
-Louisiana
-Michigan
-Mississippi
-Missouri
-Montana
-Nebraska
-Nevada
-New Mexico
-North Dakota
-Ohio
-Oklahoma
-Pennsylvania
-South Carolina
-South Dakota
-Tennessee
-Texas
-Utah
-Virginia
-West Virginia
-Wyoming 

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

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We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

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