New Research on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination: Effect of State Policy on Charges Filed at the EEOC.

In 2013, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) began allowing anyone who believed that they experienced sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI) discrimination to file charges of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Very little is known about the impact of the EEOC's decision and whether it has enhanced protections for LGBT people. In this brief report, we present preliminary findings on trends and patterns in charge filing, paying particular attention to differences that emerge in charges filed in states with and without SOGI employment nondiscrimination laws.

LGBT Family Lawyers and Same-Sex Marriage Recognition: How Legal Change Shapes Professional Identity and Practice.

Lawyers who practice family law for LGBT clients are key players in the tenuous and evolving legal environment surrounding same-sex marriage recognition. Building on prior research on factors shaping the professional identities of lawyers generally, and activist lawyers specifically, I examine how practice within a rapidly changing, patchwork legal environment shapes professional identity for this group of lawyers. I draw on interviews with 21 LGBT family lawyers to analyze how the unique features of LGBT family law shape their professional identities and practice, as well as their predictions about the development of the practice in a post-Obergefell world.

Same-sex cohabiting elders versus different-sex cohabiting and married elders: effects of relationship status and sex of partner on economic and health outcomes.

In this article, I use pooled data from the 2008-2010 American Community Surveys to examine outcomes for different-sex married, different-sex cohabiting, and same-sex cohabiting elders across several key economic and health indicators, as well as other demographic characteristics. The findings suggest that elders in same-sex cohabiting partnerships differ from those in different-sex marriages and different-sex cohabiting relationships in terms of both financial and health outcomes, and that women in same-sex cohabiting partnerships fare worse than men or women in other couple types. The results indicate that financial implications related to the sex of one's partner might be more predictive of economic and health outcomes in old age, rather than solely access to legal marriage.

Beyond the Castro: the role of demographics in the selection of gay and lesbian enclaves.

Although some qualitative research has noted differences in gay and lesbian enclaves based on characteristics such as race and sex, in this article, we draw upon quantitative data from the U.S. Census to demonstrate the manner in which enclave formation is affected by the interaction of sexual orientation and other demographic characteristics (such as sex, race, age, and income).