On June 4, 2011, the Connecticut Senate passed a bill extending protection to gender identity under the state's anti-discrimination laws. The bill, titled An Act Concerning Discrimination, altered existing law by including "gender identity or expression" as a protected trait for all persons regarding employment, public accommodations, the sale or rental of housing and the granting of credit. Connecticut followed the federal government's lead in extending its anti-discrimination protections as US President Barack Obama signed into law a bill extending the definition of federal hate crimes to include crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability in October 2009. Connecticut's legislation passed shortly after a UN report found that anti-LGBT crimes are on the rise worldwide.

Learn more about transgender law from the JURIST news archive, and read about the societal and economic cost of transgender discrimination from JURIST Guest Columnist Edward SanFilippo in Dateline.