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The Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-gender couple.

Its ruling, however, was particularly narrow and reflective of the specifics in the case. The decision avoided setting any new precedent on if a business owner can discriminate against an LGBTQ patron based on religious belief.

In writing the majority opinion, Justice Kennedy made sure to affirm protections for LGBTQ people, The New York Times reported.

But the misleading narrative that SCOTUS' ruling was "a major victory for religious liberty" — as Sen. Ted Cruz claimed in his tweet below — began to take hold, regardless of the details in the court's decision.

— (@)

That narrative is music to bigots' ears.

Some anti-LGBTQ leaders and business owners have felt emboldened by SCOTUS' decision.

In a controversial Facebook comment after the ruling, South Dakota Rep. Michael Clark celebrated the development and claimed a business owner "should have the opportunity to run his business the way he wants" — even if it includes refusing to provide services to people of color.

(Clark later walked back the claim.)

Jeff Amyx, who first made waves in 2015 for hanging an abhorrent "No Gays Allowed" sign at the front of his Tennessee hardware store, called SCOTUS' new wedding cake decision a "ray of sunshine."

[rebelmouse-image 19477544 dam="1" original_size="576x310" caption="Image from Brandon Rook/YouTube." expand=1]Image from Brandon Rook/YouTube.

"Christianity is under attack," Amyx explained. "This is a great win, don't get me wrong, but this is not the end. This is just the beginning."

Fortunately, at least one LGBTQ rights group isn't sitting idly by.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) decided to fight back against the hate by equipping allies in the business world with a simple but effective tool: a sign of their own.

HRC took out a full-page ad in USA Today that reads, "We stand with the LGBTQ community," and "We are open to all."

The ad, as HRC's Charlotte Clymer indicated on Twitter, can be hung in a business' window to ensure queer and trans patrons know they're welcome inside.

— (@)

The nonprofit also put a downloadable and printable version of the ad on its website and is encouraging supporters to stand in solidarity with the queer community by using the hashtag #OpenToAll on social media platforms.

Moves like this one can make a big difference.

In 2015, after then-Gov. Mike Pence signed a now-infamous anti-LGBTQ "religious freedom" bill into law in Indiana, thousands of businesses pushed back against the discriminatory legislation by placing "This business serves everyone" signs in their storefronts.

Some lovely people “shop hopping” at #openforservice businesses #love #support #wewelcomeall https://ow.ly/i/a8vEO
Posted by Open For Service on Saturday, March 28, 2015

That initiative by Open For Service was part of the broad backlash to the law, which was later revised to protect LGBTQ people in employment, housing, and services.

Aside from HRC's sign, there are other simple ways you can ensure patrons know your business is inclusive.

Hang a rainbow flag — as big or small as you'd like — in an area where people will spot it. (They're not just for Pride month, after all. Leave 'em up 365 days a year.)

Let it be known that your restrooms are inclusive of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people. And if your business has only one or two restrooms, why needlessly assign a gender to one or either of them when the facilities can be explicitly all-gender?

Write messages affirming your belief in equality on message boards, menus, and/or customer-facing pamphlets. If you have a space where the community leaves event flyers, include your own LGBTQ-affirming flyers or signs as well. Small but meaningful steps like these can make a difference — not just politically, but on an individual level, too. If you want LGBTQ people to know they're accepted and welcome in your business, speak up!

Vocal allyship is critical in the fight for fairness. Let it be known that you stand for equality.

With tears collecting in her eyes, Lupe Ortiz-Tovar explained why she always felt different from the other kids.

Lupe went into foster care when she was 5 years old and lived in more than 18 homes across multiple states throughout her childhood. She learned not to get her hopes up thinking the next family would be her last.

"I think you remember the honeymoon phase of going into a family, but it’s never yours," she explained in a video by the Human Rights Campaign. "It’s really like you’re a visitor in someone else’s home and you don’t know how long that's going to last."

GIF via Human Rights Campaign.

Lupe's experience being shuffled around the foster care system is one that's shared by far too many children. A point-in-time survey found more than 420,000 kids were in foster care in the U.S. in September 2015 — up from 2011, when it stood at just over 397,000.

While there are various reasons why kids are placed into care and many children are in the system only temporarily, thousands share Lupe's story. She transferred from home to home until she aged out of the system.

Finding a real home to call her own just wasn't meant to be.

GIF via Human Rights Campaign.

Or so she thought.

In 2005, two terrific guys came into Lupe's life.

"Little did I know that I would meet Clay and Bryan," Lupe said. "And my dads would find me."

GIF via Human Rights Campaign.

Lupe met Clay and Bryan, a same-gender couple, while completing a summer internship with Foster Club, a nonprofit aimed at helping kids in foster care.

In the decade after that, Clay and Bryan became close mentors to Lupe, she says over email. And finally, in 2015 — after Clay and Bryan's marriage could be legally recognized — the couple adopted Lupe in Oklahoma when she was in her early 30s.

"There is no such thing as too late to find your forever families," Lupe said. "There are no term limits on the love that families can provide each other!"

"We all added something to each other's lives," Lupe said in the video by HRC. "It was like a puzzle that was just waiting — we were all waiting for each other."

GIF via Human Rights Campaign.

The Human Rights Campaign is using Lupe's story to illustrate how crucial it is to allow LGBTQ couples to have the ability to adopt.

"Kids shouldn't have to wait to find their forever families because of discrimination," HRC states in the video.

And discrimination is very much on the table as Oklahoma Senate Bill 1140 hangs in the balance. The bill would allow certain faith-based child welfare agencies to deny adoption opportunities to kids in need based on the potential guardians' sexual orientations or gender identities.

HRC, which is strongly against the legislation, is urging Oklahomans to text "FAMILY" to 30644 or call 405-521-2711 to connect with a state House representative to demand the bill be defeated.

It's not just about ensuring equality for queer couples, the organization argues. Having the option also allows many children in need — like Lupe had been — to find loving parents.

"I've never had or thought about what a great father is — I've never had that picture in my life," Lupe says in the video below. "And so [Clay and Bryan] have really completed many empty pictures and have given me lots to dream about and hope for in my own life."

Watch Lupe's story by the Human Rights Campaign, an Upworthy Handpicked video:

Lately, friends are hard to come by.

"Ask yourself who is really the friend of women and the LGBT community, Donald Trump with actions or Hillary Clinton with her words?" said Donald Trump during a June 13, 2016 speech.

The speech, which was recorded the morning after the shooting at Orlando's Pulse nightclub, features then presidential candidate Trump slamming his opponent over her support for Muslims and refugees, suggesting that he would be a true friend to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans.

Six months into Trump's presidency, the Human Rights Campaign revisited that promise to see if he is the friend to the LGBTQ he said he would be.

In a new video from HRC, trans kids share what it means to be a friend.

[rebelmouse-image 19528005 dam="1" original_size="500x281" caption="GIF from Human Rights Campaign/YouTube." expand=1]GIF from Human Rights Campaign/YouTube.

[rebelmouse-image 19528006 dam="1" original_size="500x252" caption="GIF from Human Rights Campaign/YouTube." expand=1]GIF from Human Rights Campaign/YouTube.

[rebelmouse-image 19528007 dam="1" original_size="500x253" caption="GIF from Human Rights Campaign/YouTube." expand=1]GIF from Human Rights Campaign/YouTube.

The running theme through the kids' responses is simple: They just want to be accepted, protected, loved, and allowed to live happy lives free from bullying.

That all seems pretty reasonable and really shouldn't be so much to ask.

By these standards and "with his actions," President Trump is not a friend to the LGBTQ community.

On February 22, Trump's Department of Justice and Department of Education rescinded a May 2016 letter of guidance instructing school districts around the country to protect trans kids from discrimination in schools. It was a major WTF moment for anyone who thought the administration would make good on its pro-LGBT promises; and for those who had their doubts, it was a confirmation of their worst fears.

That 2016 letter was the kind of thing Joe Biden might call a "big effing deal," making it clear that trans students have a right not to be bullied or discriminated against. In other words, it was a sign they had friends in the White House. Now? Not so much.

"From rescinding lifesaving guidance protecting transgender students to appointing anti-transgender officials and judges, Donald Trump has proven time and time again that he is no friend to our community. Quite the opposite," says Sarah McBride, HRC national press secretary.

The good news is that anti-LGBTQ attitudes in the White House aren't enough to undo all of the progress we've made.

Trump's administration has been pretty hostile to LGBTQ people, in general, but that's no reason to give up hope.

McBride dismisses Trump's offer of friendship as yet another one of his administration's "alternative facts," but she points to one victorious bright spot from 2016: North Carolina. The state, which earlier in the year had enacted one of the nation's most oppressively anti-LGBTQ laws, rejected its governor's reelection bid in favor of a challenger who ran on repealing it.

"We saw that when trans voices are heard and our allies stand up, we can still make the politics of discrimination and misinformation no longer effective," she says. "That power to effect transformation change remains."

[rebelmouse-image 19528008 dam="1" original_size="499x271" caption="McBride made history as the first transgender woman to address a major political party's convention when she spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and has been a tireless advocate for equality. GIF from PBS Newshour/YouTube." expand=1]McBride made history as the first transgender woman to address a major political party's convention when she spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and has been a tireless advocate for equality. GIF from PBS Newshour/YouTube.

Allies are an essential component of the path forward for the rights of trans kids, and there are some specific things we can all do to help out, such as speaking out if we see kids being bullied by teachers, classmates, or even the government. Additionally, we can support organizations like HRC in their fight for full equality and call our elected officials to ask them to reject efforts to discriminate.

"The momentum is on our side," adds McBride. "History is on our side."

Watch the Human Rights Campaign's video here:

From Your Site Articles

Transgender kids desperately need our help.

The path toward justice for transgender people in America is not a straight one.

Since the Trump administration seized the steering wheel in the White House, setbacks have halted — and even reversed — progress for transgender Americans when it comes to accessing safe bathrooms. There’s no sign these setbacks will stop in the months and years ahead.

Photo by Arno Burgi/AFP/Getty Images.

If you believe in transgender rights, don't feel helpless. The transgender community needs us now more than ever.

Here are 15 ways to show trans people you're in their corner:

1. Know the facts.

On one hand, research finds many transgender people are harassed or physically assaulted while being forced to use a restroom that doesn't correspond with their gender. On the other hand, the idea that ensuring trans people equal bathroom access will somehow legalize the right for a predator to wander into a women's bathroom is a classic case of fear-mongering born from a myth.

Use the facts to make your case when discussing trans rights with those who want to learn more.

2. Know what policies are in place in your own community's school district.

Trump's reversal on trans students' bathroom rights will likely leave schools making more decisions about restroom regulations. Find out what (if any) policies are in place at the schools near you and advocate for trans students who need you in your own backyard.

Image via iStock.

3. Become a Trevor ambassador for the Trevor Project, the nation's leading LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization.

As calls to their 24/7 hotline surged in the aftermath of the election, the Trevor Project was one of the critical groups providing aid to young people in desperate need.

Many young trans people will rely on them in the months ahead, and volunteers will be crucial. You can become a Trevor ambassador in a city near you and spare some time to help the group do its life-changing work.

4. If you know a transgender kid, reach out to their parents to see if it's OK for you to send your love.

A sweet card, a warm hug, or a trip to the ice cream parlor — just to say "You are loved" — can make all the difference. If you know a transgender adult, reach out to them and see how you, as an ally, can best help efforts toward equality in your own community.

Image via iStock.

5. Fund the resistance through Lambda Legal, a group using the law to help protect trans kids from Trump's policies.

"While the Trump-Pence administration wages its war on children, we at Lambda Legal will redouble our efforts to protect transgender and other vulnerable kids," the group said in a statement. "We are already in court fighting for transgender students, and we are prepared to sue any school district that discriminates in the wake of the Trump administration’s actions."

6. Write a reassuring message to trans students online using the #ProtectTransKids hashtag.

The hashtag, which began trending Feb. 22, is being used to send notes of love and solidarity to anyone who could use it.

— (@)

7. And while you're on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, share this image to let everyone know where you stand.

1 in 3 transgender youth has tried to commit suicide. These kids need more protection, not less. #ProtectTransKids
A post shared by Liz Plank (@feministabulous) on Feb 22, 2017 at 8:50pm PST

8. If it's the right fit for you, become a member of Fierce, or tell someone else about the opportunity.

A New York City-based group, Fierce runs youth-led campaigns and leadership development programs so more young, queer people of color feel empowered to influence the world around them today and in the years ahead.

9. Get involved with the Human Rights Campaign.

HRC is the nation's leading political advocacy group for LGBTQ rights, and equal bathroom access is one of its most important issues.

10. Find out if the schools in your community have a Gay-Straight Alliance.

Again, Trump's decision will give state and local school districts more room to discriminate when it comes to bathroom access. This makes it even more crucial that you know what's happening in the schools in your own neighborhood.

The Gay-Straight Alliance is one group that operates at the local level, helping build bridges between straight, cisgender students and their LGBTQ peers.

— (@)

Find out if there's a GSA program in your own school district. If there's not, help start one.

11. Take part in a local or national event held by GLSEN, a group committed to making sure every grade school in America is safe for LGBTQ students.

Among many services, the nonprofit does extensive research on how and why schools are failing queer kids and provides resources to educators to help fix the problems.

"While the Trump administration may abandon transgender students, GLSEN won’t," the group's executive director, Dr. Eliza Byard, said in a statement.

12. Buy a shirt from Trans Lifeline and help save lives.

Similarly to the Trevor Project, Trans Lifeline runs a hotline for any transgender person in need. Trans Lifeline, however, is operated solely by trans staffers for trans people, which can make a difference to those seeking help.

— (@)

If you purchase a shirt from their online store, proceeds go toward helping the group fulfill and expand its mission of saving and bettering lives.

13. Learn more about the causes of LGBTQ youth homelessness, and fight for change.

It's vital we fight for transgender rights when it comes to bathrooms, but we also can't forget about the thousands of trans youth across the country made homeless simply because of their gender identity. Groups like the Ali Forney Center, the Happy Hippie Foundation, My Friend's Place, and the True Colors Fund are fighting every day to help homeless LGBTQ youth access stable housing, employment, and an education.

14. Watch and share this powerful video featuring a trans girl and her loving family on Facebook.

The more people see it, the more hearts and minds will open.

15. Donate to the Hetrick-Martin Institute.

The nonprofit, which began as a grassroots effort in 1979, now provides social programs — like arts and culture, job readiness, and health and wellness initiatives — for LGBTQ people ages 13-24 in and around New York City. It does great work, but it needs your help.

Transgender people have always needed our love and support, but this is a particularly critical moment when each one of us can make a difference.

Whether it's donating what you can, sharing a note online, or simply giving a warm hug, you might be the person a student — maybe in your own community — needs this very moment. Show them you care.

This article was updated on March 6, 2017.

"I’ll make sure the world moves out of your way so that you can be you."

One day, Jodie Patterson followed her mother's intuition and asked her child, "Why are you so angry?"

Her son, Penelope, had been growing distant. He loved being at his dad's side, doing "dad things," but Patterson felt like Penelope was hiding from her.

The mother of five knew something was up. And it broke through when she finally posed the question, asking Penelope what was so upsetting.

"Everyone thinks I’m a girl," Penelope answered.

As evidenced in the video below by the Human Rights Campaign, it was a life-changing moment.

Penelope may have been deemed female at birth, but it's not who he is. He's creative, determined, talkative, and one of the thousands of American kids who are transgender.

Being a trans kid can be tough, as Patterson knows all too well.

"Sometimes I feel like the world is against us," she noted. "Penelope — and all of the Penelopes — are up against a lot."

But that won't stop her son from celebrating who he is. Once he began expressing his truest self, the real Penelope blossomed.

"We made vows to him that who you are, I respect," Patterson said. "Where you’re going, I’ll go with you. And I’ll make sure the world moves out of your way so that you can be you.”