LGBTQ rights in Maryland
LGBTQ rights in Maryland | |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Legal since 1999; codified in 2023 |
| Gender identity | Transgender people allowed to change legal gender without surgery |
| Discrimination protections | Protections for both sexual orientation and gender identity (see below) |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships | Same-sex marriage since 2013 |
| Adoption | Same-sex couples permitted to adopt |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Maryland enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. The state's anti-sodomy provisions were ruled unconstitutional in 1999 and definitively repealed by the state's legislature in 2023. Maryland has had statewide protections against discrimination based on an individual's sexual orientation since 2001 and gender identity since 2014. Legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland was approved by voters on November 6, 2012, and went into effect on January 1, 2013. Today, the state of Maryland is regarded as one of the most LGBTQ-friendly states in the country, with a 2022 Public Religion Research Institute showing that 87% of Marylanders support LGBTQ anti-discrimination laws. Additionally, a ban on conversion therapy on minors became effective on October 1, 2018. In October 2020, Montgomery County passed unanimously an ordinance that implemented an LGBTIQ+ bill of rights.