[3] The District also explicitly bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and the use of conversion therapy on both minors and adults.

The criminal status of sodomy became ambiguous until 1901, when Congress passed legislation recognizing common law crimes, punishable with up to five years' imprisonment or a fine of $1,000.

In 1948, Congress enacted the first law specific to sodomy in the district, which established a penalty of up to ten years in prison or a fine of up to $1,000, regardless of sexuality.

Many of the published sodomy and solicitation cases during the 1950s and 1960s reveal clear entrapment policies by the local police, some of which were disallowed by reviewing courts.

In 1972, settling the case of Schaefers et al. v. Wilson, the D.C. government announced its intention not to prosecute anyone for private, consensual adult sodomy, an action disputed by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

[17] In 1973, the D.C. government passed Title 34, an expansive human rights law that prohibited discrimination against many protected traits, which included sexual orientation.

[18] In 1989, Congress passed an amendment to the Human Rights Act, named after Senator William L. Armstrong, that permitted religious schools to discriminate against students based on sexual orientation.

The gay panic defense, a controversial legal strategy that claims a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity and/or expression is to blame for a defendant's violence, including murder,[25] has been illegal in the District of Columbia since May 2021.

[25] In September 2019, members of the D.C. Council introduced two bills to alter the city code by abolishing the gay panic defense.

[34] The Associated Press reported in February that the attack on the U.S. Capitol had delayed several pieces of legislation from taking effect, including the law abolishing the gay panic defense.

[36] The "Stormiyah Denson-Jackson Economic Damages Equity Act of 2022" was named after a 12-year-old Black girl who committed suicide at a D.C. boarding school and whose wrongful death lawsuit was devalued.

[39] In 2013, the D.C. government enacted the JaParker Deoni Jones Birth Certificate Equality Amendment Act of 2013, which allows D.C. residents to obtain a new birth certificate reflecting their gender identity so long as they provide a letter from a licensed health care provider certifying the resident's change in gender identity.

[38][40] D.C. became the sixth jurisdiction in the United States – behind Oregon, California, Vermont, Washington, and a portion of the federal government – to ease name changing rules for transgender people.

[44] The department issued the first-ever gender-neutral identification card in the United States to Shige Sakurai, an LGBT rights activist who drove WWH and the NCTE to lead the initiative.

[45] In September 2018, the D.C. government unanimously approved the Nonbinary Identification Cards Amendment Act of 2017, which codified the department's decision into law.

[39] Since 2021, forms and documents for changing a birth certificate officially within the District of Columbia allow male, female and unknown options.

[48] It stated that the department will house "Transgender, Intersex, or Gender Nonconforming inmates in male or female units based on their preference".

[50][51] In July 2023, the DC Board of Education updated its policies unanimously to explicitly include the LGBTQ+ community and its history and origins within social studies standards in classrooms of schools.

[59] In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues non-binding guidance for deferral of blood donations, which are universally followed.

People are ineligible to donate blood if they have:[61] A 2013 Williams Institute survey showed that 10% of the D.C. adult population identified as LGBT.

[64] A 2017 Public Religion Research Institute poll found that 78% of D.C. residents supported same-sex marriage, while 17% were opposed and 5% were unsure.