Out Law: What LGBT Youth Should Know about Their Legal Rights

by Lisa Keen

The enormous advances of the civil rights movement have made it easier for LGBT youth to be "out," yet their increased visibility has led to myriad legal issues involving such critical matters as freedom of expression, sexual harassment, self-chosen medical care, and even their right to privacy within their own families.

In this accessible guide, Lisa Keen illustrates how some laws limit the rights of LGBT youth and others protect them. Out Law lays out the basics about federal, state, and local laws that frequently impact LGBT youth and explains how legal authority and responsibility is often vested in local officials, such as school principals.

Keen explains how laws treating LGBT people differently came to exist, evolved over time, and are subject to significant changes even today. Out Law discusses the shifting legal terrain for such issues as when schools can censor messages on T-shirts or library computer research into LGBT-related Web sites. It gives youth tips on how to document efforts to curb their rights and where to turn for help in protecting those rights.

Genres: LGBT, Nonfiction, Queer

176 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2007

Reviews

[Amy Wheatley Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written for the GLBTQ teen audience, Out Law discusses the ways in which laws and authority figures can impact the reader's life in both negative and positive ways, citing specific legal and historical references and giving the reader options for working within the legal system to effect change. The author explains in very plain language the ways in which the Constitution and Bill of Rights guarantee freedom of speech and association, as well as the process by which these documents are interpreted by the judicial system, resulting in specific laws. The legal explanations by themselves make this book a valuable resource, even for those not specifically looking for information related to GLBTQ issues. The author also reminds the reader that the issue at hand is not securing "gay rights" or special treatment for GLBTQ persons, but rather insuring that equal rights and equal protection under the law become a reality for ALL groups of people.

[Hawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book! It was very informative, as well as emotional. I'm using as a source for a speech I'm writing on LGBT discrimination, and it's been incredibly helpful!

[Danni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would love if there was an update to this book. So much time has passed and the laws have changed pretty significantly and yet many things have remained the same.