{{pp|small=yes}} {{Short description|American lawyer and activist (born 1982)}} {{Infobox person | name = Chase Strangio | image = File:New York Pride 2022 @ DVSROSS Photography (19).jpg | caption = Strangio in 2022 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1982|10|29}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | education = Grinnell College (BA)<br>Northeastern University (JD) | employer = American Civil Liberties Union | known_for = Transgender rights activism | partner = Kimberly Drew | children = 1 }} '''Chase Strangio''' ({{IPAc-en|s|t|r|æ|n|ˈ|dʒ|iː|oʊ}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/Uninterrupted/videos/love-is-revolutionary-joy-chase-strangio/477995314129604/|title=Love Is: Revolutionary Joy {{!}} Chase Strangio|publisher=Uninterrupted|date=June 12, 2022|access-date=December 12, 2022}}</ref> born October 29, 1982)<ref name=ig2021>{{cite web |last=Strangio |first=Chase |title="Made it to 39" |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CVnWIBGls2e/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/chasestrangio/2695220209967877534_2695220206889126040 |archive-date=2021-12-25 |url-access=registration |publisher=Instagram |date=October 29, 2021 |accessdate=November 5, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> is an American lawyer and transgender rights activist. He is the deputy director for transgender justice<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chase Strangio |url=https://www.aclu.org/bio/chase-strangio |access-date=2022-05-12 |website=American Civil Liberties Union |language=en-US}}</ref> and staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).<ref name="nbc-7jun2017">{{cite web|last1=Compton |first1=Julie |title=#Pride30: ACLU Lawyer Chase Strangio Is Fighting for Trans Justice |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out-pride30/pride30-aclu-lawyer-chase-strangio-fighting-trans-justice-n763581 |accessdate=June 20, 2017 |publisher=NBC News |date=June 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619153157/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out-pride30/pride30-aclu-lawyer-chase-strangio-fighting-trans-justice-n763581 |archive-date=June 19, 2017 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="broad-27sep2016">{{cite web|last1=Tourjee|first1=Diana|title=The Trans Lawyer Fighting to Keep Her Community Alive|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/chase-strangio-the-trans-lawyer-fighting-to-keep-his-community-alive/|website=Broadly|publisher=Vice|access-date=June 20, 2017|date=September 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204094340/https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/chase-strangio-the-trans-lawyer-fighting-to-keep-his-community-alive|archive-date=February 4, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> He is the first known transgender person to make oral arguments before the Supreme Court of the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Groppe |first=Maureen |title=Transgender lawyer makes history, takes case on puberty blockers and hormone therapy to Supreme Court |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/11/25/transgender-laywer-trans-care-bans-supreme-court/76476026007/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Strangio grew up in a Jewish family outside of Boston, Massachusetts.<ref name="mj-may2017">{{cite magazine|last1=Michaels|first1=Samantha|title=Chelsea Manning's Lawyer Knows How to Fight Transgender Discrimination—He's Lived It|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/chase-strangio-gavin-grimm-transgender-lawyer-aclu/|accessdate=June 20, 2017|magazine=Mother Jones|date=May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623002032/http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/chase-strangio-gavin-grimm-transgender-lawyer-aclu/|archive-date=June 23, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
Strangio attended Grinnell College, graduating in 2004.<ref name="grinnell-transform">{{cite web|title=Transforming Trans Justice|url=https://www.grinnell.edu/news/transforming-trans-justice|website=Grinnell College|accessdate=June 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924052301/https://www.grinnell.edu/news/transforming-trans-justice|archive-date=September 24, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> After graduation, he worked as a paralegal at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD).<ref name="broad-27sep2016" /><ref name="mj-may2017" /> He went on to attend Northeastern University School of Law.<ref name="aclu-bio">{{cite web |title=Chase Strangio |url=https://www.aclu.org/bio/chase-strangio |website=American Civil Liberties Union |accessdate=June 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625035843/https://www.aclu.org/bio/chase-strangio |archive-date=June 25, 2017 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="grinnell-transform" /> Strangio came out as a transgender man while in law school.<ref name="mj-may2017" />
After graduating from Northeastern in 2010, Strangio received a fellowship from the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) to continue developing his legal skills.<ref name="broad-27sep2016" />
==Career and activism== After law school, Strangio worked as a public defender for Dean Spade, the first openly trans law professor in the U.S.<ref name="mj-may2017" /> Spade's work had inspired Strangio while he was in college.<ref name="broad-27sep2016" />
In 2012, Strangio and trans activist Lorena Borjas founded the Lorena Borjas Community Fund to provide bail and bond assistance to trans people.<ref name="aclu-bio" /><ref name="broad-27sep2016" />
In 2013, Strangio began working for the ACLU.<ref name="grinnell-transform" /> Strangio served as lead counsel for the ACLU team representing transgender U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning.<ref name="nbc-7jun2017" /><ref name="broad-27sep2016" /> He was also part of the team suing on behalf of trans student Gavin Grimm, who was denied access to the boys' restrooms at his school.<ref name="nbc-7jun2017" /><ref name="nation-9nov2018">{{cite magazine |last1=Gordon-Loebl |first1=Naomi |title=Trump's War on Trans Rights: A Q&A With Chase Strangio |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/chase-strangio-interview-trans-rights/ |accessdate=May 5, 2019 |magazine=The Nation |date=November 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505202600/https://www.thenation.com/article/chase-strangio-interview-trans-rights/ |archive-date=May 5, 2019 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
He worked on ''Obergefell v. Hodges,'' in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that every state must allow same-sex marriage.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tran |first=Diep |date=May 19, 2025 |title=How One ACLU Lawyer Brought an Oh, Mary! Playbill to the Supreme Court |url=https://playbill.com/article/how-one-aclu-lawyer-brought-an-oh-mary-playbill-to-the-supreme-court#:~:text=Strangio's%20has%20been%20with%20the,argued%20at%20the%20Supreme%20Court. |access-date=July 5, 2025 |work=Playbill}}</ref>
In October 2019, Strangio was one of the lawyers representing Aimee Stephens, a trans woman who was fired from her job at a funeral home, in the U.S. Supreme Court case ''R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission''. Those oral arguments were heard alongside ''Bostock v. Clayton County,'' on which Strangio was also a lawyer.<ref name="pinknews-15oct2019">{{cite news |last1=Wakefield |first1=Lily |title=The trans lawyer who defended trans rights in the landmark Supreme Court case has a sobering warning |url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/10/15/supreme-court-trans-lawyer-chase-strangio-aimee-stephens-lgbt-discrimination-workers/ |accessdate=October 16, 2019 |work=PinkNews |date=October 15, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fitzsimons |first=Tim |date=2019-10-09 |title=Central figures in Supreme Court LGBTQ discrimination cases speak out |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/central-figures-supreme-court-lgbtq-discrimination-cases-speak-out-n1064391 |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> The previous month, trans actress Laverne Cox brought Strangio as her date to the 2019 Emmy Awards, and the pair spoke to reporters on the red carpet about the upcoming court case.<ref name="bustle-22sep2019">{{cite web |last1=Fratti |first1=Karen |title=Laverne Cox's 2019 Emmys Date Is Bringing Attention To A Vital Court Case |url=https://www.bustle.com/p/laverne-coxs-2019-emmys-date-is-bringing-attention-to-a-vital-court-case-18793157 |website=Bustle |accessdate=October 16, 2019 |date=September 22, 2019}}</ref><ref name="vf-23sep2019">{{cite magazine |last1=Vanderhoof |first1=Erin |title=Emmys 2019: Laverne Cox's Political Rainbow Purse Had a Secret Message |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/09/emmys-2019-laverne-cox-rainbow-purse |accessdate=October 16, 2019 |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=September 23, 2019}}</ref><ref name="usa-22sep2019">{{cite news |last1=McDermott |first1=Maeve |title=Emmys 2019: Laverne Cox's clutch has an important pro-LGBTQ message |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/09/22/emmys-2019-laverne-coxs-clutch-has-important-pro-lgbtq-message/2414270001/ |accessdate=October 16, 2019 |work=USA Today |date=September 22, 2019}}</ref>
In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided 6–3 in favor of Gerald Bostock, a gay man terminated from his job due to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, in ''Bostock v. Clayton County''. The court ruled that it is illegal to discriminate in employment on the basis of transgender identity or sexual orientation.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-06-15|title=What landmark Supreme Court ruling means for LGBTQ rights|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-landmark-supreme-court-ruling-means-for-lgbtq-rights|access-date=2020-06-19|website=PBS NewsHour|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia|url=https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/bostock-v-clayton-county-georgia/|access-date=2020-06-19|website=SCOTUSblog|language=en}}</ref>
In November 2020, journalist Glenn Greenwald criticized Strangio's comments about the book ''Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters'' by Abigail Shrier. Strangio, who had tweeted that "stopping the circulation of this book and these ideas is 100% a hill I will die on," responded that he was not speaking for the ACLU and said he deleted his tweet because "there were relentless calls to have me fired, which I found exhausting as I was navigating work and childcare."<ref name="Ongoing death of free speech">{{cite web|url=https://greenwald.substack.com/p/the-ongoing-death-of-free-speech |title=The Ongoing Death of Free Speech: Prominent ACLU Lawyer Cheers Suppression of a New Book |publisher=Substack |date=November 15, 2020 |accessdate=November 16, 2020 |author=Greenwald, Glenn |author-link=Glenn Greenwald}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-31|title='Mighty' Ira Glasser & the ACLU Foundation|url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-disintegration-of-the-aclu-james-kirchick|access-date=2021-06-27|website=Tablet Magazine|language=en}}</ref> According to the ''New York Times'', Strangio's tweet had "startled traditional backers [of the ACLU], who remembered its many fights against book censorship and banning".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Powell |first=Michael |date=2021-06-06 |title=Once a Bastion of Free Speech, the A.C.L.U. Faces an Identity Crisis |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/06/us/aclu-free-speech.html |access-date=2024-07-04 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
Strangio has appeared on television programs including ''The Rachel Maddow Show'',<ref name="maddow-28mar2016">{{cite news|title=Discrimination law puts North Carolina in legal hot seat|url=http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/discrimination-law-puts-nc-in-legal-hot-seat-653952067678|accessdate=June 20, 2017|newspaper=The Rachel Maddow Show|date=March 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924092959/http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/discrimination-law-puts-nc-in-legal-hot-seat-653952067678|archive-date=September 24, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> ''Democracy Now!'',<ref name="demonow-strangio">{{cite news|title=Shows featuring Chase Strangio|url=https://www.democracynow.org/appearances/chase_strangio|newspaper=Democracy Now|accessdate=June 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623011325/https://www.democracynow.org/appearances/chase_strangio|archive-date=June 23, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> ''For the Record with Greta'',<ref name="msnbc-17jan2017">{{cite web|title=Chelsea Manning's Attorney: 'This Has Saved Her Life'|url=http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/chelsea-manning-s-attorney-this-has-saved-her-life-856762947572|date=January 17, 2017|accessdate=June 20, 2017|website=MSNBC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503062232/http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/chelsea-manning-s-attorney-this-has-saved-her-life-856762947572|archive-date=May 3, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> ''AM Joy'',<ref name="msnbc-25feb2017">{{cite web|title=Transgender rights under fire in Trump era|url=http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/transgender-rights-under-fire-in-trump-era-884875331945|date=February 25, 2017|accessdate=July 1, 2017|website=MSNBC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703051933/http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/transgender-rights-under-fire-in-trump-era-884875331945|archive-date=July 3, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> ''PBS NewsHour'',<ref name="pbs-12jan2019">{{cite news |last1=Feliciano |first1=Ivette |title=Is banning trans troops a legal tactic to reverse civil rights? |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/is-banning-trans-troops-a-legal-tactic-to-reverse-civil-rights |accessdate=May 5, 2019 |work=PBS NewsHour |date=January 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320134017/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/is-banning-trans-troops-a-legal-tactic-to-reverse-civil-rights |archive-date=March 20, 2019 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> and ''Up''.<ref name="msnbc-6oct2019">{{cite news |last1=Gura |first1=David |title=Laverne Cox: We exist, we deserve human rights |url=https://www.msnbc.com/david-gura/watch/laverne-cox-we-exist-we-deserve-human-rights-70728261836 |accessdate=October 8, 2019 |work=Up with David Gura |publisher=MSNBC |date=October 6, 2019}}</ref>
Since 2021, Strangio has worked with the ACLU to fight against state legislation seeking to prohibit children from accessing treatment for gender transition.<ref name="bloom-16mar2022">{{cite news |last1=Larson |first1=Erik |title=This Lawyer Is Fighting a Deeply Personal Battle for Trans Rights |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-16/transgender-lawyer-leads-aclu-s-fight-as-bills-target-trans-rights-healthcare |access-date=March 16, 2022 |work=Bloomberg News |date=March 16, 2022}}</ref> On December 4, 2024, he became the first known transgender person to make oral arguments before the Supreme Court of the United States in ''United States v. Skrmetti'', a case brought to challenge a Tennessee law prohibiting certain forms of gender-affirming care (including puberty blockers and hormone therapy) for transgender minors.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hansford |first=Amelia |date=2024-12-03 |title=Trans attorney Chase Strangio to make Supreme Court history |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/12/03/chase-strangio-aclu-supreme-court-us-v-skrmetti/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=PinkNews}}</ref><ref name="guard-4dec2024">{{cite news |last1=Stein |first1=Chris |title=Supreme court begins hearing major case on trans youth healthcare ban – live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/04/trump-cabinet-picks-supreme-court-latest-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-6750800e8f08604dd7f48983#block-6750800e8f08604dd7f48983 |access-date=December 4, 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=December 4, 2024}}</ref> In the days ahead of oral arguments, Strangio published an op-ed in ''The New York Times'' describing how having access to the forms of gender-affirming medical care prohibited by the Tennessee law saved his own life.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Strangio |first=Chase |date=December 3, 2024 |title=May It Please the Court: Trans Health Saved My Life |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/opinion/trans-supreme-court-case.html |access-date=December 4, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> In June 2025, the Supreme Court held that the Tennessee state law banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for the treatment of gender dysphoria in minors did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.<ref name="guard-18jun2025">{{cite news |last1=Sherman |first1=Carter |title=US supreme court upholds Tennessee ban on youth gender-affirming care |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/18/tennessee-supreme-court-gender-affirming-care-skrmetti |access-date=June 18, 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=June 18, 2025}}</ref>
In 2025, a documentary by Sam Feder featuring Strangio, ''Heightened Scrutiny'', premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The film documents Strangio's work on the ''United States v. Skrmetti'' case.<ref name="nbc-26may2025">{{cite news |last1=Yurcaba |first1=Jo |title='Heightened Scrutiny' details the high-stakes Supreme Court case over trans health care |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/heightened-scrutiny-documentary-chase-strangio-supreme-court-rcna208833 |access-date=May 26, 2025 |work=NBC News |date=May 26, 2025}}</ref><ref name="guard-17nov2025">{{cite news |last1=Esposito |first1=Veronica |title=‘Fights for our material survival’: documentary goes inside the battle for trans rights |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/nov/17/heightened-scrutiny-trans-documentary-sam-feder |access-date=November 17, 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=November 17, 2025}}</ref>
==Views== Strangio has described himself as "a constitutional lawyer who fundamentally doesn't believe in the Constitution." He has called civil marriage "a fundamentally violent institution." Strangio disagrees with the idea that transgender women could be born with a male body, saying there is no such thing as a "male body" and that "A penis is not a male body part. It's just an unusual body part for a woman."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Confessore |first1=Nicholas |title=How the Transgender Rights Movement Bet on the Supreme Court and Lost |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/19/magazine/scotus-transgender-care-tennessee-skrmetti.html |access-date=19 June 2025 |publisher=The New York Times Magazine |date=June 19, 2025}}</ref>
==Honors and recognition== In 2014, Strangio was named to the Trans 100 list for "outstanding contributions to the trans community".<ref name="srlp-7apr2014">{{cite web|title=SRLP's Gabriel Foster, Chase Strangio and Bali White honored by the Trans 100!|url=https://srlp.org/srlps-gabriel-foster-chase-strangio-and-bali-white-honored-by-the-trans-100/|website=Sylvia Rivera Law Project|accessdate=June 20, 2017|date=April 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924044934/https://srlp.org/srlps-gabriel-foster-chase-strangio-and-bali-white-honored-by-the-trans-100/|archive-date=September 24, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="trans100-2014">{{cite web|title=Trans 100 2014|url=http://www.thetrans100.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Trans_100_2014_Booklet_Update_9.pdf|website=The Trans 100|accessdate=June 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924050200/http://www.thetrans100.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Trans_100_2014_Booklet_Update_9.pdf|archive-date=September 24, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
In June 2017, Strangio was one of those chosen for NBC Out's inaugural "#Pride30" list.<ref name="nbc-7jun2017" />
In May 2018, Strangio was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by his alma mater Grinnell College.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grinnell.edu/news/commencement-2018-complete|title=Commencement 2018 Is Complete {{!}} Grinnell College|website=www.grinnell.edu|language=en|access-date=2018-05-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522050742/http://www.grinnell.edu/news/commencement-2018-complete|archive-date=2018-05-22|url-status=live}}</ref>
In November 2019, he was awarded the American Bar Association's Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity's 2020 Stonewall Award.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ACLU attorney Chase Strangio to receive 2020 Stonewall Award|url=https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2019/11/aclu-attorney-chase-strangio-to-receive-2020-stonewall-award-/|access-date=2020-06-19|website=www.americanbar.org|language=en}}</ref>
Strangio was included in 2020's ''Time'' 100 most influential people in the world.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Chase Strangio: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020|url=https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888158/chase-strangio/|access-date=2020-09-23|magazine=Time}}</ref>
==Personal life== His partner is the art curator and writer Kimberly Drew (as of 2021).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/chase-strangio-kimberly-drew-dating/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |title=Also.Also.Also: Chase Strangio and Kimberly Drew Are the Cutest Queer Love Story You'll See Today! |date=March 23, 2021 |first=Carmen |last=Phillips |publisher=Autostraddle}}</ref> As of 2022, Strangio lives in New York City and has one child.<ref name="bloom-16mar2022" />
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==Further reading== * Gessen, Masha. {{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/10/19/chase-strangios-victories-for-transgender-rights |title=Chase Strangio's Victories for Transgender Rights |magazine=The New Yorker |date=October 12, 2020 |accessdate=October 22, 2020}}
== External links == * [https://www.aclu.org/bio/chase-strangio Chase Strangio ACLU staff page] * {{Instagram|chasestrangio}} * {{Bluesky|chasestrangio.bsky.social}} * {{IMDb name|id=nm5897080|name=Chase Strangio}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Strangio, Chase}} Category:Living people Category:1982 births Category:American Civil Liberties Union people Category:Grinnell College alumni Category:Lawyers from Boston Category:American LGBTQ lawyers Category:American transgender men Category:Northeastern University School of Law alumni Category:American transgender rights activists Category:LGBTQ people from Massachusetts Category:Transgender Jews Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people Category:Activists from Boston Category:21st-century American lawyers Category:21st-century American Jews Category:Jewish American activists Category:Jews from Massachusetts Category:LGBTQ rights activists from Massachusetts Category:LGBTQ American activists