Movement Advancement Project | Nondiscrimination Laws

Public accommodation nondiscrimination laws protect LGBTQ people from being unfairly refused service, denied entry to, or otherwise discriminated against in public places based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Public accommodation laws generally cover anywhere someone is when they are not at home, work, or school, including retail stores, restaurants, parks, hotels, doctors’ offices, and banks. This map shows state public accommodation nondiscrimination laws that explicitly enumerate sexual orientation and/or gender identity as protected classes, as well as states that explicitly interpret existing sex protections to include sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Additionally, in states without state protections, municipalities may provide local-level nondiscrimination protections. See our map tracking local-level nondiscrimination ordinances here.

Other rights may exist or be recognized where you live (see below); this map is not intended as legal advice or an indication of your rights. If you have experienced discrimination, contact Lambda Legal's Help Desk or otherwise seek legal advice.

State law explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (21 states , 1 territory + D.C.)
State explicitly interprets existing prohibition on sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and/or gender identity (see note) (6 states)
State law explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation only (2 states)
No explicit prohibitions for discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in state law (21 states, 4 territories)

Citations & More Information

NOTE: In green stripe states, the state's nondiscrimination law does not explicitly enumerate sexual orientation or gender identity, but the state's civil/human rights commission has explicitly stated it interprets the state's existing protections against sex discrimination to include protections for both sexual orientation and gender identity. See the "Citations & More Information" button beneath the map legend for more detail for every state.

Recommended citation:
Movement Advancement Project. "Equality Maps: Public Accommodations Nondiscrimination Laws." https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/non_discrimination_laws/public-accommodations. Accessed 06/02/2025.

Percent of Adult LGBTQ Population Covered by Laws

*Note: These percentages reflect estimates of the LGBTQ adult population living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Estimates of the LGBTQ adult population in the five inhabited U.S. territories are not available, and so cannot be reflected here.

48%

48 % of LGBTQ population lives in states prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity

18%

18 % of LGBTQ population lives in states explicitly interpreting existing prohibition on sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and/or gender identity

3 % of LGBTQ population lives in states prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations based on sexual orientation only

31%

31 % of LGBTQ population lives in states that do not prohibit discrimination in public accommodations based on sexual orientation or gender identity (including 2% of LGBTQ population living in states that preempt local nondiscrimination laws)

Key

State has law that only covers sexual orientationLaw covers sexual orientation
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identityLaw covers sexual orientation and gender identity/expression

State	Employment	Housing	Public Accommodations	Credit	State Employees
	Citations	Citations	Citations	Citations	Citations
Alabama
Alaska					State has law that only covers sexual orientation
American Samoa
Arizona					State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Arkansas
California	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Colorado	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Connecticut	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Delaware	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity		State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
District of Columbia	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Florida
Georgia
Guam	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity				State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Hawaii	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity		State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Idaho
Illinois	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Indiana					State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Iowa	State has law that only covers sexual orientation	State has law that only covers sexual orientation	State has law that only covers sexual orientation	State has law that only covers sexual orientation	State has law that only covers sexual orientation
Kansas					State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Kentucky					State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Louisiana
Maine	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Maryland	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Massachusetts	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Michigan	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity		State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Minnesota	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Mississippi
Missouri					State has law that only covers sexual orientation
Montana					State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Nebraska
Nevada	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
New Hampshire	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity		State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
New Jersey	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
New Mexico	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
New York	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
North Carolina					State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
North Dakota
Northern Mariana Islands					State has law that only covers sexual orientation
Ohio					State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Oklahoma
Oregon	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity		State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Pennsylvania					State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Puerto Rico	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity				State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Rhode Island	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
U.S. Virgin Islands	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Utah	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity			State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Vermont	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Virginia	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Washington	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity	State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
West Virginia
Wisconsin	State has law that only covers sexual orientation	State has law that only covers sexual orientation	State has law that only covers sexual orientation		State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
Wyoming

Data current as of 06/02/2025

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