LGBTQIA+ Legal Research Guide

Resources in this guide are focused on LGBTQIA+ legal issues. Researchers should begin by looking at articles and book sections since these sources will usually provide citations to important statutes, cases and regulations. If you are looking for a paper topic, consider looking at current awareness blogs, organizations' websites and browsing topical law journals' table of contents for ideas. 

• LGBTQIA+ law is not an easily confined legal subject like property or contract law. Instead, laws in the areas of gender identity and sexual orientation can span many subject areas, including: family and estate law, employment law, health law, tax law, and immigration law. Researchers might consider looking at materials that focus on those legal subjects and seeing if there is a chapter or section that discusses LGBTQIA+ issues.

• When searching, researchers should be aware that a document (especially an older document) might use a different, possibly offensive, term to describe a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.  Natural language searching should include synonyms; however, terms and connector searching will not.

There are many research guides on this topic.  To find legal research guides, conduct a google query that includes the topic and the phrase "legal research guide" (ex. LGBTQ legal research guide).