Louisiana
Louisiana
Relationships
The state constitution prohibits marriage between same-sex couples. Amended in 2004 to say: “Marriage in the state of Louisiana shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman. No official or court of the state of Louisiana shall construe this constitution or any state law to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any member of a union other than the union of one man and one woman. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized. No official or court of the state of Louisiana shall recognize any marriage contracted in any other jurisdiction which is not the union of one man and one woman.” See Louisiana Constitution, Article XII, §15.
State statute prohibits marriage between same-sex couples. See Louisiana Civil Code Annotated, Articles 96 and 3520(B).
Workplace
An executive order signed by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco in 2003 protects government employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
All government employees are protected by the U.S. Constitution against irrational discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, some measure of protection already exists under Title VII based on gender, which has been held to include gender identity and expression.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and several courts have interpreted Title VII to protect transgender employees, and the EEOC has interpreted Title VII to cover sexual orientation discrimination. The Supreme Court has held that the EEOC's interpretations of Title VII are entitled to "great deference."
Parenting
Single person or married couple jointly. See La. CHC 1198, 1202.
Not yet permitted.
Case law forbids joint adoptions by unmarried heterosexual couples. See Adoption of Meaux, 417 So. 2d 522 (La. App. 1982).
Relatively unfriendly climate. See Scott v. Scott, 665 So.2d 760 (La. App. 1 Cir. 1995).
