The 2007 state legislative season has been the most productive in the history of the GLBT rights movement. For the first time in our history more than half of the U.S. population will live in jurisdictions that outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, according to an analysis of Census data and current laws by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. In addition, nearly 40 percent of the population now live in jurisdictions that protect transgender people from discrimination, a sevenfold increase since 2000. And one-fifth of all Americans will live in states that offer same-sex couples broad rights under state law. The 2006 elections and years of dogged work at the grassroots level were responsible for the surge in legislation.
