Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the U.S. state of Alaska may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT Alaskans. Since 1980, same-sex sexual conduct has been allowed, and same-sex couples can marry since October 2014. The state offers few legal protections against discrimination on the basis of

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

and

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...

, leaving LGBT people vulnerable to discrimination in housing and public accommodations; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in ''

Bostock v. Clayton County ''Bostock v. Clayton County'', , is a landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case in which the Court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination because they are gay or transgender. ...

'' established that employment discrimination against LGBT people is illegal under federal law. In addition, four

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

n cities,

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the s ...

Sitka russian: Ситка , native_name_lang = tli , settlement_type = Consolidated city-borough , image_skyline = File:Sitka 84 Elev 135.jpg , image_caption = Downtown Sitka in 1984 , image_size ...

and

Ketchikan Ketchikan ( ; tli, Kichx̱áan) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District. With a population at the 20 ...

, representing about 46% of the state population, have passed discrimination protections for housing and public accommodations. Recent opinion polls have shown increasing levels of support for LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. A 2017

Public Religion Research Institute The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) is an American nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education organization that conducts public opinion polls on a variety of topics, specializing in the quantitative and qualitative study of politic ...

poll found a 57% majority and a 65% majority in favor of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

and anti-discrimination legislation, respectively. In 2018, voters in Anchorage rejected a voter initiative which would have stripped discrimination protections from transgender individuals.

History and legality of same-sex sexual activity

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a num ...

people have long had traditions of cross-dressing practices. The

Aleut The Aleuts ( ; russian: Алеуты, Aleuty) are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleut people and the islands are politically divided between the ...

people recognize people born as male but who act, dress and behave as female, referred to as '' ayagigux̂'' (literally ''man transformed into a woman''). '' Tayagigux̂'' (literally ''woman transformed into a man'') refers to people assigned female at birth but who act and behave as male. ''Ayagigux̂'' and ''tayagigux̂'' have historically played certain important communal roles. Other people groups recognize similar terms in reference to transgender people and gender variance; male-to-female individuals are '' aranu'tiq'' among the

Alutiiq The Alutiiq people (pronounced in English; from Promyshlenniki Russian Алеутъ, "Aleut"; plural often "Alutiit"), also called by their ancestral name ( or ; plural often "Sugpiat"), as well as Pacific Eskimo or Pacific Yupik, are a so ...

, '' anasik'' among the

Siberian Yupik Siberian Yupiks, or Yuits (russian: Юиты), are a Yupik people who reside along the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in the far northeast of the Russian Federation and on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. They speak Central Siberian Yupik ...

, '' gatxan'' among the

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

, ''kanâ'ts'' among the

Tshimshian The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace and Prince Rupert, and Metlakatla, Alaska on Annette Island, the only re ...

, and '' aranaruaq'' among the Central Alaskan Yup'ik, whereas female-to-male individuals are '' uktasik'' among the Siberian Yupik, and '' angutnguaq'' among the Yup'ik. Nowadays, similarly to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, the term "

two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-varia ...

" is used to refer to people who embody these gender traits. After being purchased by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 1867, the Department of Alaska had no criminal laws whatsoever for the following 17 years. In 1884, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

enacted a statute giving Alaska all the laws of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. This included a provision criminalizing

sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''s ...

, whether heterosexual or homosexual, with a penalty of up to five years' imprisonment. The aforementioned customs of the Alaska Natives caused "alarm" in Congress. These customs, labelled "appalling degradation and vice" by Congress, resulted in an official investigation by a

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

committee, and in 1899 the enactment of a specific sodomy statute for Alaska. "Crime against nature", as it was called, was punishable by up to ten years in jail. In 1973, the

Alaska Supreme Court The Alaska Supreme Court is the state supreme court for the U.S. state of Alaska. Its decisions are binding on all other Alaska state courts, and the only court its decisions may be appealed to is the Supreme Court of the United States. The Alas ...

held that

oral sex Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth) and the throat. Cunnilingus is oral sex p ...

did not violate the sodomy statute. In total, there have only been five recorded sodomy cases in Alaska; three of which involved heterosexual conduct and two homosexual conduct. Alaska repealed its sodomy law on January 1, 1980. LGBTQ Pride Homer AK

Recognitions of same-sex relationships

Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

has been legal in Alaska since October 12, 2014, via the district court ruling of '' Hamby v. Parnell''.

Background

In 1996, the

Alaska Legislature The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There are 40 Ho ...

passed a bill banning same-sex marriage. Governor Tony Knowles declined to veto the bill, but allowed it to go become law without his signature on May 6, 1996. In 1998, the Legislature passed a

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, ...

banning same-sex marriage, which was approved in a referendum on November 3, 1998.

''Hamby v. Parnell''

On May 12, 2014, five same-sex couples filed a lawsuit in

federal district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

challenging the state's constitutional same-sex marriage ban. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess scheduled oral argument for October 10. On Sunday, October 12, 2014, less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review similar cases from the Ninth Circuit Court Appeals, ''

Latta v. Otter ''Latta v. Otter'' is a case initiated in 2013 in U.S. federal court by plaintiffs seeking to prevent the state of Idaho from enforcing its ban on same-sex marriage. The plaintiffs won in U.S. District Court. The case was appealed to the Ninth Cir ...

'' and ''

Sevcik v. Sandoval ''Sevcik v. Sandoval'' is the lead case that successfully challenged Nevada's Recognition of same-sex unions in Nevada, denial of same-sex marriage as mandated by that state's constitution and statutory law. The plaintiffs' complaint was initiall ...

'', Judge Burgess ruled for the plaintiffs and declared Alaska's statutory and constitutional bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Applications for marriage licenses were accepted from same-sex couples on October 13. The first couple to marry were Kristine Hilderbrand and Sarah Ellis, who obtained a waiver of the three-day waiting period for obtaining a license and married in

Utqiagvik Utqiagvik ( ik, Utqiaġvik; , , formerly known as Barrow ()) is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in the ...

, on October 13.

Adoption rights and parenting

Alaska permits adoption by married same-sex couples. In addition, lesbian couples have access to assisted reproduction services, such as in vitro fertilization. State law recognizes the non-genetic, non-gestational mother as a legal parent to a child born via donor insemination, but only if the parents are married. There are no

surrogacy Surrogacy is an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to delivery/labour for another person or people, who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People may seek a surrogacy arrangement when pregna ...

laws in Alaska, but courts are generally favorable to the process, whether gestational or traditional. Same-sex couples are treated in the same manner as opposite-sex couples.

Discrimination protections

State level

Alaska boroughs census areas and cities with sexual orientation and gender identity protections

Alaska law does not address discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing, or public accommodations. An executive order, issued in 2002, prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in state employment. There is no provision for gender identity. In 1975, the Alaska State Human Rights Commission took a formal stance that sexual orientation should be included in the state's non-discrimination law. In 1987, legislation to add sexual orientation was introduced, with support from Governor

Steve Cowper Stephen Cambreleng Cowper (born August 21, 1938) is an American Democratic politician who was the sixth governor of Alaska from 1986–90. He was governor during the 1989 ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill. Cowper is the CEO of Steve Cowper & Assoc ...

and Attorney-General Grace Berg Schaible, but never made it out of committee. Similar legislation has been introduced numerous times over the years, but never brought to a vote. In 2015, Representative

Andy Josephson Andrew Lewis Josephson (born July 15, 1964) is a member of the Alaska House of Representatives. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Personal life and education Josephson graduated from Whitman College in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in his ...

filed a bill banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill had two co-sponsors, but died without a vote.

Local level

The municipalities of

Sitka russian: Ситка , native_name_lang = tli , settlement_type = Consolidated city-borough , image_skyline = File:Sitka 84 Elev 135.jpg , image_caption = Downtown Sitka in 1984 , image_size ...

and

ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in public and private employment, public accommodations, and housing. This represents about 46% of the state population. In 2009, the Anchorage Assembly passed for the first time an ordinance to ban unfair discrimination against LGBT people in the city, by a vote of 7–4. Mayor Dan Sullivan vetoed the ordinance. A second attempt occurred in 2012, but voters rejected the proposal, known as Proposition 5, in April 2012 with 57% opposed. In September 2015, with support from Mayor

Ethan Berkowitz Ethan Avram Berkowitz (born February 4, 1962) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician from Alaska. From 1997 to 2007 he was the Alaska State Representative for District 26, serving as the Democratic Party Minority Leader from 1999 ...

, the Assembly again passed an ordinance to protect LGBT people from discrimination, by 9 votes to 2. On April 3, 2018, Anchorage voters rejected Proposition 1 by a margin of 53% to 47%, which if passed would have stripped protections from transgender individuals. In July 2020, the

City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to prohibit unfair discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations, taking effect in mid-August.

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the p ...

prohibits discrimination on account of sexual orientation against city employees. In February 2019, the City Council passed an ordinance banning discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Mayor Jim Matherly vetoed the ordinance a few days later, despite support from 80% of those who weighed in for several hours of public comments.

''Bostock v. Clayton County''

{{main, Bostock v. Clayton County On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in ''Bostock v. Clayton County'', consolidated with ''

Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda ''Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda'', 590 U.S. ___ (2020), is a landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case which ruled that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 employees could not be discriminated against on the basis of sex ...

'', and '' R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission'' that discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is discrimination on the basis of sex, and

Title VII The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requi ...

therefore protects LGBT employees from discrimination.

Hate crime law

Alaska state law does not address

hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

s based on gender identity or sexual orientation. However, since the ''

Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a landmark United States federal law, passed on October 22, 2009, and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, as a rider to the National Defense Aut ...

'' was signed into law in October 2009 by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

, U.S. federal law has provided penalty enhancements for crimes motivated by the victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Hate crimes against LGBT people can be prosecuted in federal court.

Transgender rights

{{see, Transgender rights in the United States Transgender persons in Alaska may request an amended

birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensui ...

with a corrected name and gender marker. To request a change in the gender marker, the applicant must submit to the Department of Vital Records a "Birth Certificate Request Form", a photocopy of their ID or that of their parent or guardian, a letter from a medical or mental health provider attesting to appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition or a certified copy of a court ordered change of sex, and the payment of the fee. Changing the gender marker on a driver's license requires submitting to the Division of Motor Vehicles a letter from a licensed provider attesting clinical treatment or an already updated birth certificate or a court order for gender change.

Transgender sports and athletes ban

In September 2023, the Alaska Board of Education by a vote of 7-1 passed a rule to ban transgender individuals within any female sports and athletes throughout the state.

Conversion therapy

{{see, List of U.S. jurisdictions banning conversion therapy In August 2020,

passed an ordinance by a vote of 9–2 to ban the use of

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and clin ...

on minors; the first city in Alaska to do so.{{cite web, url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/08/27/anchorage-assembly-passes-ban-on-conversion-therapy/, title=Anchorage Assembly passes ban on conversion therapy, work=Alaska Public Media, date=August 27, 2020, last=George, first=Kavitha

Public opinion

A 2017

(PRRI) poll found that 57% of Alaska residents supported same-sex marriage, while 34% were opposed and 9% were undecided. Additionally, 65% supported an anti-discrimination law covering sexual orientation and gender identity. 27% were against. The PRRI also found that 52% were against allowing public businesses to refuse to serve LGBT people due to religious beliefs, while 44% supported allowing such religiously-based refusals.{{Cite web, url=http://ava.prri.org/#lgbt/2017/States/lgbt_ssm/m/US-AK, title=PRRI – American Values Atlas, website=ava.prri.org {, class="wikitable" , +style="font-size:100%" , Public opinion for LGBT anti-discrimination laws in Alaska , -style="text-align:right;" ! style="width:190px;", Poll source ! style="width:200px;", Date(s)
administered ! style="width:100px;", Sample
size ! style="width:100px;", Margin of
error ! style="width:100px;", % support ! style="width:100px;", % opposition ! style="width:40px;", % no opinion , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
January 2-December 30, 2019
, align=center, 268 , align=center, ? , {{party shading/Democratic align=center, 59% , align=center, 23% , align=center, 18% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
January 3-December 30, 2018
, align=center, 277 , align=center, ? , {{party shading/Democratic align=center, 68% , align=center, 23% , align=center, 9% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 5-December 23, 2017
, align=center, 287 , align=center, ? , {{party shading/Democratic align=center, 65% , align=center, 27% , align=center, 8% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 29, 2015-January 7, 2016
, align=center, 710 , align=center, ? , {{party shading/Democratic align=center, 73% , align=center, 22% , align=center, 5%

Summary table

{, class="wikitable" , - , Same-sex sexual activity legal , rowspan=1 colspan=2 align="center" , (Since 1980) , - , Equal age of consent (16) , rowspan=1 colspan=2 align="center" , , - , Recognition of same-sex marriages , rowspan=1 colspan=2 align="center" , (Since 2014) , - , Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples , rowspan=1 colspan=2 align="center" , (Since 2014) , - , Joint adoption by same-sex couples , rowspan=1 colspan=2 align="center" , (Since 2014) , - , Lesbian, gay, and bisexual people allowed to serve openly in the military , rowspan=1 colspan=2 align="center" , (Since 2011) , - , Transgender people allowed to serve openly in the military , rowspan=1 colspan=2 align="center" , (Since 2021) , - , Intersex people allowed to serve openly in the military , rowspan=1 colspan=2 align="center" , (Current DoD policy bans "hermaphrodites" from serving or enlisting in the military) , - , Right to change legal gender , rowspan=1 colspan=2 align="center" , , - , Ban on

for minors , rowspan=1 colspan=2 align="center" , / (In

) , - , Equal access to

IVF In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) f ...

for lesbian couples , rowspan=1 colspan=2 align="center" , Yes check

, - , Surrogacy arrangements legal for gay male couples , rowspan=1 colspan=2 align="center" , Yes check

, - , MSMs allowed to donate blood , rowspan=1 colspan=2 align="center" , / (Since 2020; 3-month deferral period){{cite web, url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-relaxes-blood-donation-requirements-for-gay-men/, title=FDA eases blood donation requirements for gay men amid "urgent" shortage, work=CBS News, date=April 2, 2020, last=McNamara, first=Audrey , - , , Sexual orientation , Gender identity or gender expression , - , Anti-discrimination laws in employment , rowspan=1 colspan=1 align="center" , (Since 2020) , rowspan=1 colspan=1 align="center" , (Since 2020) , - , Anti-discrimination laws in public accommodations , rowspan=1 colspan=1 align="center" , / (Varies by city) , rowspan=1 colspan=1 align="center" , / (Varies by city) , - , Anti-discrimination laws in housing , rowspan=1 colspan=1 align="center" , / (Varies by city) , rowspan=1 colspan=1 align="center" , / (Varies by city) , - , Anti-discrimination laws in credit and lending services , rowspan=1 colspan=1 align="center" , / (Varies by city) , rowspan=1 colspan=1 align="center" , / (Varies by city) , - , Hate crime law , rowspan=1 colspan=1 align="center" , / ( Under federal law, but not covered under state law) , rowspan=1 colspan=1 align="center" , / ( Under federal law, but not covered under state law)

References

{{Reflist

External links

LGBT rights in Alaska Timeline, ''Anchorage Press''
{{LGBT rights in the United States LGBT rights in Alaska