The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) extends protections to people with gender dysphoria, a federal appeals court found this week. The opinion, issued Tuesday, marks the first time any federal appellate court has considered whether gender dysphoria — distress experienced by many, but not all, transgender people due to their body not aligning with their gender — should be a protected disability under the ADA.

The opinion enables trans people living with gender dysphoria to use federal disability laws to protect them if they live in states covered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit — Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Other courts could agree with the precedent, although they’re not obligated to do so. ...