ACLU News (364 Articles with 749,372 total views)
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. The ACLU also works to extend rights to segments of our population that have traditionally been denied their rights, including people of color; women; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; prisoners; and people with disabilities.
May, 2024
New Class-Action Lawsuit Challenges Montana's Refusal to Update Transgender People's Birth Certificates & Driver's Licenses
HELENA, Mont. - April 18, 2024 - Today two transgender women filed a class-action lawsuit against the State of Montana and various state agencies challenging a 2022 policy that categorically bars transgender people from correcting the sex designation on their birth certificates. The lawsuit also challenges a policy that makes it impossible for transgender Montanans to update the sex listed on their driver's licenses.
Ohio Court Temporarily Blocks Gender-Affirming Care Ban from Taking Effect
COLUMBUS, OHIO - April 16, 2024 - Today, the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth from taking immediate effect. The plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio, and the global law firm Goodwin Procter, successfully argued that the plaintiffs are likely to win their claim that House Bill 68 violates the Ohio Constitution because it covers more than one single subject.
April, 2024
Academy Award-Winning Actress Ariana DeBose Named ACLU Artist Ambassador for Voting Rights
NEW YORK - March 13, 2024 - The American Civil Liberties Union today announced that Academy Award-winning actress Ariana DeBose will join the organization's Artist Ambassador Program to advocate for voting rights.
Ohio Families File Lawsuit Challenging Ban on Gender-Affirming Healthcare for Transgender Youth
COLUMBUS - March 26, 2024 - Today, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio, and the global law firm Goodwin filed a lawsuit challenging the unconstitutional enactment of House Bill 68, and specifically, a discriminatory provision in H.B. 68 that bans gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. The organizations filed this lawsuit in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of two families whose children are at risk of losing critical, medically necessary healthcare. The lawsuit asks the court to strike down H.B. 68 before the law is set to take effect on April 24, 2024.
VICTORY: More than 50 Anti-LGBTQ+ Riders Stripped from Appropriations Bill
WASHINGTON - March 22, 2024 - Due to the work of Congressional equality champions and the relentless advocacy efforts of the Human Rights Campaign and other LGTBQ+ advocacy organizations, more than 50 proposed anti-LGBTQ+ riders were stripped from the final version of a $1.2 trillion funding package that heads for a vote in the US Senate today. Despite demands from MAGA lawmakers in the U.S. House that the critical budget bills be saddled with anti-LGBTQ+ provisions, the bipartisan, bicameral negotiations rejected 51 of 52 of the newly-proposed riders.
March, 2024
Appeals Court Sides With Idaho Families and Transgender Youth
SAN FRANCISCO - January 30, 2024 - In a victory for families and transgender youth, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to stay a lower court's preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of an Idaho law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender people under 18.
Supreme Court of Texas Hears Oral Arguments on Transgender Youth Medical Care Ban
AUSTIN, Texas - January 30, 2024 - Legal advocates representing transgender adolescents, their parents, and medical providers argued before the Texas Supreme Court today, asking the court to affirm a lower court's temporary injunction blocking enforcement of Senate Bill 14, an unconstitutional medical care ban targeting transgender youth.
February, 2024
Over 275 Bills Targeting LGBTQ Rights Flood State Legislatures
NEW YORK, NY - January 16, 2024 - As states across the country start their 2024 legislative sessions, the American Civil Liberties Union is already tracking 276 bills targeting LGBTQ rights in state legislatures, including efforts to censor LGBTQ-related speech, restricting school policies ensuring the safety of transgender students, and restrictions on medical care for transgender people.
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Challenge to Title IX Victory for Transgender Rights
WASHINGTON - January 16, 2024 - The United States Supreme Court has declined to review a federal court ruling in favor of a transgender student and his family challenging a discriminatory restroom policy at an Indiana public school district.
December, 2023
House Pulls Extreme Budget Proposal Attacking Reproductive & Gender-Affirming Health Care
WASHINGTON - November 15, 2023- The Republican leadership of the House of Representatives has been forced to cancel an expected floor vote on an extreme budget bill that funds the Department of Health and Human Services and other departments due to the bill's severe restrictions on access to reproductive health care and gender-affirming care.
Lambda Legal and ACLU of Iowa File Lawsuit To Block Banned Books and "Don't Say LGBTQ" Law
Des Moines, Iowa - November 28, 2023 - Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Iowa, and the law firm Jenner & Block LLP filed a lawsuit today in federal court to block provisions of SF 496, the sweeping Iowa law that seeks to silence LGBTQ+ students, erase any recognition of LGBTQ+ people from public schools, and bans books with sexual or LGBTQ+ conten
Oklahoma Families Appeal Ruling Denying Temporary Relief from Ban on Medical Care for Trans Youth
OKLAHOMA CITY - November 10, 2023 - Lawyers representing transgender adolescents and their parents last night urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to reverse a lower court ruling that denied a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of Oklahoma's discriminatory law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender adolescents with gender dysphoria.
Tennessee Families and Doctors Urge Supreme Court to Block Ban on Essential Health Care for Transgender Youth
WASHINGTON - November 1, 2023 - Transgender youth, their families, and their medical providers today asked the Supreme Court of the United States to block a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender people under 18.
October, 2023
Court Issues Permanent Injunction Declaring Texas' Drag Ban Unconstitutional
HOUSTON - September 26, 2023 - A federal judge in the Southern District of Texas today ruled the state's drag ban, Senate Bill 12, is unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction blocking the legislation from becoming law.
September, 2023
ACLU and Planned Parenthood File Notice of Appeal After Court Rules Against Single-Subject Challenge
LINCOLN, Neb. - August 18, 2023 - Today, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and its medical director, Dr. Sarah Traxler, filed a notice of appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court following a Lancaster County District Court judge's ruling upholding an extreme bill banning abortion access starting at 12 weeks and restricting gender-affirming care for trans youth.
ACLU and Planned Parenthood Vow Appeal After Court Rules Against Single-Subject Challenge
LINCOLN, Neb. August 11, 2023 - A state court decision issued today means Nebraska's new restrictions on gender-related care for transgender youth and abortion access will remain law for now. The groups challenging the restrictions plan to appeal.
ACLU of Texas Files Federal Complaints Against DFW Area Schools for Anti-LGBTQIA+ Policies
DALLAS - August 10, 2023 - The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas filed federal civil rights complaints Thursday against a fine arts public charter school in Fort Worth and a Fort Worth-area school district for adopting anti-LGBTQIA+ policies.
ACLU of Texas Sues State to Block Unconstitutional Drag Ban
HOUSTON - August 3, 2023- The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas sued the Texas Attorney General and other defendants Wednesday to block the drag ban law, Senate Bill 12, from taking effect September 1. The organization represents plaintiffs The Woodlands Pride; Abilene Pride Alliance; Extragrams, LLC; 360 Queen Entertainment LLC; and Brigitte Bandit.
Appeals Court Blocks Idaho Ban on Transgender Student Athletes
BOISE, Idaho - August 17, 2023 - The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld an injunction against an Idaho law barring transgender athletes from participating in student athletics. The court found the law likely violates the rights of transgender students under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Federal Court Rejects Challenge to Transgender-Inclusive Restroom Policy at Ohio School District
COLUMBUS, Ohio - August 7, 2023 - Today a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio issued a judgment on the pleadings in a lawsuit challenging Bethel Local School District's decision to allow transgender students to use communal restrooms consistent with their gender identity.
August, 2023
Families and Medical Providers Sue Missouri to Block Transgender Youth Medical Care Ban
(Jefferson City, MO, July 25, 2023) - Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Missouri, and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP filed a lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court to block the implementation of SB 49, which would prevent transgender adolescents in Missouri from accessing evidence-based gender-affirming medical care. The legal advocates filed the challenge to SB 49 on behalf of three families of transgender young people, medical providers, and the organizations PFLAG National and GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality. The law is scheduled to take effect on August 28.
July, 2023
ACLU Reacts to Gov. Hobbs' Executive Order Ensuring Access to Gender-Affirming Health Care
PHOENIX - June 28, 2023 - Gov. Hobbs issued an executive order that removes the ban on gender-affirming surgery for transgender state employees. In response to this landmark order, the American Civil Liberties Union will file a motion with the court to approve a final class settlement in its case Toomey v. State of Arizona, a lawsuit filed in 2019 by the ACLU of Arizona, ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project, and law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, that challenged the exclusion of gender-affirming care from state employees' health care plan.
Advocates Defend Connecticut's Inclusive Student Athletics Policy in Historic Hearing
NEW YORK - June 5, 2023 - Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation of Connecticut will defend the state's transgender-inclusive student athletics policy on behalf of two transgender athletes before a full panel hearing of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. This is the first federal case concerning the rights of transgender athletes to be heard by a full appeals court panel.
All In For Equality Coalition Statement on Pride Month After a Dangerous Regular Legislative Session for LGBTQIA+ Texans
AUSTIN, Texas - June 1 marks the start of Pride Month for the state's LGBTQIA+ community, which begins just days after the 88th Texas Legislature adjourned its regular session sine die on Monday.
Families Sue to Block Idaho's Ban on Health Care for Trans Youth
BOISE - June 1, 2023 - An Idaho law criminalizing gender-affirming health care for transgender youth is being challenged by families in federal court.
Federal Court Blocks Indiana Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
INDIANAPOLIS - June 16, 2023 - A federal court today issued a preliminary injunction blocking an Indiana law that prohibits health care professionals from providing or even referring transgender young people for medically necessary health care. The law was set to go into effect on July 1. The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Indiana on behalf of four transgender youth and their families as well as medical provider, Mosaic Health.
Federal Judge Blocks Tennessee's Ban on Trans Youth's Health Care
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - June 28, 2023 - A federal judge has blocked enforcement of a Tennessee law banning best practice medical care for trans youth up to age 18 while several families' legal challenge against the law proceeds in court.
Federal Judge Overturns Arkansas' Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth
Little Rock, Ark. - June 20, 2023 - A federal district court judge has struck down and permanently enjoined an Arkansas law that aimed to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth, finding the law violates the Constitutional rights of transgender youth, their parents, and their medical providers. The court held that plaintiffs prevailed on all their claims, finding the ban violated the Equal Protection Clause, the Due Process Clauses, and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Supreme Court Rejects Appeal from Public Charter School Seeking Permission to Violate Students' Constitutional Rights
WASHINGTON - June 26, 2023 - The Supreme Court of the United States today let stand a federal court decision holding that a North Carolina public charter school must respect its students' constitutional rights and that the schools' "skirts only" rule for girls violates civil rights laws.
June, 2023
ACLU Challenges Mississippi High School's Refusal to Let Transgender Student Wear Dress to Graduation Ceremony
JACKSON, Miss. - May 18, 2023 - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Mississippi have filed a lawsuit against Harrison County School District (HCSD) after school officials told a graduating transgender student she could not wear a dress or heeled shoes to her graduating ceremony as requested by her and her parents.
ACLU of Nebraska Statement on Combined Ban Moving Forward
LINCOLN, Neb. - May 16, 2023 - New restrictions on abortion access and health care for young transgender Nebraskans are now just one round of debate away from heading to Gov. Jim Pillen's desk.
ACLU of Nebraska: Vote Won't be Final Word on Abortion, Trans Rights
LINCOLN, Neb. - May 19, 2023 - Today, Nebraska state senators narrowly overcame a filibuster and approved new restrictions on abortion access and transgender adolescents' health care.
ACLU of Texas Reacts to School 'Chaplains' Bill Passing the Texas Legislature
AUSTIN, Texas - May 25, 2023 - Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 763 on Wednesday, which would allow school districts to replace licensed counselors, psychologists, and family specialists with uncertified "chaplains." The bill now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it into law.
Advocates to File Lawsuit Against New Law Banning Healthcare for Transgender Youth in Texas
AUSTIN - May 18, 2023 - Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, and Transgender Law Center today pledged to file a lawsuit against sweeping new legislation banning transgender youth from accessing medically necessary health care that the Texas legislature passed yesterday evening.
All In For Equality Coalition Statement on Transgender Athlete Ban Bill
AUSTIN, Texas - May 17, 2023 - The Texas House voted today to advance Senate Bill 15, which will ban transgender athletes from participating in sports in Texas public colleges and universities according to their gender.
Justice Department Urges Supreme Court to Reject Argument Exempting Public Charter School from Civil Rights Laws
WASHINGTON - May 23, 2023 - The Solicitor General of the United States rejected arguments made by a North Carolina public charter school suggesting their skirts-only dress code for girls should be exempted from civil rights laws.
Local Citizens Declare Victory Over Proposed Rainbow Flag Bans In California, New Jersey, Florida
New York City (May 8) - There has been an alarming rise in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation on the community level across America. These measures have included Rainbow Flag bans, book bans, attacks on trans and non-binary students, school curriculum takeovers, and language shaming, disproportionately harming the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans. Since 2022, more than 20 communities and school departments across America, bowing to right-wing group pressure, have passed regulations to remove all Rainbow Flags.
New Lawsuit Argues Combined Restrictions on Health Care for Trans Youth and Abortion Violated State Constitution
LINCOLN, Neb. - May 30, 2023 - "No bill shall contain more than one subject." That language from the Nebraska State Constitution is at the heart of a new lawsuit that is challenging Nebraska's new abortion ban and new restrictions on gender-related care for transgender youth.
Oklahoma Attorney General Signs Non-Enforcement Agreement on Health Care Ban for Trans Youth
OKLAHOMA CITY - May 17, 2023 - The ACLU of Oklahoma, the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, and the law firm Jenner & Block LLP announced today the filing of a binding agreement with the Oklahoma Attorney General's office not to enforce SB 613, a law Governor Kevin Stitt recently signed, pending resolution of plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction in their challenge to SB 613.
Southern Utah Drag Stars File Lawsuit Challenging the City of St. George's Censorship of Drag Performances
ST. GEORGE, Utah - May 23 , 2023 - Today, the Southern Utah Drag Stars (Drag Stars) filed a lawsuit against the city of St. George, Utah, which denied the organization a special events permit for a family-friendly drag show. The city's refusal to grant a permit is part of a years-long effort to target drag performances and LGBTQ+ pride events in violation of the First and 14th Amendments, as well as the Utah Constitution. Legal counsel intends to seek a preliminary injunction to allow Drag Stars to host its family-friendly drag show in June.
May, 2023
ACLU Sues Indiana Over Ban on Health Care for Transgender Youth
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - April 5, 2023 - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Indiana today filed a lawsuit on behalf of four transgender youth and their families, as well as a doctor and health care clinic, challenging an Indiana law that prohibits health care professionals from providing or even referring transgender young people for medically-necessary health care. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges that Senate Bill 480 violates the U.S. Constitution on multiple fronts, including the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In addition, the lawsuit claims that the law violates the federal requirements of the Medicaid Act and the Affordable Care Act, because it prohibits essential medical services that would otherwise be authorized and reimbursed by Medicaid.
April, 2023
Advocates to Take Legal Action in Defense of Transgender Youth in Montana
HELENA, Mont. - March 24, 2023 - Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana are reassuring the transgender youth of Montana that they will take any necessary legal action against a proposed ban on their health care currently being considered by the state.
Georgia Lawmakers Threaten the Rights and Lives of Trans Youth by Voting to Ban Their Health Care
ATLANTA - March 16, 2023 - Ignoring the warnings of parents, medical providers, and transgender youth themselves, Georgia's House of Representatives advanced a bill today that would ban gender-affirming health care for anyone under 18. Next, the bill goes back to the state senate to vote on an addition that subjects physicians to harsh penalties if they provide this care for transgender and nonbinary youth. A vote could happen as soon as Monday and the bill could then be sent to the desk of Gov. Brian Kemp.
LGBTQ+ Advocates Respond to West Virginia's Latest Attack on Transgender Youth
Charleston, W.Va. - March 9, 2023 - Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and ACLU-WV issued the following statement in response to the latest attack on transgender youth in the state, the West Virginia Attorney General's announcement that the state will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the recent U.S. Court of Appeals ruling allowing Becky Pepper-Jackson to participate in team sports pending her appeal.
Supreme Court Must Reject West Virginia's Effort to Deny a 12-Year-Old Girl Her Right to Play
WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 20, 2023 - Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of West Virginia urged the United States Supreme Court to reject an effort by West Virginia's Attorney General to block a 12-year-old transgender girl from continuing to participate in school sports with her peers.
March, 2023
"SAVE THE RAINBOW FLAG" Campaign Launched to Fight Dangerous Trend of Banning LGBTQ Pride/ Rainbow Flag in towns across USA
New York City (February 15) - A disturbing new trend is emerging across the US of banning the Rainbow Flag, the global symbol of LGBTQ+ equality, on a community level and in local schools. The Gilbert Baker Foundation has responded with an aggressive multi-part national campaign.
ACLU of Texas Responds to Gov. Greg Abbott's State of the State
HOUSTON - February 16, 2023 - Tonight, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced his highest priorities for the 2023 legislative session in his annual State of the State address. Among his emergency items, he named billions of dollars for anti-immigrant measures, additional mandatory minimum sentences, and policies that would threaten locally elected district attorneys and judges."
Advocates Promise Legal Action In Defense of Transgender Youth in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - February 3, 2023 - The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Tennessee, and Lambda Legal are promising the transgender youth of Tennessee they will bring immediate legal action against proposed restrictions on their health care currently being considered by the state legislature.
Mississippi Bans Gender-Affirming Health Care for Transgender Youth
JACKSON - February 28, 2023 - Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed into law today a bill banning health care treatments for gender dysphoria for transgender youth, prohibiting doctors from providing such care and stripping parents of the right to guide medical decisions for their own children.
South Dakota Bans Gender-Affirming Medical Care for Transgender Youth
SIOUX FALLS - February 13, 2023 - Ignoring the warnings of families, advocates, health care providers, and transgender South Dakotans themselves, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signed a law banning gender-affirming health care for any transgender person under 18.
February, 2023
ACLU Seeks to Challenge Pennsylvania Law That Hypercriminalizes People Living With HIV
Attorneys at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project, and Transgender Law Center are investigating a potential challenge to Pennsylvania § 5902(a)(4), a sentencing enhancement that hypercriminalizes people arrested for sex work if they are living with HIV. While arrests for prostitution generally result in a misdemeanor, this subsection makes it a felony if the person knew they were living with HIV, greatly increasing potential sentencing length. Even if the person is not charged or convicted under that subsection, it sometimes is used as leverage to get the person arrested to plead to the misdemeanor offense.
Advocates Promise Swift Legal Action Against Restrictions on Health Care for Oklahoman Trans Youth
OKLAHOMA CITY - February 2, 2023 - Lambda Legal, The American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Oklahoma today promised swift legal action in opposition to proposed restrictions on critical and often life-saving health care for transgender Oklahomans should any be signed into law.
Over 120 Bills Restricting LGBTQ Rights Introduced Nationwide in 2023 So Far
WASHINGTON - January 19, 2023 - As the 2023 legislative session begins, politicians across the country already introduced 124 total bills restricting LGBTQ people, targeting their freedom of expression, the safety of transgender students, and access to health care for gender dysphoria.
Utah Bans Health Care for Transgender Youth
SALT LAKE CITY - January 29, 2023 - Ignoring the warnings of medical organizations, civil rights activists, transgender youth, and their families, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed into law a measure banning gender-affirming health care for transgender people under the age of 18. Similar laws passed in Arkansas and Alabama are currently enjoined by federal courts.
January, 2023
ACLU of Texas Civil Rights Complaint on Granbury ISD Book Bans Leads to Federal Investigation
DALLAS - December 20, 2022 - The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights is opening an investigation into Granbury Independent School District, near Fort Worth, over alleged sex discrimination.
ACLU-PA Statement in Response to Pa. Regulation Banning LGBTQ Discrimination
HARRISBURG - December 8, 2022 - Pennsylvania's Independent Regulatory Review Commission today passed a new regulation from the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission defining sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The PHRC is responsible for enforcing the commonwealth's nondiscrimination laws, including the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, which bars discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
Federal Court Rules in Favor of Transgender Man Denied Medical Care by UMMS Hospital
BALTIMORE - January 6, 2023 - A federal court ruled today that the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center violated the Affordable Care Act when it denied Jesse Hammons for commonly-performed medical care simply because the procedure was for gender-affirming care. The government-owned hospital claims that providing Hammons with medical care would be a violation of their religious beliefs.
Second Circuit Dismisses Challenge to Connecticut's Trans-Inclusive Student Athletics Policy
NEW YORK - December 16, 2022 - In a victory for transgender youth, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a student athletic policy in Connecticut allowing transgender students to play on the teams most consistent with their gender identity.
Wash. Attorney General Challenges Discriminatory Gendered Dress Code at Alaska Airlines
SEATTLE - December 13, 2022 - Today, the Office of the Washington State Attorney General filed a complaint before the Washington State Office of Administrative Proceedings on behalf of the state's Human Rights Commission challenging the uniform and grooming policies of Alaska Airlines for violating the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD). This filing comes nearly two years after American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Washington client Justin Wetherell filed a complaint with the commission, informing it that Alaska Airlines' policies discriminated against the airline's employees who, like Justin, are nonbinary and gender fluid.
December, 2022
ACLU Applauds Senate Passage of Respect for Marriage Act
WASHINGTON - November 29, 2022 - In a historic step forward for the rights of LGBTQ families, the U.S. Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act on a bipartisan vote. The bill ensures federal recognition of marriage regardless of the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of either spouse and requires all states to respect valid marriages entered into in other states. The bill does not, however, codify the right of same-sex couples to marry in all 50 states, as the Supreme Court held in 2015 in Obergefell v. Hodges is constitutionally required. It would not prevent states from outlawing or otherwise restricting marriage by same-sex couples in the event Obergefell is overturned.
November, 2022
ACLU and ACLU of Louisiana Warn East Baton Rouge Schools About Multiple Civil Rights Violations During 'Day of Hope' Event
BATON ROUGE, La. - October 3, 2022 - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Louisiana expressed alarm about a "Day of Hope" event sponsored by the East Baton Rouge School System (EBRS) earlier this month, during which students were reportedly subjected to religious proselytizing, and female students were singled out for instruction in sexual abstinence and told by one speaker that they should practice forgiveness of those who sexually assault them. Transgender students also reported suffering discrimination and bullying during the event.
ACLU NW PA Annual General Meeting
The Northwest PA Chapter of the ACLU held its annual meeting on Sunday, September 25, 2022 at la bella Restaurant, 802 W 18th St, Erie PA. New and interested members were encouraged to attend. Presentations on the history of the ACLU, constitutional issues the PA state position on abortion, current cases in the state, and educational issues were presented by members: Bob Rhodes, Dick Ruth, Susan Woodland, and Mary Jo Campbell. An award was given to Bob Rhodes in recognition of his leadership in Public education and civil rights issues.
ACLU Settles Lawsuit After West Virginia Officials Reveal New Process for Amending Names and Gender Markers on Birth Certificates
CHARLESTON, WV - October 26, 2022 - Following a lawsuit from ACLU, ACLU of West Virginia, and the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources' Vital Registration Office has introduced more accessible and safer policies for transgender people seeking to amend their birth certificates.
ACLU-PA Files Federal Complaint Alleging Widespread Discrimination in Central Bucks School District
BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. - October 6, 2022 - The ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a complaint today with the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, on behalf of seven students in Central Bucks School District who allege a widespread culture of discrimination against LGBTQ+ students, particularly transgender students.
US District Court Trial Challenging Arkansas' Ban on Gender-Affirming Care Begins
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - October 14, 2022 - Attorneys from the ACLU and the ACLU of Arkansas will be fighting a statewide ban in Arkansas on best practice medical care for transgender youth in a two-week trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas beginning October 17.
October, 2022
ACLU Submits Comment on Proposed Title IX Rule
WASHINGTON - September 12, 2022 - The American Civil Liberties Union submitted its public comment in response to the U.S. Department of Education's proposed regulations concerning Title IX.
ACLU, ACLU Foundation of CT Defend Inclusive Athletics Policy on Behalf of Connecticut Trans Athletes
NEW YORK - September 29, 2022 - On behalf of Andraya Yearwood and Terry Miller, two transgender young women, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation of Connecticut defended the transgender youth participation policy of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City in Soule et al. v. CT Association of Schools et al., the nation's first federal court case challenging such a policy.
Alaska Airlines's Gendered Dress Codes Are Likely Discriminatory, Says WA State Commission on Human Rights
OLYMPIA, Wash. - September 12, 2022 - The Washington State Commission on Human Rights today issued a reasonable cause finding of discrimination against Alaska Airlines over the company's enforcement of a uniform policy that requires flight attendants to conform to a rigid set of gendered dress and grooming standards.
Judge Blocks Montana's Effort to Restrict Sex Marker Updates on Birth Certificates
BILLINGS, Mont. - September 15, 2022 - A Montana judge ruled today the state may not prevent transgender people from updating their birth certificates while the case challenging the constitutionality of SB 280 proceeds. SB 280 requires a court order that one has received surgical treatment before they can obtain an amended and accurate birth certificate.
Texas Court Expands Injunction Blocking State From Targeting Families of Trans Youth Who Are Members of PFLAG National
AUSTIN - September 16, 2022 - The Travis County District Court issued a third injunction today blocking the State of Texas from implementing a directive targeting trans youth and their families across Texas. The directive ordered the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate parents who work with medical professionals to provide their adolescent transgender children with medically necessary healthcare. The directive could have led to transgender youth being placed in foster care and their parents criminally charged with child abuse-just for following the advice of their physicians and mental health providers.
Transgender Public School Students Sue to Block Discriminatory Oklahoma School Facilities Law
(Oklahoma City, OK, September 7, 2022) - Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Oklahoma (ACLU-OK), and pro-bono co-counsel Covington & Burling LLP late yesterday filed a federal lawsuit against the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), three Oklahoma public school districts, one public charter school, and numerous government officials for implementing and enforcing a new school facilities access law that singles out transgender students for discriminatory treatment.
September, 2022
ACLU and ACLU of North Carolina Urge Court to End Health Care Delays Faced by Incarcerated Transgender Woman
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - August 23, 2022 - Today, attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina urged a federal district court to grant preliminary relief to Kanautica Zayre-Brown, a transgender woman currently denied adequate health care while held in a North Carolina state prison. Following today's hearing, the judge will review the case and issue a decision on the preliminary injunction.
Federal Court Upholds Preliminary Injunction Against Arkansas Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - August 25, 2022 - In a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction blocking enforcement of Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender adolescents. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of four transgender youths, their parents, and two Arkansas doctors.
In ACLU Case, Virginia Judge Rejects Obscenity Proceedings Against Gender Queer and A Court of Mist and Fury
August 30, 2022 - In a challenge brought by the ACLU and the ACLU of Virginia on behalf of local booksellers, a judge rejected an effort to label two books as obscene and illegal to sell or lend in the state of Virginia.
Utah Court Halts Law Barring Transgender Girls From Playing on Girls' Sports Teams
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - August 19, 2022 - Today, the Third District Court of Utah issued an order blocking enforcement of a newly enacted law, H.B. 11, that barred all transgender girls from playing on girls' sports teams. The court held that the new law likely violates the equality guarantees of the Utah Constitution by singling out transgender girls and barring them from competing on girls' teams regardless of their individual circumstances. After a two-day hearing, the court concluded that "the Defendants do not offer persuasive reasons to categorically ban all transgender girls from competing on girls' teams."
August, 2022
ACLU-PA Statement on Hempfield School Board Banning Trans Girls from School Athletics
July 12, 2022 - Tonight, in a 6-2 vote, the Hempfield School Board in Lancaster County became the first school district in Pennsylvania to pass a ban on trans girls participating in girls sports at school.
ACLU-PA Statement on Passage of Bill Banning Transgender Student Participation in School Athletics
HARRISBURG - June 29, 2022 - Today, the state Senate passed House Bill 972, legislation that would ban participation in school sports by transgender students in public schools and state-funded universities and colleges.
Supreme Court of Wisconsin Allows School Policy Protecting Privacy of Transgender and Nonbinary Students to Remain in Effect
MADISON - July 8, 2022 - The Supreme Court of Wisconsin allowed a school policy, which protects the right of students to use different names or pronouns at school without being forcibly outed by school faculty, to stay in effect while the case goes forward in the lower courts. It also rejected the unusual attempt by the plaintiff parents in the case to keep their identity secret from opposing counsel in the case.
Texas Court Blocks State From Investigating More Trans Youth and Their Families
July 8, 2022 - Today the Travis County District Court entered a second injunction against the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and Commissioner Masters, barring them from implementing the agency's rule expanding the definition of child abuse to presumptively treat the provision of gender affirming care as child abuse against two more families, Mirabel Voe and her son Antonio, and Wanda Roe and her son Tommy.
July, 2022
Federal Appeals Court Says Charter School Students Enjoy Constitutional Rights in Case Involving School Dress Codes
NORTH CAROLINA - June 14, 2022 - A federal appeals court ruled today that a K-8 public charter school is required to comply with constitutional and federal law requirements that apply to traditional public schools in a case involving a uniform policy requiring girls to wear skirts as a condition of attending school. This is the first time a federal appeals court has recognized that charter schools receiving public funds are subject to the same constitutional and civil rights safeguards as traditional public schools. The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina, and the law firm Ellis & Winters LLP originally filed this challenge on behalf of three Brunswick County students.
June, 2022
ACLU, Lambda Legal Statement on Texas Supreme Court Ruling Partially Upholding Injunction Blocking Investigations into Families of Transgender Youth
AUSTIN, Texas - May 13, 2022 - The Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling this morning that upholds part of an appeals court order preventing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) from investigating parents who work with medical professionals to provide their adolescent transgender children with medically necessary health care.
ACLU-PA Statement on Senate Committee Vote on Bill to Ban Transgender Athletes From School Sports
HARRISBURG - May 24, 2022 - Today, the Senate Education Committee passed legislation to bar transgender girls and women from participating in scholastic sports based on their gender identity. Governor Tom Wolf has committed to vetoing the legislation, and the bill, House Bill 972, is opposed by a long list of advocates for trans equality and women and girls' civil rights.
ACLU-PA Statement on Settlement Between Allegheny County Jail and Jules Williams
PITTSBURGH - June 2, 2022 - Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the law firm O'Brien Coleman & Wright announced a settlement between Allegheny County and Jules Williams, bringing to a close Ms. Williams' federal civil rights lawsuit over sexual assault she suffered at the Allegheny County Jail in 2015. In the settlement, Allegheny County agreed to pay $300,000 in damages to Ms. Williams, who is a transgender woman.
Tennessee Anti-Trans Restroom Sign Law Struck Down
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - May 16, 2022 - A federal judge today struck down a Tennessee law that required businesses and other entities that allow transgender people to use the public restroom that matches their gender to post a government-prescribed warning sign.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Hears Case About Forced Disclosure of Students' Use of Different Names or Pronouns In The Madison Metropolitan School District
MADISON - May 24, 2022 - The ACLU of Wisconsin and the national ACLU appeared before the Wisconsin Supreme Court today for oral arguments in Doe v Madison Metropolitan School District- a case in which the organizations are representing three student Gender and Sexuality Alliances in the district in defending the district's policy of granting students the autonomy to use different names or pronouns at school without it being involuntarily disclosed to their parents.
May, 2022
ACLU Files Lawsuit Against NC Department of Public Safety for Inhumane Treatment of Incarcerated Transgender Woman
RALEIGH, N.C.- April 28, 2022 - The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina, and Patterson Harkavy LLP today filed a complaint on behalf of Kanautica Zayre-Brown, a transgender woman incarcerated at Anson Correctional Institution who is being denied essential gender-affirming health care. Mrs. Zayre-Brown has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a serious medical condition, and for several years has requested necessary treatment consistent with established medical standards. DPS officials' pattern of inhumane treatment has caused Mrs. Zayre-Brown physical health complications and extreme emotional and psychological distress, leading to thoughts of self-harm and suicide.
ACLU-PA Statement on House Passage of Bill to Bar Transgender Student Athletes from Scholastic Competition
HARRISBURG - April 12, 2022 - Today, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed legislation to bar transgender girls and women from participating in sports based on their gender identity. The House vote comes one day after a state Senate committee passed a similar bill.
Civil Rights Groups to Challenge Alabama Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - April 7, 2022 - The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Alabama, Lambda Legal, Transgender Law Center, and Cooley LLP announced today plans to file a legal challenge to proposed legislation in Alabama that would criminalize medical professionals who provide gender-affirming care to transgender adolescents with up to 10 years in prison.
Court Blocks Restrictive Birth Certificate Law That Violates Constitutional Rights of Transgender Montanans
(BILLINGS - April 21, 2022) Today, a state district court granted a preliminary injunction in Marquez v. State of Montana, holding that a law passed by the 2021 Montana Legislature likely violates the constitutional rights of transgender Montanans. The ACLU of Montana, the ACLU's national office, and Nixon Peabody, LLP challenged Senate bill SB 280 on behalf of two transgender plaintiffs who seek to change the gender marker on their birth certificates.
Families Sue Alabama Over Felony Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Adolescents
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - April 11, 2022 - Two Alabama families filed a lawsuit in federal court today challenging a recently passed law that criminalizes medical professionals who provide care to transgender adolescents with up to 10 years in prison. The families say being denied medically necessary care will be devastating for the mental and physical health of their adolescent children. The lawsuit alleges that the new Alabama law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Federal Court Orders Bureau of Prisons to Schedule First-Ever Gender-Affirming Surgery
CHICAGO - April 20, 2022 - For the first time in its history, the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has been ordered to immediately secure a qualified surgeon so that a transgender prisoner, Cristina Nichole Iglesias, can receive gender-affirming surgery. The federal court's order follows three years of litigation in which Ms. Iglesias sought this medically necessary surgery but faced repeated delays, denials, and deception from BOP. The court's latest order requires BOP to provide a detailed timeline for Ms. Iglesias's surgery, including undertaking a nationwide search to identify a qualified surgeon.
April, 2022
Lambda Legal and ACLU Blast Texas AG's Continued Attack on Families of Transgender Youth
AUSTIN, Texas - March 12, 2022- Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) today condemned Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for continuing his unrelenting attack on transgender Texas youth and the families and medical professionals who love and care for them.
Transgender Alabamians Tell Federal Appeals Court Lack of Accurate IDs Puts Their Lives at Risk
ATLANTA - March 15, 2022 - A federal appeals court has for the first time heard arguments in a case involving accurate gender markers on IDs for transgender people. In 2021, a federal appeals court ruled it was unconstitutional for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) to deny three transgender women - Darcy Corbitt, Destiny Clark, and an unnamed plaintiff - accurate IDs because of a requirement to provide proof of specific medical interventions.
March, 2022
ACLU of Texas Comment on AG Paxton Attacks on Gender-Affirming Health Care
HOUSTON - February 23, 2022 - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released an opinion on Monday declaring gender-affirming medical care for transgender children to be child abuse. In response, Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) on Tuesday to investigate these practices.
Texas Court Partially Blocks Gov. Abbott's Anti-Trans Directive to Investigate Families
AUSTIN, Texas - March 2, 2022 - The Travis County District Court granted a temporary restraining order on Wednesday to block the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) from investigating the plaintiffs of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas (ACLU of Texas), the ACLU, and Lambda Legal.
February, 2022
ACLU Comments on House Passage of Discriminatory Anti-Trans Bills
February 1, 2022 - Today, House lawmakers voted to pass Senate Bill 46, legislation that prohibits transgender women and girls from playing sports on teams that match their gender identity. The bill now moves to Gov. Kristi Noem's desk for her signature.
ACLU-PA Statement on Proposed Repeal of Chambersburg Nondiscrimination Ordinance
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.- January 24, 2022 - Tonight, the Chambersburg Town Council is scheduled to vote on repealing its nondiscrimination ordinance. That law, which was passed last year, provides legal protection from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodation for people in the borough on the basis of race, color, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), religion, religious creed or belief, ancestry, national origin, familial status, marital status, age (except in public accommodations), veteran status, mental or physical disability.
South Dakota Senate State Affairs Committee Passes Discriminatory Anti-Transgender Sports Bill
January 14, 2021 - Today, the South Dakota Senate State Affairs Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 46, legislation that would ban transgender women and girls from competing on the sports teams that match their gender identity.
January, 2022
ACLU of South Dakota Opposes Gov. Noem's Discriminatory Anti-Trans Legislation Proposal
A solution in search of a problem - that's what Gov. Kristi Noem's proposed legislation banning transgender women and girls from competing on the sports teams that match their gender identity and forbids their participation in both high school and collegiate athletic activities amounts to.
November, 2021
ACLU of Texas Comment on House Voting to Pass Anti-Trans Youth Sports Bill
AUSTIN, Texas - October 14, 2021 - The Texas House voted to advance discriminatory H.B. 25, which would ban transgender students from participating on K-12 athletic teams as their authentic selves. The bill could be approved quickly by the Texas Senate before being sent to the governor's desk.
Civil Rights Advocates Bring Federal Court Challenge to Tennessee Law Banning Trans Students in School Sports
(Nashville, TN, November 4, 2021) - Today, Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Tennessee filed a lawsuit challenging a Tennessee law excluding transgender youth from participating in school sports.
Disability Rights Groups Urge Supreme Court to Uphold Protections Against Disability Discrimination
WASHINGTON - October 29, 2021 - Disability rights organizations filed friend-of-the-court briefs today urging the Supreme Court to uphold disability rights by rejecting CVS's attempt to dismantle non-discrimination protections under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
How Mastercard's New Policy Violates Sex Workers' Rights
October 15, 2021 - Mastercard's new policy regulating adult content sellers goes into effect today. This is bad news for many sex workers, whose safety and livelihoods depend on access to financial services and online platforms. The policy makes it harder for sex workers to do business online and makes sex workers more vulnerable, especially those who are trans women of color.
Supreme Court Declines to Review Ruling in Favor of Patient who was Denied Care for Being Transgender
WASHINGTON - November 1, 2021 - The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear a challenge to a California court decision in favor of a patient who was turned away from a hospital for being transgender.
September, 2021
Gloucester County School Board to Pay $1.3 Million to Resolve Gavin Grimm's Case
RICHMOND, Va. - August 26, 2021 - The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that the Gloucester County School Board will be ordered to pay over $1.3 million in attorney's fees and costs requested in Gavin Grimm's discrimination case. After six years of litigation, the Supreme Court in June 2021 declined to review lower court decisions ruling that the school board's discriminatory restroom policy for transgender students violated Title IX and the Constitution. In a court filing today, the school board informed the court it would not oppose Gavin's petition for fees and costs and would pay the entire amount requested in the fee petition.
August, 2021
ACLU Comment on "X" Gender Marker Option for U.S. Passports
WASHINGTON - June 30, 2021 - After years of advocacy by transgender, non-binary and intersex people, the Biden administration today announced that the Department of State would begin to issue passports with an "X" gender marker without requiring medical documentation. In January, the American Civil Liberties Union launched a six-figure campaign - its largest ever targeting the federal government on LGBTQ rights - to urge the Biden administration to issue an executive order on accurate federal IDs across all federal agencies. Nearly 100,000 Americans contacted the White House in support of the executive order which is also supported by a coalition of over 80 advocacy organizations and several Congressional offices.
Federal Court Blocks Arkansas Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth from Moving Forward
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - July 21, 2021 - A federal court today issued a bench decision blocking an Arkansas law that prohibits health care professionals from providing or even referring transgender young people for medically necessary health care. The law was set to go into effect on July 28. The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of four transgender youth and their families as well as two doctors.
Federal Court Blocks West Virginia Law Banning Trans Students in School Sports
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - July 21, 2021 - A federal court today ruled that 11-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson must be allowed to try out for the girls' cross-country and track teams at her school, blocking West Virginia from enforcing a law that bans transgender girls and women from participating in school sports. The ruling came in the lawsuit challenging the ban filed by Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of West Virginia, and Cooley LLP.
Judge Blocks Tennessee Anti-Trans Restroom Sign Law
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - July 9, 2021 - A federal judge today blocked a new law in Tennessee that required businesses and other entities that allow transgender people to use the public restroom that matches their gender to post a government-prescribed warning sign.
Supreme Court Allows Gavin Grimm's Victory to Stand
WASHINGTON - June 28, 2021 - The Supreme Court today declined to hear Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, allowing lower court decisions in support of transgender students to stand.
Transgender Montanans Challenge New Law Preventing Accurate Information on Government Documents
MISSOULA, Mont. - July 16, 2021 - Amelia Marquez, a transgender woman, and John Doe, a transgender man, filed a lawsuit today challenging a new law that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to correct the sex designation on their birth certificates. Marquez and Doe's case asserts that Senate Bill 280 violates their constitutional right to privacy, equal protection of the law, and due process.
July, 2021
ACLU Tells Alaska Airlines to Stop Discriminating Against Non-Binary and Gender Non-Conforming Flight Attendants
SEATTLE - June 4, 2021 - The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter today to Alaska Airlines telling the airline to stop enforcing a uniform policy that requires flight attendants to conform to a rigid set of "male" and "female" dress and grooming standards. The letter was sent on behalf of Justin Wetherell, a flight attendant and flight-attendant instructor based in Seattle.
Civil and Human Rights Groups Urge President Biden to Issue Executive Order on Accurate Federal IDs for Trans, Intersex, and Non-binary People
WASHINGTON - June 1, 2021 - A coalition of over 80 civil and human rights organizations sent a letter to President Biden today urging him to issue an executive order during Pride Month that would ensure transgender, non-binary, and intersex people can obtain accurate identification records.
Department of Justice Says Laws Targeting Trans Youth are Unconstitutional
WASHINGTON - June 17, 2021 - Chase Strangio, deputy director for Trans Justice with the American Civil Liberties Union LGBTQ & HIV Project, issued the following statement responding to the Department of Justice submitting a statement of interest in two federal courts supporting transgender youth: "Today's filings from the Department of Justice send a powerful message that discrimination against transgender youth is not just wrong, it is also plainly unconstitutional. These filings from the Department of Justice confirm what we have been telling legislatures all year: Banning trans youth from sports and denying trans youth health care violates the Constitution and federal law. We hope that state legislatures finally get the message."
Supreme Court Decision Does Not Create a License to Discriminate
WASHINGTON - June 17, 2021 - The Supreme Court today ruled in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia that city officials' decision not to renew Catholic Social Services' foster care contract was impermissible because the city's contract contained a mechanism for offering individual discretionary exemptions to agencies, which the court held that the city could not refuse to extend to CSS. The court did not, however, establish a general right for religious organizations to violate non-discrimination laws.
June, 2021
ACLU and Lambda Legal Plan to File Lawsuit if Texas Legislature Bans Medical Care for Transgender Youth
AUSTIN, Texas- May 11, 2021 - The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, and Lambda Legal announced today a plan to sue the state of Texas if the legislature and Gov. Abbott approve a bill to ban essential, life-saving medical care for transgender youth. Late Monday night, the House Calendars Committee scheduled HB 1399 to be debated before the Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday.
ACLU Sues Arkansas Over Ban on Health Care for Transgender Youth
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - May 25, 2021 - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit on behalf of four transgender youth and their families as well as two doctors challenging an Arkansas law that prohibits health care professionals from providing or even referring transgender young people for medically necessary health care. The bill also bars any state funds or insurance coverage for gender-affirming health care for transgender people under 18, and it would allow private insurers to refuse coverage for gender-affirming care for people of any age. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges that House Bill 1570 violates the U.S. Constitution.
ACLU, Lambda Legal Respond to Failure of Alabama Bill Criminalizing Health Care for Trans Youth
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - May 18, 2021 - The Alabama Legislature concluded its regular session for 2021 last night without advancing Senate Bill 10, which would have criminalized health care for transgender youth. Late last month, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Alabama, and Lambda Legal had vowed to challenge the law if the bill had been passed and signed by Governor Kay Ivey.
Lambda Legal and ACLU of Ohio Issue Materials to Educate Public on Ohio Department of Health's New Procedures for Trans Ohioans to Correct Birth Certificates
(Columbus, OH) - To comply with a December 2020 court order in Ray v. McCloud, a case brought by Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Ohio, ACLU and Thompson Hine LLP, the Ohio Department of Health established new procedures that allow transgender people to correct the gender or "sex" marker on Ohio birth certificates.
May, 2021
ACLU of Arkansas Statement on Governor's Veto of Trans Health Care Ban
LITTLE ROCK - April 5, 2021 - The ACLU of Arkansas today issued the following statement regarding Governor Asa Hutchinson's veto of House Bill 1570, which would prohibit healthcare professionals from providing or even referring transgender young people for medically necessary health care. Multiple doctors and all major medical associations oppose this bill and similar bills across the country.
ACLU Statement on Arkansas Legislature's Vote to Override Veto of Transgender Health Ban
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.- April 6, 2021 - The ACLU of Arkansas today issued the following statement regarding the Arkansas Legislature's vote to override Gov. Asa Hutchinson's veto of House Bill 1570, which aims to prohibit healthcare professionals from providing or even referring transgender young people for medically necessary health care. Multiple doctors and all major medical associations oppose this bill and similar bills across the country.
April, 2021
ACLU Comment on Gov. Noem's Response to Anti-Trans Bill
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - March 19, 2021 - Gov. Kristi Noem sent a bill banning transgender students from participating in school sports teams back to the South Dakota legislature today with proposed changes. The American Civil Liberties Union says Gov. Noem's changes to House Bill 1217 continue to discriminate against transgender youth and will leave the state vulnerable to costly litigation.
ACLU of Arkansas Statement on Passage of Trans Health Care Ban
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - March 29, 2021 - The ACLU of Arkansas today issued the following statement regarding the Arkansas Legislature's passage of House Bill 1570, which would prohibit healthcare professionals from providing or even referring transgender young people for medically necessary health care. The bill also bars any state funds for gender-affirming health care for transgender people under 18, and it would allow private insurers to refuse to cover gender-affirming care for people of any age.
ACLU of PA opposes PA House Bill 103
In a publicly posted memo on March 12, 2021 from Elizabeth Randol, Legislative Director of ACLU of Pennsylvania to the Pennsylvania House of Represented, ALCU indicated their strong oppostion to HB 103. It is possible the State House may be voting on the bill as early as Monday, March 15. From the memo: HB 103(PN 73) creates a new offense, defined as intentionally or knowingly causing a law enforcement officer to come into contact with saliva or other bodily fluid by throwing, tossing, spitting or expelling bodily fluid or material. If an individual knew, should have known, or believed such fluid or material came from someone infected by a communicable disease, the offense is graded a felony of the third degree, punishable by 3.5-7 years in prison and up to $15,000 in fines. In any other instance, the offense is graded as a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable by incarceration for 2.5-5 years and up to $10,000 in fines.
ACLU Statement on Signing of Bill Excluding Transgender Student Athletes in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - March 26, 2021 - Today Tennessee Gov. Lee signed SB 228/HB 3, which prohibits transgender student athletes from participating in athletics consistent with their gender identity.
March, 2021
ACLU Responds to Gloucester County School Board Taking Gavin Grimm's Case Back to the Supreme Court
WASHINGTON - February 19, 2021 - The American Civil Liberties Union today responded to the Gloucester County School Board's request to the Supreme Court to again take up Gavin Grimm's case. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit have both ruled that the school board violated Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause by prohibiting Gavin from using the same restrooms as other boys and forcing him to use separate restrooms - simply because he is transgender.
January, 2021
Supreme Court Again Rejects Challenge to Trans-Affirming School Policies
WASHINGTON - December 7, 2020 - The Supreme Court today declined to hear Parents for Privacy v. William P. Barr et al, allowing school districts to continue to affirm transgender students by allowing them to use the same restrooms and locker rooms as their peers
Women's and Civil Rights Groups, Athletes, Coaches, Corporations, and Legal and Medical Experts Tell Federal Appeals Court to Strike Down Idaho Anti-Trans Law
BOISE, Idaho - December 21, 2020 - Hundreds of athletes, coaches, and businesses, as well as civil rights, legal, and medical experts submitted friend-of-the-court briefs with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today in Hecox v. Little.
December, 2020
ACLU Comment on Settlement of Aimee Stephens' Historic Discrimination Case
DETROIT - December 2, 2020 - Chase Strangio, deputy director for the American Civil Liberties Union LGBT & HIV Project, issued the following statement related to the settlement in Aimee Stephens' case following this year's historic ruling from the Supreme Court: "This settlement marks a closing chapter in Aimee Stephens' remarkable fight for justice. We are sad that Aimee is not here to experience this moment with her wife Donna and grateful for all that Aimee, Donna, and the many trans fighters for justice and their families have done to bring us to this place. As Aimee always said, this fight is about more than just her and it will stretch far beyond this case. The Biden administration must make it clear that across all areas of federal law sex discrimination protections apply to LGBTQ people and Congress must pass the Equality Act to close critical gaps in our civil rights laws that leave so many LGBTQ people, women, and many people of color vulnerable to discrimination. We will honor Aimee's legacy by continuing her fight for a country where all trans and non-binary people belong and feel safe."
November, 2020
ACLU Analysis Finds Decriminalizing Sex Work Improves Public Health and Public Safety
NEW YORK- October 21, 2020 - The American Civil Liberties Union today released "Is Sex Work Decriminalization the Answer? What the Research Tells Us" a comprehensive review of more than 80 studies on the decriminalization and criminalization of sex work. In addition to finding that decriminalization will improve public health and safety while increasing economic stability for sex workers, the studies reviewed do not indicate a clear link between criminalizing sex work and stopping human trafficking.
September, 2020
Advocates Tell Supreme Court to Reject a License to Discriminate
WASHINGTON - August 20, 2020 - In the next major LGBTQ case that will be heard before the Supreme Court, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, child welfare advocates, faith leaders and groups as well as LGBTQ advocates urged the court to reject a license to discriminate in taxpayer-funded services.
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Again Rules in Favor of Gavin Grimm
RICHMOND, Va. - August 26, 2020 - The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled in favor of American Civil Liberties Union client Gavin Grimm, deciding that restroom policies segregating transgender students from their peers and denying transgender student accurate transcripts are unconstitutional and violate Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education.
Judge Blocks First Law Targeting Transgender Athletes as Case Continues
BOISE, Idaho - August 17, 2020 - A federal judge today blocked Idaho's law targeting transgender student athletes, recognizing that "the Constitution must always prevail." By granting the motion for a preliminary injunction, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Idaho, Legal Voice, and Cooley LLP, girls and women who are transgender or intersex will continue to be able to participate in school sports in Idaho.
August, 2020
ACLU Sues University of Maryland Hospital for Turning Away Transgender Man
BALTIMORE - July 17, 2020 - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in federal court yesterday alleging that University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center turned away Jesse Hammons for a commonly performed medical care simply because he is transgender. The taxpayer-owned hospital claims that providing Hammons with medical care would be a violation of their religious beliefs.
February, 2020
Groups File Federal Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration's So-Called 'Safe Third Country' Asylum Policy
WASHINGTON - January 15, 2020 - The American Civil Liberties Union, National Immigrant Justice Center, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, and Human Rights First filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration's policies regarding so-called "safe third country" agreements with Guatemala and other nations that force people fleeing for their lives to seek asylum in the same dangerous region they fled.
Lambda Legal and ACLU Urge Federal Court in Ohio to Strike Down Anti-Transgender Birth Certificate Policy
(Columbus, OH, January 16, 2019) - Today, Lambda Legal, the ACLU and ACLU of Ohio filed a motion for summary judgment in the Southern District of Ohio, asking the Court to strike down the state's policy prohibiting transgender people from correcting the gender marker on their birth certificates. The policy is discriminatory and violates the plaintiffs' constitutional rights to privacy, free speech, and equal protection.
January, 2020
Civil Rights Groups: The "Fairness for All" Act is an Affront to Existing Civil Rights Protections, Treats LGBTQ People and Women as Second-Class Individuals
WASHINGTON - December 6, 2019 -- Today, national advocacy groups including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Center for American Progress (CAP), the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), GLAAD, Lambda Legal, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the NAACP, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Black Justice Coalition (BJC), National Fair Housing Alliance, National Partnership for Women and Families, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), the National Women's Law Center (NWLC), PFLAG National and the Transgender Law Center expressed strong opposition to the so-called "Fairness For All" Act, as introduced in Congress. If enacted, this bill would undermine civil rights protections for women, people of color, people of faith and create substandard protections for LGBTQ people. In a joint statement, the groups wrote:
November, 2019
Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Landmark LGBTQ Discrimination Case
WASHINGTON - October 8, 2019 - The American Civil Liberties Union appeared before the Supreme Court today in oral arguments for R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC & Aimee Stephens and Altitude Express v. Zarda (a third case, Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, had been consolidated with Zarda), cases that could chart the future of workplace anti-discrimination protections in the United States.
September, 2019
Circle K Management Harassed and Fired Illinois Employee Because She is Transgender
CHICAGO, IL - August 22, 2019 - Circle K - the national convenience store chain - fired an African-American transgender woman, after she complained about the harassment and discrimination she experienced. Judi Brown today filed a federal lawsuit in response to Circle K's harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, asserting that Circle K violated state and federal law.
June, 2019
ACLU, Same-Sex Couple Seek to Join Lawsuit to Keep a License to Discriminate Out of Michigan's Child Welfare System
DETROIT - May 22, 2019 - Kristy and Dana Dumont are prospective foster parents who were turned away from two taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies in 2016 and 2017 because those agencies had a religious objection to accepting same-sex couples. The Dumonts sued the state of Michigan for allowing agencies, like the one that turned them away, to use religious criteria to turn away same-sex couples who could provide families for children. In March of this year, the state of Michigan settled the lawsuit and announced that it will require all agencies with state contracts to comply with non-discrimination requirements and accept all qualified families.
Black Trans Women Are Being Murdered in the Streets. Now the Trump Administration Wants to Turn Us Away From Shelters and Health Care.
It has been a horrific week for transgender and non-binary people. Muhlaysia Booker, Claire Legato, and Michelle Simone are Black trans women who have been murdered in the past week. At least five Black trans women have been killed so far in 2019.
Supreme Court Allows School District Restroom Policies Supporting Transgender Students to Stand
WASHINGTON - May 28, 2019 - The Supreme Court today declined to hear Doe v. Boyertown Area School District, allowing school districts to continue to support transgender students by allowing them to use restrooms that match their gender.
April, 2019
Iowa Supreme Court Says Medicaid Must Cover Care for Transgender People
DES MOINES, Iowa - March 8, 2019 – The Iowa Supreme Court today issued a unanimous ruling that the Iowa Department of Human Services discriminated against two women by denying their Medicaid claim for transition-related care because they are transgender.
December, 2018
ACLU Calls for Protection and Expansion of Civil Liberties in 116th Congress
WASHINGTON - November 8, 2018 - American voters chose their representatives to the 116th Congress in the midterm elections on Tuesday, which resulted in a Democratic-majority House of Representatives and a Republican-majority Senate.
VICTORY: Statement of the ACLU on Ballot Initiative to Uphold Transgender Protections
BOSTON, November 6, 2018 – The ACLU today issued the following statements in response to a winning ballot question to uphold Massachusetts' transgender nondiscrimination law and protect transgender people from discrimination in public places:
November, 2018
ACLU Statement on Reports of Trump Administration Attacks on Transgender People
NEW YORK - October 21, 2018 -The Trump administration is reportedly working to dramatically roll-back protections for transgender students and narrow the definitions of sex and gender that courts have increasingly used to provide protections for LGBTQ people.
Aimee Stephens Was Fired Because She Is Transgender. That's Sex Discrimination.
October 24, 2018 - Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump think federal law shouldn't protect transgender people. They think it should be legal to fire someone just because she's trans. Five federal appeals courts disagree. On Wednesday, the ACLU asked the Supreme Court to let stand one of those rulings, in the case of Aimee Stephens.
Gay Man in ICE Detention Finally Gets His Day in Court
YORK - October 24, 2018 - A gay, married man who has been held in immigration detention since January will finally have an opportunity to argue for his release today before an immigration judge, according to a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the law firm DLA Piper. Jose "Ivan" Noe Nuñez Martinez was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 31 and has been held in the York County Prison ever since.
Wisconsin Jury Awards $780k to Transgender Women Denied Health Care Coverage
MADISON, Wis. - October 11, 2018 - A Wisconsin jury awarded yesterday two state employees $780,000 in damages after they were denied health care coverage under the state health insurance plan because they are transgender. While courts have increasingly said that transgender people must have their care covered under health insurance policies, this is one of the first times a jury has awarded damages related to the denial of health care.
October, 2018
8h Circuit Accepts Amicus Brief from LGBTQ Organizations on Antigay Jury Bias in Death Row Case But Denies SD Death Row Prisoner Certificate of Appealability
ST. LOUIS - Sptember 7, 2018 - Today, a divided three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to hear the appeal of Charles Rhines, a gay man on death row in South Dakota, who argued that he should be allowed to present new evidence showing that antigay bias may have motivated the jury to sentence him to death.
Congress Passes Spending Bill Without Child Welfare Discrimination Amendment
WASHINGTON - September 26, 2018- The House today passed a government spending bill that includes funding for the Department of Health and Human Services without the inclusion of a child welfare discrimination amendment. The legislation will now go to the White House for final signature.
Court Says N.C. Law Does Not Bar Transgender People from Public Facilities
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.- October 1, 2018 – A federal court last night said that House Bill 142, the 2017 law that replaced North Carolina's notorious anti-LGBT measure, House Bill 2, does not bar transgender people from using public restrooms and other facilities that match their gender identity. U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder also said that he would allow a challenge to the law's ban on local LGBT nondiscrimination policies to go forward.
Federal Appeals Court Urged to Uphold Discrimination Ban in Tax-Funded Public Child Welfare Programs
PHILADELPHIA - October 5, 2018 - Several organizations weighed in yesterday in the first major case related to religiously motivated discrimination since the Supreme Court refused to grant a broad license to discriminate in Masterpiece Cakeshop.
Federal Court in Michigan Allows Challenge to Discriminatory Adoption Placement Practices to Continue
DETROIT - September 14, 2018 - A federal district court in Michigan ruled today that a challenge to the state of Michigan's practice of allowing discrimination against same-sex couples in the public foster care system can move forward.
Federal Court Rules Wisconsin State Employee Health Insurance Must Cover for Transgender Workers
September 19, 2018 - A federal court found that denying health insurance for gender-affirming medical care violates the Constitution and federal non-discrimination law.
September, 2018
ACLU - Kavanaugh on LGBTQ issues & Religious Refusals
Highlights from ACLU commentary and analysis on Brett Kavanaugh. Below are quotes related to Kavanaugh and LGBTQ issues, the use of religion to discriminate, or other separation of church and state items. As a matter of policy, the ACLU does not endorse or oppose nominees to the Supreme Court.
ACLU Statement on Federal Court Decision Granting Treatment to Transgender Woman in Custody of FL Dept of Corrections
TALLAHASSEE, FL - August 22, 2018 – The federal court in Tallahassee today ruled in favor of Reiyn Keohane, a transgender woman currently incarcerated at the Walton Correctional Institution. The ruling responds to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Florida, and international law firm DLA Piper after Ms. Keohane's requests for treatment were repeatedly denied by the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) for over two years. Ms. Keohane had been denied hormone therapy and other medically necessary treatment for her gender dysphoria by the DOC. Following the filing of the lawsuit, the DOC began providing her with hormone therapy, but it refused to let her dress and groom as female, as other female inmates can.
Federal Judge Rules Trump Administration Must Release Documents in Transgender Service Member Case
MARYLAND - August 15, 2018 - A federal judge yesterday rejected the Trump administration's effort to shield information it used to implement a ban on transgender people in the military. Stone v. Trump is the ACLU's lawsuit on behalf of a dozen transgender individuals currently serving or wanting to serve in the armed forces.
Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender People in San Bernardino County Jail Gain Rights
RIVERSIDE - August 15, 2018 - For years, a group of people incarcerated in a San Bernardino County jail were locked in their cells for as much as 23 hours a day. They were not permitted to participate in the jail's job training, educational, drug rehabilitation, religious or community re-entry programs.
August, 2018
ACLU PA Statement on Boyertown
PHILADELPHIA - July 26, 2018 - Today, the Third Circuit panel that decided Doe v. Boyertown Area School District issued a revised opinion. The revised opinion reiterates the conclusion that schools may treat transgender boys and girls like other boys and girls
ACLU Statement on Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court
NEW YORK - July 9, 2018 - American Civil Liberties Union Legal Director David Cole issued the following statement in response to President Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court: "Brett Kavanaugh may bring the requisite experience, but given Donald Trump's promise to overturn Roe v. Wade, the decision that recognized the right to an abortion, and efforts to reverse progress on civil rights and civil liberties, that's not enough. It's incumbent on Congress to determine whether Kavanaugh's legal views are compatible with the powerful role he will play for generations.
Civil Rights Orgs Urge Eighth Circuit to Accept Appeal of Man Who May Have Been Sentenced to Death Because He is Gay
(St. Louis, Missouri - August 2, 2018) Six civil rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, Lambda Legal, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and National LGBT Bar Association, filed an amici brief today urging the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear the appeal of Charles Rhines, a gay man on death row in South Dakota.
Federal Court in Pennsylvania Rejects Argument That Child Welfare Agencies Have a Right to Discriminate
PHILADELPHIA - Juky 13, 2018 - A federal district court today ruled that the city of Philadelphia can require foster care agencies with city contracts to abide by its nondiscrimination policies. This ruling is the first time a federal court has said that government-contracted child welfare agencies do not have a right to exclude same-sex couples or others who don't meet an agency's religious test from fostering children.
Federal Judge Tosses Lawsuit Targeting Transgender Youth in Rural Oregon School
PORTLAND, Ore. - July 25, 2018 - A federal judge yesterday dismissed a lawsuit that tried to dismantle protections for transgender students in Dallas, Oregon. The lawsuit sought to overturn the Dallas School District's policy of allowing students to use restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity. The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLU) and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon (ACLU of Oregon) intervened in the case earlier this year on behalf of Basic Rights Oregon, a statewide LGBTQ group, to defend the rights of transgender and nonbinary students in school.
Montanans Stand with Trans and Non-Binary Community, Reject Discrimination and I-183 Ballot Initiative
MISSOULA, Mont.- June 30, 2018 -Montana voters stood shoulder to shoulder with the LGBTQ community and rejected a ballot initiative intended to intimidate and harm transgender and non-binary Montanans. I-183 failed to gather the necessary 25,468 signatures to make it on the November ballot.
More than 200 Natl and State Orgs Oppose Bill Allowing Foster and Adoption Agencies to Discriminate
WASHINGTON - July 26, 2018 - More than 200 national, state, and local civil rights, religious, and child welfare organizations joined the American Civil Liberties Union in a letter to members of Congress today opposing legislation that would authorize discrimination in the child welfare system.
May, 2018
ACLU of NW PA Annual Meeting: "Civil Liberties at State Capitol in the Era of The Resistance"
Join the ACLU of Pennsylvania's Legislative Director Liz Randol for a round-up of the General Assembly's latest legislative session and what's ahead. Learn more about the legislative session and how it affects civil liberties in PA. Hot topics will be discussed, including transgender equality, immigration, reproductive rights, and criminal justice reform. The event is at La bella Restaurant and Catering, 802 W 18th St, Erie, PA, Sunday, May 6 from 3 PM - 5 PM, and is free and open to the public. Light Refreshments will be provided. RSVP is requested to RSVP call 877-424-2258 or send an email to northwestchapter@aclupa.org and include your name and number of seats requested.
ACLU: Crunch Fitness Gym Sued for Refusing To Let Transgender Woman Use Women's Locker Room
SAN DIEGO - May 2, 2018 – The ACLU Foundation of Southern California; ACLU Foundation of San Diego and Imperial Counties; and law firm Nixon Peabody LLP today moved to join a state lawsuit on behalf of Christynne Wood, a transgender woman denied use of women's bathrooms and locker rooms at a Crunch Fitness gym in El Cajon.
April, 2018
ACLU and Lambda Legal File Lawsuit to Challenge Ohio's Discriminatory Birth Certificate Policy
COLUMBUS, Ohio - March 29, 2018 - The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, the ACLU, and Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit today challenging Ohio's refusal to correct the gender marker on birth certificates for transgender individuals for any reason at any time.
ACLU Comment on Introduction of "First Amendment Defense Act"
WASHINGTON - March 9, 2018 - Twenty Republican senators introduced the so-called "First Amendment Defense Act" this week, which would allow private companies and not-for-profit government contractors to discriminate against LGBT people and their families, single parents, unmarried couples, and anyone who has sex outside of a heterosexual marriage.
Federal Court Rules Maryland Transgender Boy's Access to Restrooms and Locker Rooms that Align With His Gender Identity
BALTIMORE - March 13, 2018 - The United States District Court for the District of Maryland ruled yesterday that transgender students' right to use the restroom and locker rooms in alignment with their gender identity is protected by federal and state law. In M.A.B. v. Board of Education of Talbot County, Max Brennan (M.A.B.), a boy who is transgender, was forced by Talbot County Public Schools policy to use separate restrooms and locker rooms because he is transgender. The ruling is the first decision of its kind in the state of Maryland, but joins a long list of decisions confirming that Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, the federal statute prohibiting sex discrimination in educational settings, and the Constitution prohibit public schools from excluding students who are transgender from using the same facilities as their non-transgender peers. The ruling is also the first to hold that transgender people are protected under the Maryland state constitution.
Funeral Home Unlawfully Discriminated Against Its Employee By Firing Her For Being Transgender, Fed Appeals Court Rules
DETROIT - March 7, 2018 – Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes unlawfully discriminated against Aimee Stephens when it fired her after she told her employer that she would begin presenting as a woman because she is transgender. The ruling affirms that transgender individuals are protected by federal sex discrimination laws, and that religious belief does not give employers the right to discriminate against them. Today's decision reverses the lower court's decision, which held that religious belief was sufficient to exempt the employer from anti-discrimination laws.
March, 2018
ACLU of South Carolina Comment on Bill to Undercut Marriage Rights of Same-Sex Couples
CHARLESTON, S.C. - February 20, 2018 - Six members of the South Carolina House of Representatives have introduced legislation in the Judiciary Committee that purports to undercut the rights of same-sex couples to marriage equality. The "Marriage and Constitution Restoration Act" would define marriage as a "union between a man and a woman," and amend state law to term unions of same-sex couples as "parody marriages."
ACLU Sues Alabama for Discrimination Against Transgender People
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - February 6, 2018 - The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Alabama filed a lawsuit today challenging Alabama's policy of restricting access to driver's licenses for transgender people that accurately reflect their gender identity. The lawsuit, Corbitt v. Taylor, was filed on behalf of three people who experienced this discrimination.
California Court Denies Child's Wrongful Death Claim for Parent Tasered by Police
LOS ANGELES - February 7, 2018 - The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), ACLU Foundation of Southern California, ACLU of Northern California, ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, Los Angeles LGBT Center, and legal scholars filed an amicus brief this week in California's 2nd District Court of Appeal in support of the minor plaintiff in A.G. v. County of Los Angeles.
Federal Appeals Court Rules Civil Rights Act Covers Sexual Orientation
WASHINGTON - February 26, 2018 - A federal appeals court handed down a victory for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people today, affirming that workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation is illegal under federal law.
February, 2018
ACLU Responds to Department of Education Dismissal of Complaints from Transgender Students
WASHINGTON - January 16, 2018 - The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has reportedly determined it does not have jurisdiction over responding to discrimination on the basis of gender identity. This approach has led the office to dismiss multiple complaints by transgender students.
ACLU Statement on Creation of New Division Within Department of Health and Human Services
WASHINGTON - January 18, 2018 - The Department of Health and Human Services announced the creation of the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division today, demonstrating the administration's commitment to laws that license discrimination against women, LGBT people, and others. The broad language could open the door for health care institutions and providers to refuse to treat women seeking abortions, people seeking sterilizations, and others.
January, 2018
ACLU Responds to Trump Administration Attempts to Delay Enlistment of Transgender Service Members
RICHMOND, Va. - December 18, 2017 - The American Civil Liberties Union today responded to the Trump administration's ongoing attempts to halt a court order that prohibits the Pentagon from implementing the ban on transgender people serving in the military.
ACLU Statement on Trump Administration Attempt to Delay Enlistment of Transgender Service Members
WASHINGTON - December 12, 2017 - The Trump administration filed a motion today to stay part of the district court's injunction in the American Civil Liberties Union's case, Stone v. Trump, which prohibited the government from implementing President Trump's unconstitutional ban on transgender people serving in the military.
Appeals Court Blocks Trump Administration's Attempt to Delay Enlistment of Transgender Service Members
WASHINGTON - December 21, 2017 - A federal appeals court has denied the Trump administration's request to further delay enlistment of new transgender service members in the armed forces. The ruling comes in the American Civil Liberties Union's case, Stone v. Trump.
Civil Rights, Housing, and Community Development Organizations Urge HUD to Maintain Critical Fair Housing Tool
WASHINGTON - January 5, 2018 - Seventy-six national civil rights, faith-based, affordable housing, and other organizations have voiced their strong opposition to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's sudden decision to effectively suspend the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) regulation.
Supreme Court Hears Arguments In Case That Will Decide the Future of Anti-Discrimination Law
WASHINGTON - December 5, 2017 - The American Civil Liberties Union appeared before the Supreme Court today in oral arguments for Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a case that will have widespread impact on the future of anti-discrimination protection in the United States.
Trump Administration Will Not Ask Supreme Court to Halt Trans Military Recruits
NEW YORK - December 29, 2017 - In response to media reports that the Department of Justice will not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and prevent transgender people from entering the military as of January 1, Joshua Block, Senior Staff Attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and HIV Project issued the following reaction: "This is a victory for our country and all of the brave men and women who are transgender, and are ready, willing, and able to serve. Thousands of men and women who are transgender are already serving and meeting the same standards of fitness and deployability that apply to everyone else. We will continue to fight for our clients until a final judgment is issued striking down President Trump's unconstitutional ban for good."
December, 2017
Federal Court Blocks All Aspects of Trump's Transgender Military Ban
BALTIMORE - November 21, 2017 - A federal court today granted the American Civil Liberties Union's request for a complete halt to implementation of the president's directive banning transgender service members from serving in the military while the ACLU's lawsuit challenging it moves forward.
Federal Court Hears Arguments in ACLU Challenge to Trump's Ban on Military Service by Transgender People
BALTIMORE - November 9, 2017 -The American Civil Liberties Union was in federal court today for a hearing in its lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's ban on military service by transgender individuals.
November, 2017
ACLU and Lambda Legal Announce Proposed Settlement With North Carolina in Lawsuit Challenging Anti-LGBT Law
RALEIGH, N.C. - October 18, 2017 - Transgender people in North Carolina will not be barred from using public restrooms and other facilities that match their gender identity under a consent decree proposed today by Gov. Roy Cooper, Attorney General Josh Stein, the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, and LGBT North Carolinians who are challenging state anti-LGBT laws H.B. 2 and H.B. 142 in a federal lawsuit. The judge in the case must agree to the terms of the proposed consent decree before it takes effect.
ACLU Comment on Bipartisan Bill Halting Ban on Transgender Military Service Members
WASHINGTON - October 13, 2017 - Democratic and Republican members of Congress introduced a new bill in Congress (H.R. 4041) today that seeks an immediate halt to the Trump administration's ban on transgender people serving in the military.
ACLU Comment on Court Order Halting Trump's Transgender Military Ban
WASHINGTON - October 30, 2017- A federal court in Washington today blocked the Trump administration from implementing the president's directive banning transgender service members from continuing to serve in the military.
ACLU Files Supreme Court Brief Arguing That Public Businesses Cannot Discriminate Against Customers Based on Who They Ar
WASHINGTON - October 23, 2017 - The American Civil Liberties Union filed its brief today in the Supreme Court in a case in which a Colorado bakery refused service to a same-sex couple seeking a cake for their wedding reception.
ACLU of Pennsylvania Denounces State Senate Ploy to Harm Transgender Youth in CHIP Renewal Bill
HARRISBURG, Pa. - October 25, 2017 - A bill to renew the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, through 2019 has drawn scorn from civil rights advocates after a committee of the Pennsylvania Senate amended it last week to also prohibit insurance coverage of healthcare related to gender transition for transgender people in the program.
ACLU Statement on DOJ Rescinding Title VII Protections for Transgender Workers
WASHINGTON - October 5, 2017 - Attorney General Jeff Sessions reversed a federal government policy yesterday that clarified that transgender people are protected from sex discrimination in the workplace under Title VII.
ACLU Takes Legal Action Defending Rights of Maryland Transgender Students
BALTIMORE - October 20, 2017 - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion today to defend a Maryland school board's policies that prevent discrimination, harassment, and stigmatization of transgender and gender nonconforming students in the school system. The policies ensure that transgender students can, among other things, use school facilities in accordance with their gender identity.
Business, Civil Rights, and Legal Voices File Briefs in Supreme Court, Defending Rights of Same-Sex Couple
WASHINGTON - October 30, 2017 - Individuals and institutions from across the country representing a diverse cross-section of interests, perspectives, and concerns filed friend-of-court briefs today with the Supreme Court in support of Charlie Craig and David Mullins, a same-sex couple refused service by a Colorado bakery that claimed that selling them a wedding cake would violate the owner's religious beliefs and artistic freedom.
Ten Montanans Join ACLU of Montana Lawsuit Challenging Anti-LGBTQ I-183 as Unconstitutional
HELENA, MT - October 19, 2017 - The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana announced a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of the anti-LGBTQ I-183. The ballot initiative seeks to prevent transgender and gender-nonconforming Montanans from using public facilities that correspond with their gender identity by restricting access to public facilities in public spaces, such as libraries, parks, and schools. I-183 would bar trans Montanans from full and equal participation in public life and nullify many of their constitutional rights.
Washington State Parent Sues Employer for Denying Insurance Coverage to Transgender Son
SEATTLE - October 5, 2017 - The ACLU of Washington filed a civil rights lawsuit today against PeaceHealth, a Catholic healthcare organization, on behalf of Cheryl Enstad and her teenage son, Pax, for denying coverage under its health benefits plan for medically necessary surgery to Pax simply because of who he is. The suit says that PeaceHealth's policy of refusing to cover medical care required by transgender people is discrimination and violates federal and state law.
October, 2017
ACLU Comment on Justice Department Position in Masterpiece Cakeshop SCOTUS Case
WASHINGTON - September 7, 2017 - The Justice Department filed a brief today with the Supreme Court arguing that businesses that are open to the public have a constitutional right to discriminate against LGBT people.
ACLU Mourns Edie Windsor
NEW YORK - September 12, 2017 - Edith Windsor, whose landmark Supreme Court case struck down the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013 and granted same-sex married couples federal recognition for the first time, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. She was 88.
ACLU Seeks Immediate Halt to Trump's Transgender Service Member Ban
BALTIMORE - September 14, 2017 - The American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm Covington & Burling LLP today asked a judge to immediately halt to the Trump administration's ban on transgender individuals serving in the U.S. military while their lawsuit challenging the ban moves through the court system.
National Ad Challenging Adoption Discrimination Laws Rejected by Fox News as "Too Powerful"
Washington, D.C., September 20, 2017— As the American Civil Liberties Union announced the filing of a landmark lawsuit challenging LGBT adoption discrimination practices in Michigan, the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) unveiled a national ad and policy report underscoring the potential dangers that adoption-related religious exemption laws pose to children. The "Kids Pay the Price" ad, released in partnership with the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), was targeted to debut on Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson Tonight, but was rejected by the network. MAP has released the 30-second spot online; the ad can be viewed at www.KidsPayThePrice.org.
September, 2017
ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging Trump's Transgender Service Member Ban
MARYLAND - August 28, 2017 - The American Civil Liberties Union and Covington & Burling LLP today filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging the president's directive banning transgender service members from continuing to serve in the military or receiving medically necessary health care, and banning men and women who are transgender from enlisting.
ACLU Files Legal Action Moving Gavin Grimm Case Forward in District Court
GLOUCESTER COUNTY, Va. - August 11, 2017 - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed papers ending Gavin Grimm's request for an immediate halt to the Gloucester County School Board's policy prohibiting him and other transgender students from using the common restrooms at school. The new filings clear the way for the ACLU to proceed with litigating Grimm's case in district court.
ACLU Sues DC Metro Over Rejection of First Amendment Ad
WASHINGTON - August 9, 2017 - The American Civil Liberties Union and its affiliates in the District of Columbia and Virginia today challenged the Washington area transit system's advertising restrictions as violations of the First Amendment. The free speech lawsuit follows the rejection of ads from four groups that hail from across the political spectrum, images of which are here.
Logo and ACLU Partner for the Premiere of Logo Documentary Films' "Forbidden: Undocumented & Queer in Rural America"
New York, NY, August 17, 2017 – The Emmy® Award-Winning Logo Documentary Films and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) today announced a partnership to promote the broadcast premiere of Forbidden: Undocumented & Queer in Rural America. The documentary, which follows Moises Serrano, an undocumented immigrant and gay man born in Mexico and raised in North Carolina, fighting for the American dream, will premiere Friday, September 1 at 8PM ET/PT.
Transgender to the Table: Setting the Tone for Change Community Discussion at PACA Aug 23
The ACLU of Pennsylvania is looking to learn more about the issues facing members of the trans community. You are invited to brainstorm with us at Transgender to the Table: Setting the Tone for Change Community Discussion on Wednesday, August 23 from 6 to 8 PM at PACA, 1505 State St, Erie PA about what policy changes could make a real difference for trans people in Pennsylvania in 2017 and how we can work together to make these changes happen. Dinner provided for all attendees. Gift cards for the first 10 people who join us! Please RSVP to https://action.aclu.org/transgender-table-erie-pennsylvania
August, 2017
ACLU and Lambda Legal Challenge Fake Repeal of North Carolina's Discriminatory HB 2
RALEIGH - July 21, 2017– Today, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina, and Lambda Legal announced they have taken steps to expand the federal lawsuit challenging North Carolina's sweeping anti-LGBT law HB 2 to include a challenge to its discriminatory replacement, HB 142, which left many of the harms caused by HB 2 in place. The advocacy groups also added two LGBT North Carolinians to the case.
ACLU Comment on Justice Department Position on Civil Rights Act and LGBT Protections
NEW YORK - July 26, 2017 - The Justice Department filed a brief today arguing that LGBT people are not protected from discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
ACLU Files Lawsuit Demanding Documents on Plans to Implement Trump Religious Exemptions Executive Order
NEW YORK - July 20, 2017 - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against four federal agencies demanding documents from the Trump administration that provide clarity on how the administration plans to implement its 'religious freedom' executive order.
ACLU of Kansas Statement on Potential Brownback Nomination
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - July 26, 2017 - In response to President Trump's anticipated nomination of Gov. Sam Brownback as Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, ACLU of Kansas Executive Director Micah Kubic made the following statement: "Today has been a dark day for the core American value of equality under the law. On the heels of President Trump's shameful attack on the military service of transgender Americans, it has been announced that Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback will be nominated by the president as the Ambassador for International Religious Freedom. Given Gov. Brownback's record of steadfast opposition to equal rights for LGBT Americans - and his wrong-headed insistence that discrimination is justified by religious belief - the nomination should be considered a further indication of the Trump Administration's approach to equality.
ACLU of Montana Challenges Legal Sufficiency of Anti-LGBTQ Ballot Initiative
HELENA, Mont. - JJuly 31, 2017 - The ACLU of Montana today challenged in the Montana Supreme Court the legal sufficiency of a proposed anti-LGBTQ ballot initiative, I-183. The petition argues that the ballot and fiscal impact statements fail to adequately explain the initiative's discriminatory impacts on transgender individuals and state and local budgets.
ACLU Statement on Reintroduction of Do No Harm Act
WASHINGTON - July 13, 2017- Reps. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.), with the full support of the American Civil Liberties Union, reintroduced the Do No Harm Act in Congress today to ensure that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) continues to protect religious freedom without being used to discriminate against women, the LGBT community, and others.
July, 2017
ACLU Comment on New Trump Guidance on Transgender Student Discrimination
WASHINGTON - June 16, 2017 - The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights issued new guidance on handling cases of transgender student discrimination. James Esseks, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBT & HIV Project, said: "The Trump administration's decision to revoke the guidance on Title IX and transgender students was a shameful move. That guidance provided clarity to schools, as well as to transgender students and their families.
ACLU Statement on Nomination of Head of Civil Rights at Department of Justice
WASHINGTON - June 29 - President Trump nominated today Eric Dreiband to serve as the head of the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice. Jesselyn McCurdy, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office, issued the following statement: "Dreiband has made a career going against women and LGBT rights. As a lawyer for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under President George W. Bush, Dreiband testified before Congress against legislation that would prevent wage discrimination. As a private attorney, Dreiband represented organizations seeking religious exemptions to avoid providing contraceptive coverage for women in the workplace. He also argued on behalf of the University of North Carolina in support of a law that discriminates against trans people.
Federal Appeals Court Lifts Injunction Blocking Anti-LGBT Law in Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss. - June 22, 2017 - A federal appeals court today overturned a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit, Barber v. Bryant, that had previously stopped an anti-LGBT law in Mississippi from taking effect.
Supreme Court Will Hear ACLU Case About Cake Shop Refusing Service to Same-Sex Couple
WASHINGTON - June 26, 2017 - The Supreme Court today announced it will review a decision from the Colorado Court of Appeals that found that a cake shop discriminated against a same-sex couple by refusing to sell them a wedding cake.
June, 2017
ACLU of Texas Comment of Passage of Anti-LGBT Legislation
AUSTIN, Texas - May 22, 2017- Over the weekend, the Texas Senate voted to pass House Bill 3859 (HB 3859), a bill that would allow child welfare caseworkers and state-funded child adoption and foster agencies to impose their personal religious beliefs on children in their care and disqualify LGBT families from the State-s foster and adoption system. The Texas House of Representatives added an amendment to Senate Bill 2078 (SB 2078) that discriminates against transgender children in public schools.
Chelsea Manning, Legal Team Statements on Her Upcoming Release From Military Prison
NEW YORK - May 9, 2017 - Whistleblower Chelsea Manning will be released from U.S. military prison next week after serving a seven-year sentence for disclosing classified information that raised public awareness regarding the impact of war on innocent civilians.
National Leaders, Groups File Briefs at Fourth Circuit Supporting Gavin Grimm and Transgender Rights
WASHINGTON - May 16, 2017 - Individuals and institutions from across the country today filed friend-of-court briefs in support of Gavin Grimm, an 18-year-old Virginia high school student who is challenging his school board's refusal to allow him access to the boys' restroom because he is transgender. The briefs in the case, which is currently being considered by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, represent a diverse and extraordinary cross-section of interests, perspectives, and concerns.
May, 2017
ACLU Promises Litigation on Today's Trump Executive Order
NEW YORK - May 4, 2017 - President Donald Trump today signed an executive order that would allow religious organizations to endorse political candidates and expand participation in politics. The executive order signed today also enables private employers to use religion as a pretext to deny reproductive health care to their employees.
ACLU Statement on Reports of Impending 'Religious Freedom' Executive Order
NEW YORK - May 2, 2017 - Louise Melling, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, issued the following statement in response to reports that President Trump will sign an executive order later this week that creates religious exemptions which open the door to discrimination: "The ACLU fights every day to defend religious freedom, but religious freedom does not mean the right to discriminate against or harm others. If President Trump signs an executive order that attempts to provide a license to discriminate against women or LGBT people, we will see him in court."
ACLU Statement on So-Called 'Religious Freedom' Executive Order
NEW YORK - May 4, 2017- After careful review of the executive order covering the Johnson Amendment signed by President Trump today, the American Civil Liberties Union has determined not to file a lawsuit at this time.
ACLU Supports Introduction of LGBT Anti-Discrimination Bill
WASHINGTON May 2, 2017 - Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), and more than 200 other members of Congress today introduced the Equality Act, a comprehensive federal bill that prohibits discrimination against LGBT people and women. In addition to providing explicit nondiscrimination protections to LGBT people, the Equality Act fills gaps in our nation's civil rights laws for women and people of color.
April, 2017
ACLU and Lambda Legal Condemn 'Fake' Repeal of HB 2
RALEIGH, N.C. - March 30, 2017 - The North Carolina General Assembly today passed a bill that does not repeal the discriminatory HB 2 law. Instead, it keeps in place the most harmful parts of the law.
March, 2017
ACLU Statement on Revoking of Title IX Guidance for Transgender Students & Impact on Gavin Grimm Supreme Court Case
NEW YORK - February 22, 2017 - The Trump administration today informed the Supreme Court that they are revoking guidance from the Departments of Education and Justice that clarified that transgender students are protected from sex discrimination by Title IX, the federal law that bars gender discrimination. The guidance, which was issued last May, reiterated the rights of transgender students to use restrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identity.
Washington State Supreme Court Rules Florist Discriminated Against Same-Sex Couple by Refusing Wedding-Related Service
OLYMPIA, Wash - February 16, 2017 - The Washington Supreme Court today ruled that a florist in Richland violated the state's anti-discrimination law when she denied service to a same-sex couple for their wedding.
February, 2017
ACLU Acts to Block Court Order That Permits Discrimination Against Women, Transgender People Seeking Health Care
FORT WORTH, Texas - January 9, 2016 - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a motion to stay a nationwide court order preventing the federal government from enforcing an Affordable Care Act regulation that protects transgender people and women from discrimination in healthcare. The ACLU also asked the court to issue a formal ruling on its request to intervene in the lawsuit.
ACLU Announces First Legal Action on Trump Conflicts of Interest, Lays Out Plan to Challenge Proposed Policies
NEW YORK - January 20, 2017 - The American Civil Liberties Union has taken legal action seeking documents on conflicts of interest and violations of the Constitution and federal law posed by President Trump's and his family's business interests. The organization also released a Seven-Point Plan laying out how it intends to challenge other Trump policies and protect the Constitution.
ACLU Legal Director to Testify at Sessions' Confirmation Hearing
WASHINGTON - January 9, 2017 - The American Civil Liberties Union announced that its new national legal director, David Cole, will testify at Sen. Jeff Sessions' confirmation hearing for attorney general on January 11. The ACLU is nonpartisan, and as a matter of longstanding policy does not support or oppose nominees for federal office. As a result, the ACLU rarely testifies in confirmation hearings. However, the organization is taking the extraordinary step of testifying in this hearing because Sen. Sessions' record raises significant, serious questions about his hostility to civil rights and civil liberties. The ACLU believes he must satisfactorily answer questions on these issues before a confirmation vote proceeds.
President Obama Grants Commutation to Chelsea Manning
WASHINGTON - January 17, 2017 - The Obama administration announced today the commutation of Chelsea Manning's sentence for disclosing classified information that raised public awareness regarding the impact of war on innocent civilians. Manning will reportedly be freed in May 2017.
January, 2017
ACLU and Lambda Legal Comment on Expected Vote to Repeal HB2
RALEIGH, N.C. - December 19, 2016 - In a move that could lead to the repeal of North Carolina's anti-LGBT law, H.B. 2, the Charlotte City Council voted today to repeal its LGBT non-discrimination ordinance. The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal today called on North Carolina legislative leaders to follow through and repeal H.B. 2, the state law that bans many transgender people from appropriate restrooms and prohibits local municipalities from extending nondiscrimination protections to LGBT people. The law caused harm to transgender people across the state and cost North Carolina hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue because of widespread opposition to the measure from both the general public and business community.
ACLU and Lambda Legal Condemn North Carolina Lawmakers' Failure to Repeal H.B. 2
RALEIGH - Decmber 21, 2016 –The North Carolina legislature today convened for a special session where it failed to pass a bill repealing H.B. 2, the state's sweeping anti-LGBT law.
ACLU And LGBT Groups Call on Obama to Grant Clemency to Chelsea Manning
WASHINGTON - December 5, 2016 - The American Civil Liberties Union and over a dozen LGBT groups sent a letter to President Barack Obama today urging the commutation of Chelsea Manning's sentence for disclosing classified information to the media to raise public awareness regarding the impact of war on innocent civilians. Manning is in the seventh year of a 35-year sentence.
December, 2016
ACLU of Pennsylvania Urges Governor Wolf to Veto Police Secrecy Bill
HARRISBURG (November 10) – The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania joined other civil rights advocates and clergy today at a press conference at the state capitol to call on Governor Tom Wolf to veto legislation to hide the identity of police officers who injure and kill people. If House Bill 1538 becomes law, public officials who identify police officers who injure or kill someone within 30 days of the incident could be charged criminally. Only district attorneys and the Attorney General are exempt from the gag order.
Court Finds Minnesota Transgender Surgery Ban Unconstitutional
ST. PAUL, Minn. - November 26, 2016 - A Minnesota district court ruled this week that transgender people on the state's Medical Assistance progam in Minnesota deserve access to medically necessary services related to gender transition.
Over 340,000 Signatures Delivered to Congress Rejecting Discrimination in Defense Bill
WASHINGTON - November 15, 2016- More than a dozen national organizations delivered over 342,000 petition signatures to Congress today in opposition to an amendment in the annual defense bill that would fund discrimination. The petitions were delivered to the Washington offices of Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Reps. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.).
Washington State Supreme Court Hears Case of Gay Couple Discriminated Against by Florist
BELLEVUE, Wash. - November 15, 2016 - The Washington State Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in the case in which a florist refused to sell flowers to a gay couple for their wedding.
November, 2016
ACLU Takes Legal Action to Protect Rights of Minnesota Transgender Student
St. Paul, MINN. - October 13, 2016 - The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and the ACLU filed a motion yesterday to intervene on behalf of a transgender student in a lawsuit that seeks to bar trans students from using locker rooms consistent with the student's gender identity.
ACLU, Lambda Legal File Brief to Protect All Transgender People Harmed by Discriminatory H.B. 2
RICHMOND, Va. - October 19, 2016 - In a lawsuit challenging the North Carolina law banning transgender people from using restrooms that correspond to their gender identity, LGBT rights groups yesterday asked a federal appeals court to broaden a preliminary injunction in order to protect all transgender people in the state from discrimination.
Supreme Court Will Hear ACLU Case About School Policy Forcing Transgender Students to Use Separate Restrooms
WASHINGTON - October 28, 2016 - The Supreme Court today announced it will review a decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that found that federal anti-discrimination law protects the right of teenage boy who is transgender, to use the men's restrooms at his Virginia high school.
October, 2016
ACLU and Lambda Legal Statement on H.B. 2 Developments
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - September 18, 2016– The ACLU and Lambda Legal today called on Governor Pat McCrory and North Carolina legislative leaders to repeal H.B. 2, the state law that bans many transgender people from appropriate restrooms and prohibits local municipalities from extending nondiscrimination protections to LGBT people. The two organizations issued the following statement in response to Gov. McCrory's and legislative leaders' demand that the City of Charlotte repeal its LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance as a precondition for the legislature considering the repeal of H.B. 2.
ACLU and PA Institutional Law Project File Lawsuit on Behalf of Transgender Inmate Repeatedly Sexually Assaulted in Pris
PHILADELPHIA - September 26, 2016- The ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project (PILP) filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of Niara Burton, a transgender woman who has been incarcerated in seven different male prisons by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) over the past four years. During her incarceration, Burton has been subjected to repeated sexual harassment and abuse, including being raped by another prisoner and forced by a guard to perform oral sex. The lawsuit alleges that the DOC has failed to put policies and training in place to ensure the safety of transgender women inmates and asks that she be placed in a women's prison.
ACLU Asks Supreme Court Not to Review Decision Protecting Transgender Student's Restroom Access
WASHINGTON - September 13, 2016 - In a brief filed with the Supreme Court today, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia argue that the Supreme Court should not step in to review a ruling that a local school board violated federal law when it denied a transgender boy access to restrooms consistent with his gender identity.
ACLU Seeks Intervention in Lawsuit Targeting Anti-Discrimination Protections for Transgender People and Women
FORT WORTH, Texas - September 16, 2016 — The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a motion to intervene in a case challenging a section of the Affordable Care Act that prohibits health care entities from discriminating based on race, national origin, sex, age, or disability. The lawsuit, Franciscan Alliance v. Burwell, was filed by a group of states and religiously affiliated health care organizations who are suing the federal government.
ACLU Statement on Federal Solitary Confinement Reform Bill Just Introduced
WASHINGTON - September 28, 2016 - Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) introduced the Solitary Confinement Reform Act, which would require federal prisons to ensure that any period in solitary is as brief as possible and under the least restrictive conditions possible. It would also mandate that prisoners in solitary spend at least four hours per day outside their cells, have access to rehabilitative and educational programs, and be permitted to interact with other people in addition to other reforms. The legislation would protect youth, people with mental and physical disabilities, LGBT people, pregnant women, and other vulnerable populations from the harms of solitary confinement.
Chelsea Manning Ends Hunger Strike; Government Agrees to Move Forward With Recommended Gender Affirming Surgery
LEAVENWORTH, Kan.- Sept. 13, 2016 - Imprisoned whistleblower Chelsea Manning ended her hunger strike today, having secured assurances from the Army that she will receive the medically prescribed treatment for her gender dysphoria. The treatment will begin with the surgery that was recommended by her psychologist in April.
September, 2016
ACLU, Lambda Legal Seek Greater Relief for Transgender North Carolinians Harmed by H.B. 2
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - August 29, 2016 – LGBT rights groups challenging North Carolina's House Bill 2, the state law that bans many transgender people from restrooms that match their gender, today announced they will appeal part of a Friday district court ruling in order to seek broader relief for all transgender people in North Carolina before the case heads to a full trial.
District Court Hears Challenge to Federal Guidance Protecting Transgender Students and Employees
(FORT WORTH, Texas - August 12, 2016) – Five leading national civil and LGBT rights organizations urged the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to reject an effort to block the Obama administration's interpretations of several federal laws pending trial in Texas v. United States, including federal guidance advising public school districts across the country that the federal Departments of Justice and Education believe that transgender students should be allowed to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identity. Texas and 12 other states or governors or agencies of those states argued in court today for a preliminary injunction enjoining these federal agencies' interpretations from having any effect while the lawsuit proceeds.
District Court Issues Injunction Against Guidance Protecting Transgender Students
FORT WORTH, Texas - August 22, 2016 – A U.S. District Court judge today issued a preliminary injunction against the federal government's guidance to public school districts regarding their legal responsibility to allow transgender students to use the same restrooms as other students. The ruling came in the multi-state lawsuit, Texas v. United States.
North Carolina Blocked From Enforcing Anti-Transgender Law Against Plaintiffs While Lawsuit Proceeds
RALEIGH, N.C. - August 26, 2016 - A federal court today granted a request to stop the University of North Carolina from enforcing H.B. 2, the state law that bans many transgender people from restrooms that match their gender identity, against three transgender individuals who are challenging the law in court. In granting the preliminary injunction, the court found that the challengers are likely to succeed in their argument that the law violates Title IX.
August, 2016
ACLU of Iowa Files Civil Rights Complaint on Behalf of Transgender Corrections Employee
DES MOINES, IA - July 21, 2016 - The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa today filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission on behalf of Jesse Vroegh, a long-time Iowa Department of Corrections nurse who was discriminated against because he is transgender. The complaint was co-filed with the ACLU and cooperating attorney Melissa Hasso with the Sherinian & Hasso Law Firm in West Des Moines.
ACLU Praises Ruling to Uphold Contempt Order Against Kim Davis
KENTUCKY - July 13, 2016 – A federal appeals courts today dismissed Kim Davis's appeals in the Rowan County marriage licensing case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Miller v. Davis upheld the order that found Davis in contempt.
Chelsea Manning Faces New Charges, Indefinite Solitary Confinement Related to Suicide Attempt
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. - July 28, 2016 - Imprisoned whistleblower Chelsea Manning received a document from Army officials today informing her that she is being investigated for serious new charges related to her July 5 attempt to take her own life.
Federal Court Hears Argument for Transgender Clients in Lawsuit Against North Carolina's Anti-LGBT Law
RALEIGH, N.C. - August 1, 2016 - A federal court today heard oral argument on a motion seeking an immediate halt to provisions of North Carolina's House Bill 2, the law that mandates discrimination against transgender people in single-sex facilities, among other things.
LGBT Advocates and Scholars Applaud New California History-Social Science Framework
Sacramento, CA - July 14, 2016 - The California State Board of Education announced today that it has adopted a new History-Social Science Framework. The Framework sets out guidelines for K-12 schools to implement content standards for history and social science instruction. Among the many changes made to the Framework, LGBT people and their contributions to California and US history are accurately represented for the first time.
LGBT Advocates Urge District Court Not to Let States Game the System
(Wichita Falls, TX – July 28, 2016) – Five leading national civil and LGBT rights organizations late yesterday filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief in the multi-state lawsuit challenging the Obama administration's guidance regarding public school districts' responsibility to allow transgender students to use the same restrooms as other students. The lawsuit also targets guidance addressing transgender workers. The brief in Texas v. United States argues that many of the states and political jurisdictions joining the lawsuit are doing so improperly in order to avoid transgender-affirming rulings handed down by their federal circuits and that granting a nationwide injunction would be improper for this reason.
Trump's Policy Proposals Violate Constitution
NEW YORK - July 14, 2016 - The American Civil Liberties Union today released a constitutional analysis of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump's policy proposals and vowed to challenge them in court should he win the presidency.
Winning Plaintiff in Supreme Court Marriage Equality Case to Testify on Anti-LGBT Legislation Hearing
WASHINGTON - July 11, 2016 - Jim Obergefell, former ACLU client and the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court's historic marriage equality ruling, will testify today at a House hearing on a bill that would allow taxpayer-funded discrimination against LGBT people, women, and others.
July, 2016
ACLU and Lambda Legal Condemn Failure to Repeal North Carolina's Anti-LGBT H.B. 2
RALEIGH - June 28, 2016 - Today, after draft legislation with proposed changes to the sweeping anti-LGBT measure, North Carolina House Bill 2, was released, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina, and Lambda Legal—who are challenging House Bill 2 in federal court on behalf of six LGBT North Carolinians and members of the ACLU of North Carolina—released the following statement "These proposed changes are no fix. After rushing to enact H.B. 2 in a span of hours, this is the second attempt—the first was the governor's executive order—to clean up the extreme and discriminatory mess of H.B. 2. The only real solution is the full repeal of the law.
ACLU Challenges Major Health System's Denial of Insurance for Transgender Employee
SAN FRANCISCO - June 6, 2016 - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit against the fifth largest health care system in the U.S., Dignity Health, because it denies transgender employees health insurance coverage for medically necessary transition-related health care.
ACLU Statement in Response to Kentucky Prison Lifting Anti-LGBT Literature Rule
KENTUCKY- June 7, 2016 - The Kentucky Commissioner of Corrections has said that a minimum and medium security prison in West Liberty can no longer enforce a mail policy that prohibited prisoners from receiving books and magazines that "promote homosexuality." In just a four-month period in 2015, the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex (EKCC) used the policy 13 different times to confiscate mail including magazines like Out and The Advocate.
ACLU Statement on Orlando Tragedy
NEW YORK - June 14, 2016 - ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said the following in response to the Orlando tragedy "The Orlando tragedy has shaken us all. At times like this, we must hold close to our core values. Only by doing so can we resist efforts to turn us against one another.
ACLU Statement on Pentagon Lifting Its Transgender Service Ban
WASHINGTON - June 30, 2016 - The Department of Defense announced today the lifting of its ban on transgender people openly serving in the military.
Court Orders School Board to Let Transgender Student Gavin Grimm Use Same Restrooms as Other Boys
RICHMOND, Va. - June 23, 2016 - A federal district court in Virginia today ordered the Gloucester County School Board to let Gavin Grimm use the same restrooms as other boys at his school. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia brought the lawsuit on behalf of Grimm, arguing that the school board’s policy, which segregates transgender students from their peers by requiring them to use “alternative, private” restroom facilities, violates the U.S. Constitution and Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination by schools.
Judge Strikes Down Anti-LGBT Bill in Mississippi Hours Before It Becomes Law
JACKSON, Miss. - July 1, 2016 – In the early hours of the morning, a federal judge struck down the entirety of an anti-LGBT measure that was slated to become law today. The law would have allowed public officials and businesses to refuse to serve LGBT individuals. The ACLU and the ACLU of Mississippi challenged the constitutionality of HB1523 in a separate lawsuit, Alford v. Moulder.
North Carolina Asks Court to Keep Anti-Transgender Provisions of HB2 in Effect
RALEIGH, N.C. - June 10, 2016 - In court documents filed yesterday, North Carolina and the University of North Carolina system argued that the state’s law banning transgender people from public restrooms matching their gender identity should remain in effect while a legal challenge proceeds in federal court. The law, House Bill 2, also removes legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and others.
Over 100 Members of Congress Urge Court to Bar Employment Discrimination Against LGBT People
NEW YORK - June 29, 2016 - More than 100 members of Congress Tuesday night urged a federal appeals court to hold that employers cannot discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation.
Over 70 Groups Urge Rep. Chaffetz to Cancel Hearing on Anti-LGBT Legislation Scheduled a Month After Orlando Shooting
WASHINGTON - July 6, 2016 - The American Civil Liberties Union and over 70 national, state and local groups sent a letter today to Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) urging him to cancel a hearing on a bill that would allow taxpayer-funded discrimination against LGBT people, women, and others.
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Joe Walsh Pledges to Fight North Carolina Anti-LGBT Law
RALEIGH, N.C. - June 15, 2016 -American singer-songwriter and former Eagles' guitarist Joe Walsh announced he will give a portion of the proceeds from two upcoming shows in North Carolina to the American Civil Liberties Union to support its lawsuit fighting the state's anti-LGBT law. The law, House Bill 2, removes protections for LGBT people and prohibits transgender people from using facilities that correspond to their gender identity.
June, 2016
ACLU and Lambda Legal Ask Court to Block Enforcement of North Carolina's Anti-Transgender Law
RALEIGH, N.C. - May 16, 2016 - The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina, and Lambda Legal today asked a federal court to order an immediate halt to enforcement of a North Carolina law that targets transgender people for discrimination in single-sex facilities.
ACLU and Lambda Legal Statement on North Carolina's Lawsuit Against Federal Government
RALEIGH, N.C. May 9, 2016 - North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice that asks a federal court to determine that House Bill 2, the discriminatory law that removes local legal protections for LGBT people and prohibits transgender people from using public facilities that correspond to their gender identity, does not violate civil rights laws.
ACLU and Lambda Legal Support DOJ Lawsuit Against NCa Anti-LGBT Bill
RALEIGH, N.C. - May 9, 2016 - The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against North Carolina and Gov. Pat McCrory challenging House Bill 2, a law that removes local legal protections for LGBT people and prohibits transgender people from using public facilities that correspond to their gender identity.
ACLU Comment on HHS Rule Implementing Nondiscrimination Provision of the Affordable Care Act
WASHINGTON - May 13, 2016 - The Department of Health and Human Services today issued a final rule implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that would, among other aspects, prohibit sex discrimination for patients seeking health care.
ACLU Comment on Lawsuit Filed by 11 States Challenging Obama Administration Transgender Guidance
NEW YORK - May 25, 2016 - Eleven states have announced legal action against the Obama administration following the release of guidance on how schools treat transgender students.
ACLU of Illinois Intervenes in Lawsuit against the Federal Gov on Behalf of Transgender Students
CHICAGO - May 26, 2016 - Student A, the young woman at the center of a very public debate in suburban Chicago about use of locker room facilities for students who are transgender, today joined with others to file a motion in federal district court to join the lawsuit filed by two anti-LGBT rights groups in early May. She joined her parents, two other families with students (Student B and Student C) who are transgender in District 211, and a statewide group that works with LGBT youth.
ACLU Sues to Challenge Unconstitutional Anti-LGBT Mississippi Law
JACKSON, Miss. - May 9, 2016 - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Mississippi today filed a lawsuit to challenge an anti-LGBT law passed this spring that allows public officials and businesses to refuse to serve gay and transgender individuals.
ACLU Tells Military Appeals Court Chelsea Manning Prosecution Was Unconstitutional
FORT BELVOIR, Va. - May 19, 2016- The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a brief supporting the appeal of Chelsea Manning's conviction for giving classified documents to Wikileaks, arguing that her prosecution under the Espionage Act of 1917 violated the Constitution and should be overturned.
Business Leaders Urge Washington Supreme Court to Uphold Ruling Against Florist Who Denied Service to Gay Couple
WASHINGTON - May 6, 2016 - Fourteen businesses and four trade associations today submitted a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Washington Supreme Court to uphold a ruling that a Richland florist violated state anti-discrimination laws by refusing to provide flowers to a gay couple for their wedding celebration. A list of some of the businesses and associations follows at the end of this announcement.
Federal Appeals Court Denies Request for Review in Transgender Bathroom Case
RICHMOND, Va. - May 31, 2016 - The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit will not rehear the case of a Gloucester County transgender high school student suing his school board over discriminatory bathroom policies.
House Introduces Bill to Modify RFRA to Prevent Discrimination and Harm
WASHINGTON - May 18, 2016- With support from the American Civil Liberties Union, Reps. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.) today introduced the Do No Harm Act in Congress to ensure that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act is not used in ways that result in discrimination and harm.
Oklahoma Introduces Two Anti-Transgender Bills
OKLAHOMA CITY - May 20, 2016– After the Oklahoma Legislature filed two pieces of anti-transgender legislation, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma issued the following statement:
May, 2016
ACLU of Pennsylvania Applauds Governor Wolf for Expansion of Non-Discrimination Protections
HARRISBURG (April 7) – Governor Tom Wolf today will sign executive orders to boost legal protections for gay and transgender workers in the business of the commonwealth, a move that drew praise from the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.
ACLU Statement on NC Governor's Executive Order on LGBT Discrimination
RALEIGH - April 12, 2016 - North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) today issued an executive order that maintains House Bills 2's provisions that force transgender people to use the wrong restroom while prohibiting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for state employees.
Colorado Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case of Bakery Who Turned Away Gay Couple
DENVER - April 25, 2016 – The Colorado State Supreme Court decided today to let stand an appellate court ruling that Masterpiece Cakeshop violated Colorado's anti-discrimination law when it refused to sell a same-sex couple a cake for their wedding reception.
Federal Court of Appeals Rules In Favor of Transgender Student in Virginia Restroom Access Case
RICHMOND, Va. - April 19, 2016 – A federal court of appeals today ruled in favor of transgender male student Gavin Grimm in his challenge to Gloucester High School's discriminatory restroom policy that segregates transgender students from their peers by requiring them to use "alternative, private" facilities.
Groups Challenging HB2 Respond to UNC Position on Discriminatory Law
RALEIGH - April 7, 2016 – The University of North Carolina system today announced that it has chosen to follow House Bill 2, a sweeping anti-LGBT law that would prevent transgender students, employees, and visitors from using the restrooms that correspond to their gender identity.
NFL's Michael Sam: Video Statement on LGBT Rights and Fight in Missouri
April 20, 2016 - NFL star Michael Sam was on the ground in Missour today to fight an anti-LGBT bill that would authorize discrimination in the name of religion. The bill is up for a vote in committee and he joined hundreds of advocates and allies to call on the Missouri legislature to stop this harmful measure.
Tennessee Governor Signs Bill Allowing Therapists to Discriminate Against LGBT People
NASHVILLE - April 27, 2016 – Gov. Bill Haslam today signed SB 1556 into law, the measure that allows counselors to deny services to clients based on "sincerely held principles," with some limited exceptions.
Tens of Thousands Call for Repeal of North Carolina Anti-LGBT Law As Legislature Returns
RALEIGH, N.C. - April 25, 2016 - More than 150,000 signatures demanding the repeal of North Carolina's anti-LGBT House Bill 2 were delivered to the office of Gov. Pat McCrory today by a collection of civil rights, faith, business, and advocacy groups as the state legislature returns for the first time since it introduced and passed the law limiting legal protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in a one-day special session on March 23. Thousands of people are expected to rally for the discriminatory law's repeal outside the legislature throughout Monday.
Three More Plaintiffs Join Lawsuit Against NC's Discriminatory Anti-LGBT Law
RALEIGH, N.C. - April 21, 2016 -The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of North Carolina, joined by counsel from the law firm of Jenner & Block, announced today that they have added three new plaintiffs - a transgender student and a married lesbian couple - to the federal lawsuit challenging North Carolina's sweeping anti-LGBT law, HB 2.
U.S. Justice Department: North Carolina's HB2 Violates Civil Rights Act
RALEIGH - May 4, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Justice today notified North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory that HB 2, the sweeping anti-LGBT law that prevents transgender students, employees, and visitors from using restrooms that correspond to their gender identity, has placed the state in violation of Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act, Title IX, and the Violence Against Women Act.
April, 2016
ACLU of Mississippi Responds to Governor Signing Anti-LGBT Discrimination Into Law
Jackson, Miss.April 5, 2016 - -Governor Phil Bryant has signed HB 1523 into law after rapid movement on the bill by the state House of Representatives. The law, which is set to go into effect in July, sanctions discrimination by individuals, businesses, religiously-affiliated organizations - including hospitals, schools, shelters and others -against LGBT people, single mothers, and vulnerable young people in Mississippi. While no other state has passed a law like this, Mississippi also has the dubious distinction of being the first state to codify discrimination based on a religious belief or moral conviction that members of the LGBTQ community do not matter. Jennifer Riley-Collins, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, had the following reaction:
ACLU Statement Regarding Pro-Discrimination Legislation Forced Out of the Missouri Senate After Record-Breaking Filibust
March 9, 2016 - Jeffrey Mittman, Executive Director of ACLU of Missouri, issued the following statement regarding pro-discrimination legislation being forced out of the Missouri Senate:
ACLU-NC Denounces Passage of Most Extreme Anti-LGBT Bill in the Nation
RALEIGH - March 23, 2016 – The North Carolina General Assembly today convened a $42,000 special session to introduce and pass House Bill 2, an unprecedented bill that overrides a recently passed LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance in Charlotte, prevents local governments from enacting a range of nondiscrimination and employment policies, and jeopardizes billions of dollars in federal funds that North Carolina schools receive through Title IX.
Advocacy Groups File Federal Lawsuit Challenging NC's Sweeping Anti-LGBT Law
RALEIGH - March 28, 2016 - Today, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina, Lambda Legal, and Equality North Carolina filed a lawsuit challenging North Carolina's sweeping anti-LGBT law, HB 2. The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina against North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, Attorney General Roy Cooper, and the University of North Carolina, is on behalf of two transgender North Carolinians, Joaquín Carcaño, a UNC-Chapel Hill employee, and Payton McGarry, a UNC-Greensboro student, and Angela Gilmore, a lesbian and North Carolina Central University law professor.
Equality Advocates Respond to Attorney General's Announcement on HB 2
RALEIGH - March 29, 2016 – North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said today that his office "will not defend the constitutionality of the discrimination in House Bill 2, " the sweeping anti-LGBT law the North Carolina General Assembly passed and Governor Pat McCrory signed last week.
March, 2016
Anti-LGBT Bills Defeated, But South Dakota, Others Show Love Has Not Won
February 11, 2016 - From ACLU: It's official: We're seeing a pattern of extremes emerge in the first legislative session following the national recognition of marriage equality.
South Dakota Governor Vetoes Discriminatory Anti-Transgender Bill
PIERRE, S.D. - March 1, 2016 – South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard this afternoon vetoed the nation's first discriminatory anti-transgender bathroom bill to pass a state legislature.
South Dakota Legislates Discrimination, Passes Shameful Transgender Bathroom Panic Bill
Pierre, S.D. - February 16, 2016 – Today the South Dakota Senate voted to pass HB 1008, a bill that would single out and stigmatize South Dakota transgender students and force them to choose between isolated accommodations or those that do not correspond to their gender identity. The bill now heads to Governor Daugaard for veto consideration.
February, 2016
ACLU of Indiana Statement on Senate Bill 344
Indianapolis- February 2, 2016 –Today lawmakers in the Indiana General Assembly failed to allow a vote on a measure, Senate Bill 344, which while fundamentally flawed, would have opened the door for updating Indiana's civil rights law to protect Hoosiers based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Alabama Chief Judge Efforts to Block Marriage Equality Barred by July Federal Court Order
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - January 6, 2016 - Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore issued an administrative order today attempting to block the implementation of the U.S. Supreme Court's historic marriage equality decision in Obergefell v. Hodge.
Federal Appeals Court Hears Arguments in Virginia Case to Protect Transgender Student Under Title IX
RICHMOND, Va. January 27, 2016 – The American Civil Liberties Union will appear before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today to argue that a policy in Gloucester, Virginia segregating transgender students from their peers by requiring them to use "alternative, private" restroom facilities violates federal non-discrimination laws and the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Victory: Wedding Venue Cannot Discriminate Against Same-Sex Couples
January 14, 2016 — The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court today affirmed that it is illegal for businesses to discriminate based on sexual orientation. The New York Civil Liberties Union victory came in the case of Melisa and Jennifer McCarthy, who were turned away by the Albany wedding venue they chose after the venue owners found out that they were a same-sex couple.
January, 2016
8 Principles That Will Stop Police Practices that Harm Women and LGBT People
The numbers are startling. Two in three domestic violence survivors surveyed recently by the National Domestic Violence Hotline said that they were somewhat or extremely afraid to call the police again in the future, with many saying that they thought police would not believe them or would make things worse. One in four who had previously contacted police said they would not seek their assistance again for domestic violence. Advocates who work with survivors reported a similar lack of trust and confidence in police to the ACLU and its partners.
ACLU Challenges Minnesota's Ban on Medicaid Coverage of Transition-Related Surgery
ST. PAUL, Minn. - December 17, 2015- The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Minnesota filed a lawsuit today in Minnesota State Court to challenge the coverage ban on transition-related surgery for transgender people on Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare, the state's public insurance programs for low-income residents.
ACLU Responds to Governor Matt Bevin's Executive Order Removing Clerks' Names from Marriage Licenses
LOUISVILLE - December 22, 2015 – Governor Matt Bevin issued an executive order today removing county clerks' names from marriage licenses.
December, 2015
ACLU of Pennsylvania Releases New App to Hold Law Enforcement Accountable
PHILADELPHIA - November 13, 2015 - The ACLU of Pennsylvania today launched Mobile Justice PA, a free smart phone app that allows Pennsylvanians to automatically record and upload cell phone videos of public interactions with law enforcement to the ACLU-PA. The same app is simultaneously being launched in 9 other states, including: Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Virginia and Washington DC. The Mobile Justice App is already in use in California, Colorado, Missouri, New York, and Oregon.
Chelsea Manning Responds to US Government Move to Dismiss Lawsuit Seeking Health Care for Gender Dysphoria
November 13, 2015 - The Department of Justice has filed a brief In Chelsea Manning's case against the United States government challenging her request to grow her hair beyond the two inches allowed by military regulation. The government's brief argues, among others things, that withholding this treatment is for Chelsea's own good to protect her from alleged assaults if she is permitted to further feminize in accordance with her medical needs.
Rowan County Couples Point to Governor's Admission He Lacks Authority To Declare Altered Licenses Valid
NEW YORK - November 20, 2015 – Couples from Rowan County, Kentucky today filed a brief in U.S. District Court supporting their prior assertion that the Rowan County clerk's office failed to comply with orders directing deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses without interference by Clerk Kim Davis.
November, 2015
Department of Education stands with high school student who is transgender
CHICAGO - November 2, 2015 – Despite efforts by the school district to justify their behavior, the United States Department of Education today issued a landmark ruling recognizing that Palatine High School District 211 is discriminating against a female student on the basis of her sex. The Department issued its findings after a lengthy investigation concluding that the District is in violation of federal law for denying a student access to a gender-appropriate locker room for changing clothes, simply because the student is transgender. Despite protestations from the District over the past two weeks, the Department today made clear that the school is engaging in harmful discrimination.
Houston Fails to Affirm Non-Discrimination Ordinance
NEW YORK - November 4, 2015 -Houston voters last night failed to affirm an ordinance that would have secured much-needed protections from discrimination for the people of the fourth largest city in the country.
Transgender Student Asks Appeals Court to Stop Virginia School's Discriminatory Restroom Policy
RICHMOND, Va. - October 21, 2015 – Gavin Grimm, a transgender male student in Gloucester County, Virginia, today asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to stop his school district from enforcing a discriminatory policy that segregates transgender students from their peers and requires them to use "alternative private" restroom facilities.
October, 2015
ACLU Asserts Rowan County Clerk's Office Failed to Comply with Prior Orders from District Court
NEW YORK - September 21, 2015 - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a motion in Kentucky District Court asserting that the Rowan County clerk's office has failed to comply with orders that directed deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses without interference by Clerk Kim Davis.
Illinois Bed & Breakfast Violated Law in Denying Gay Couple Use of Facility for Civil Union Ceremony
CHICAGO - September 17, 2015 -- In a decision that has broad implications for how Illinois will protect LGBT persons seeking services from businesses offering their services to the public, the Illinois Human Rights Commission today ruled in favor of a downstate same-sex couple denied access to a bed & breakfast to hold their civil union ceremony after civil unions became available in 2011. The Commission found that the denial of use of the facilities was based on their sexual orientation in violation of Illinois law.
Lead Supreme Court Marriage Equality Plaintiff Jim Obergefell Writes Open Letter to Defiant Clerk Kim Davis
NEW YORK - September 30, 2015 – Jim Obergefell, plaintiff in the U.S. Supreme Court case that established nationwide marriage equality today authored an open letter to defiant Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis who refuses to issue marriage licenses to all eligible couples, citing religious objections to same-sex couples.
Military Officials Deny Chelsea Manning Clinically Recommended Treatment for Gender Dysphoria
Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. - September 18, 2015 - The United States military today issued another denial in response to Chelsea Manning's ongoing request for permission to follow female grooming standards – including growing her hair – while serving a 35 year prison sentence at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.
New Report Provides Recommendations to Address Tensions Between Religious Freedom and Equality Around the World
NEW YORK - September 21, 2015 - The International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO), of which the American Civil Liberties Union is a member, today released a report that addresses tensions between freedom of religion and equality rights and proposes resolutions to those tensions in three areas: LGBT rights, reproductive rights, and religious appearance.
U.S. District Court Rules Fired Transgender Woman Can Sue Former Employer For Sex Discrimination
NEW YORK- September 16, 2015 - A U.S. district court judge ruled yesterday that a transgender woman fired because of her gender transition may sue her former employer for sex discrimination under federal law.
September, 2015
ACLU Comment on Chelsea Manning Prison 'Contraband' Guilty Verdict
NEW YORK - August 19, 2015 - A closed disciplinary board at the military correctional facility at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, last night found Chelsea Manning guilty of four charges, including possessing prohibited material and disrespecting a prison officer.
Court Denies Kentucky County Clerk's Request to Continue Refusing Marriage Licenses
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - August 26, 2015 – A federal appeals court today denied Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis' request for a stay on the order requiring that she issue marriage licenses to couples in the case Miller v. Davis.
Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction to Four Rowan County Couples Denied Service by County Clerk
August 12, 2-15 - U.S. district judge David Bunning ruled today that four couples must be able to obtain marriage licenses in Rowan County, holding that personal religious beliefs do not exempt government officials from performing the duties of public office.
Masterpiece Cakeshop Violates Civil Rights Law for Turning Away Gay Couple, Court Rules
DENVER - August 13, 2015 – The Colorado Court of Appeals today ruled that a cake shop cannot refuse service to a gay couple because of who they are. The ruling comes on the heels of oral arguments from early July in a discrimination case brought by a same-sex couple against a cake shop that refused to sell them a cake for their wedding reception.
U.S. District Court Holds Kentucky Clerk in Contempt for Refusing Marriage Licenses
ASHLAND, Ky. - September 3, 2015 – U.S. District Court Judge David L. Bunning today found Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis in contempt of court for violating a federal court order that required her to issue marriage licenses to couples in the case Miller v. Davis, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Kentucky County Clerk's Request to Continue Refusing Marriage Licenses
NEW YORK - August 31, 2015 – The U.S. Supreme Court has denied, without dissent, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis her request for a stay of an order from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that required her to issue marriage licenses immediately to couples in the case Miller v. Davis.
Virginia Federal Court Rules Against Transgender Student Seeking to Use Appropriate Restroom at School
NORFOLK, Va. - September 4, 2015 – A federal court in Virginia today ruled against a transgender male student who sought a preliminary injunction to resume using the boys' restrooms at Gloucester High School when school begins this fall. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar's order keeps in place a discriminatory policy that segregates transgender students from their peers and requires them to use "alternative private" restroom facilitie
August, 2015
ACLU Comment on Introduction of the Equality Act in Congress
WASHINGTON - July 23, 2015 — Today, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley, Tammy Baldwin, and Cory Booker and U.S. Representative David Cicilline introduced the Equality Act, a comprehensive federal bill that will prohibit discrimination against women and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. This legislation fills gaps in America's civil rights laws, and is fully in keeping with a commitment to equal treatment under the law for all.
ACLU Comment on Senate Vote on Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBT Students
WASHINGTON - July 14, 2015 - The U.S. Senate today voted on an amendment — the Student Non-Discrimination Act — to explicitly protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students in public schools across the country. While the amendment, which was offered by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), fell short of the required 60-vote threshold, it garnered the support of 52 senators, including seven Republicans.
ACLU of Kentucky Comment on Hearing in Rowan County Marriage Refusals Case
ASHLAND - July 13, 2015 – U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning heard testimony today in the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky's lawsuit against Rowan County and Clerk Kim Davis for refusing to issue marriage licenses to any eligible couple, in an attempt to keep same-gender couples from obtaining them.
Court Hears Arguments Brought by Gay Couple Turned Away at Masterpiece Cakeshop
DENVER - July 7, 2015 – The Colorado Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments today in a discrimination case brought by a same-sex couple against a cake shop that refused to sell them a cake for their wedding reception.
Federal Court to Hear Arguments Brought by Same-Sex Mothers Seeking Recognition of Parentage Rights
SALT LAKE CITY - July 15, 2015 - A Utah federal court will hear arguments today in a case filed on behalf of a married same-sex couple seeking recognition as legal parents of their child. The ACLU of Utah and the American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in April 2015 to force the State Office of Vital Records and Statistics to recognize plaintiffs Angie and Kami Roe as parents to their daughter, Lucy.
New EEOC Ruling Protects Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Employees
WASHINGTON - July 16, 2015 - The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission today issued a decision that employment discrimination based on sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination that is outlawed by existing federal law.
Pentagon Announces Plan to Ease Ban on Transgender Service in U.S. Military
WASHINGTON - July 13, 2015 – The Department of Defense today issued two directives that are expected to ease regulations that prohibit transgender people from serving openly in the U.S. military. Under current regulations, transgender people are automatically deemed medically unfit for duty and face separation from their unit if their gender identity is disclosed.
Utah Federal Court Rules Same-Sex Mothers' Parentage Rights Must Be Recognized
SALT LAKE CITY - July 16, 2015 - A Utah federal court ruled Wednesday that the State Office of Vital Records and Statistics must recognize a same-sex married couple as legal parents of their child. The case was argued before U.S. District Judge Dee Benson whose ruling holds that the state must apply Utah's assisted reproduction parentage statute equally to same and different-sex spouses.
Virginia Federal Court Signals That Transgender Student's Restroom Access Case is Likely to Proceed
NORFOLK, Va. - July 27, 2015 - A federal court in Virginia today heard arguments in the case of a transgender male student at Gloucester High School who seeks to use communal restrooms that match his gender identity. The case challenges a discriminatory policy that segregates transgender students from their peers and requires them to use "alternative private" restroom facilities.
July, 2015
ACLU of PA Statement on Marriage Equality Decision
PHILADELPHIA - June 26, 2015 – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which found that the federal Constitution protects same-sex couples' freedom to marry in all fifty States, D.C., and the U.S. territories.
ACLU Sues Va. School Board for Discriminatory Transgender Restroom Policy
RICHMOND, Va. - June 11, 2015 – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia filed a lawsuit against the Gloucester County School Board for adopting a discriminatory bathroom policy that segregates transgender students from their peers. The policy effectively expels trans students from communal restrooms and requires them to use "alternative private" restroom facilities.
DOJ Filing Supports Transgender Student's Right to Appropriate Restroom Facilities in ACLU Case
WASHINGTON - June 30, 2015 – The Department of Justice today filed a statement of interest in federal court explaining that transgender students must be allowed to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity under Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972.
June, 2015
ACLU Lawsuit: Michigan ID Policy Exposes Transgender Men and Women to Risk of Harassment, Violence
DETROIT - May 21, 2015 -The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Michigan announced on Thursday that they have filed a federal lawsuit against the Michigan Secretary of State challenging a department policy that makes it impossible for many transgender individuals to correct the gender on their driver's licenses and other forms of identification.
Federal Court Orders Alabama Probate Judges to Allow Marriage Equality Statewide
MOBILE, Ala. - May 21, 2015 – A federal district court today ordered that all Alabama probate judges must comply with the U.S. Constitution and may not refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples after four leading civil rights organizations requested the court expand a lawsuit to cover all same-sex couples and probate judges statewide. The district court's order will take effect when the United States Supreme Court issues its decision in several pending cases seeking the freedom to marry in four states. The Supreme Court marriage cases were argued in April, and a ruling is expected by the end of June.
April, 2015
ACLU Comment on Indiana Gov. Mike Pence Signing Discriminatory 'Religious Freedom' Bill into Law
INDIANAPOLIS - March 26, 2015 – Gov. Mike Pence today signed a bill into law that would allow anyone to use their religious beliefs to claim that they have a right to refuse to follow anti-discrimination protections and other laws.
ACLU of Utah and Equality Utah Celebrate SB 296, Reject the Harmful Provisions of HB 322
SALT LAKE CITY - March 12, 2015 – After seven years of consideration, last night Utah lawmakers passed SB 296, which modifies the Utah Antidiscrimination Act and the Utah Fair Housing Act to address discrimination and religious freedoms by including sexual orientation and gender identity as prohibited bases for unequal treatment.
ACLU of Utah Lauds Bill Providing Protections for Gay and Transgender Utahns
SALT LAKE CITY - March 4, 2015 – A historic piece of legislation was introduced today that will provide long-needed, express protections for gay and transgender Utahns from discrimination in housing and employment.
ACLU Statement on Proposed Amendments to Indiana RFRA
NEW YORK - April 2, 2015 – The ACLU has issued the following statement in response to the Indiana legislature proposing amendments to address the harmful effects of SB 101, a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) bill:
Arkansas Gov. Rejects Indiana Copycat Bill and Signs New, Flawed RFRA into Law
LITTLE ROCK, Ark - April 2, 2015. – Gov. Asa Hutchinson today signed SB 975 into law, a revised bill that sought to improve upon Religious Freedom Restoration Act HB 1228, which closely resembled Indiana's controversial RFRA.
Georgia RFRA Dies in Face of National Backlash
NEW YORK - April 3, 2015 – Legislation that could have allowed businesses and individuals to use religion to discriminate failed Thursday night in Georgia following a national backlash to similar laws that passed in Indiana and Arkansas.
Legal Teams Submit Proposal to U.S. Supreme Court Regarding Oral Argument in Marriage Cases
WASHINGTON - March 17, 2015 –Counsel representing all plaintiffs from the Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee marriage lawsuits today submitted a proposal to the U.S. Supreme Court requesting that argument time be divided equally among the cases from the four states.
LGBT, Civil Rights Groups Urge Support for Fairness for All Hoosiers Act
INDIANAPOLIS - March 30, 2015 – In an open letter to Gov. Mike Pence and leaders in the Indiana House and Senate, national LGBT and civil rights groups call on lawmakers to quickly enact legislation fixing SB 101, which could allow discrimination against gay and transgender people, and end the firestorm of protests that have engulfed the state.
March, 2015
Animus on Display - Why Arkansas SB 202 Deserves a Veto
Little Rock, Ark. - February 21, 2015 – In response to the passage of SB 202 by the Arkansas legislature, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Arkansas, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Lambda Legal, and National Center for Lesbian Rights issued the following statement to Governor Asa Hutchinson:
Kentucky Legal Team Files Brief at U.S. Supreme Court Challenging Marriage Bans for Same-Sex Couples
NEW YORK - February 27, 2015 – The American Civil Liberties Union, Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic and Kentucky-based firms Clay Daniel Walton & Adams and the Fauver Law Office today filed their brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in two Kentucky cases that challenge the state's laws barring same-sex couples from marrying and barring the recognition of same-sex couples' marriages from out of state.
NCLR and ACLU of Alabama Applaud President Obama's Support For Marriage Equality in Alabama
(Washington, DC., February 10, 2015)—Today, in an interview with BuzzFeed, President Obama stated that he would welcome a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that same-sex couples have the freedom to marry in every state, stating: "It's time to recognize that under the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution, same-sex couples should have the same rights as anybody else."
February, 2015
Supreme Court Will Hear Four Cases Challenging Ban on Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
NEW YORK - January 16, 2015 – The U.S. Supreme Court granted review of a federal appeals court ruling that upheld bans in four states on the freedom to marry and recognition of marriages of same-sex couples legally performed in other states. The Court granted review of petitions from all four states – Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Today's announcement sets the stage for final resolution of the debate about marriage equality for same-sex couples nationwide.
January, 2015
ACLU Disappointed with Appeals Court Ruling that Dept. of Correction can Withhold Medically Necessary Surgery from Trans
NEW YORK - December 16, 2014 – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Massachusetts today expressed deep disappointment with a ruling from the full First Circuit Court of Appeals allowing the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) to deny essential medical care recommended by its own physicians to transgender prisoner Michelle Kosilek.
ACLU Files Federal Discrimination Complaint against Va. School Board for Bathroom Policy
RICHMOND, Va. - December 19, 2014 – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia filed an administrative complaint with the Department of Justice and Department of Education against Gloucester County Public Schools (GCPS) for adopting a bathroom policy that segregates transgender students from using the same restrooms and locker rooms as their peers. The school board adopted the policy by a vote of 6-1 on December 9, 2014, despite warnings from the ACLU and the ACLU of Virginia that the policy violates federal law prohibiting sex discrimination by schools.
ACLU Lawsuit Seeks Recognition for High School Gay-Straight Alliance Club
INDIANAPOLIS- December 23, 2014 — The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit today on behalf of three students at North Putnam High School who have been denied the right to form a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club during non-instructional time at school, claiming the school's denial violates both federal law and the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit is also brought on behalf of the GSA.
ACLU Response to DOJ Guidance Reports
WASHINGTON - December 5, 2014 — The Washington Post and other media outlets published articles tonight that highlight some details of what is included in the U.S. Department of Justice Guidance on the Use of Race by Federal Law Enforcement Agencies.
FDA Fails to Adequately Address Discriminatory Blood Donation Ban
WASHINGTON - December 23, 2014 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today a change in the current lifetime ban on blood donations from gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. The proposal would replace the lifetime ban with a one-year deferral, which would only permit gay and bisexual men to donate blood if they have not had sex with another man in the past year. The proposal would treat all sexual relationships between men the same way that heterosexual sex is treated when it involves a commercial sex worker or an individual who is known to be living with HIV.
December, 2014
ACLU and Lambda Legal ask Supreme Court to Review Ohio Marriage Cases
CINCINNATI - November 14, 2014 – Today, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio, Lambda Legal and private firm Gerhardstein & Branch filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ aberrant ruling upholding discriminatory bans on marriage rights for same-sex couples in Ohio and three other states.
ACLU Comment on DOL Final Rule Prohibiting Federal Contractors from LGBT Workplace Discrimination
WASHINGTON - December 3, 2014– This afternoon, the Department of Labor published a new rule to prohibit businesses that contract with the federal government from engaging in workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Missouri Joins 32 States and the District of Columbia that Allow Same-Sex Couples to Marry
KANSAS CITY, MO - November 7, 2014 – U.S. District Court Judge Ortrie D. Smith ruled today that same-sex couples can obtain marriage licenses. This judgment strikes down Missouri's 2004 constitutional amendment that excluded gay men and lesbians from marriage allowing Missouri to join the 32 states and the District of Columbia that issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Montana Marriage Equality Victory
GREAT FALLS, Mont. - November 19, 2014 - In a victory for equality across Montana, the U.S. District Court of Montana ruled today in favor of four same-sex couples suing for marriage.
November, 2014
ACLU of Arizona Celebrates Decision Striking Down State's Marriage Ban
PHOENIX - October 17, 2014 – The ACLU of Arizona is celebrating District Court Judge John W. Sedwick's ruling this morning finding the state's ban on marriage for same-sex couples unconstitutional.
ACLU Reaction to 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Overturning Lower Court Decisions that had Struck Down Marriage Bans
NEW YORK- November 6, 2014– The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit today reversed the district court rulings of six cases from Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky. In each of these states, a federal judge had ruled in favor of marriage for same-sex couples and all six rulings were appealed to the 6th Circuit. Today's ruling essentially upholds marriage bans in Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky and denies same sex couples the right to marry or have their marriages recognized in these states.
October, 2014
ACLU Comment on Ninth Circuit Ruling for Marriage Equality
NEW YORK- October 7, 2014 - The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today in favor of marriage equality, which is expected to bring the number of marriage equality states to 35 in short order.
Supreme Court Lets Stand Four Appeals Court Decisions Requiring States to Allow Same-Sex Couples to Marry
NEW YORK - October 6, 2014 – The Supreme Court of the United States today denied review in all of the marriage equality cases pending before it. As a result of the Court's action, same-sex couples in Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, Oklahoma and Utah will now be able to marry the partners they love. Today's orders also mean that same-sex marriage will soon become lawful in at least 30 states.
March, 2009
GLBT equality legislation meeting in Erie PA
On Sunday, February 8, about 30 people attended a meeting in Erie about passing GLBT equality legislation at the state level in Pennsylvania. The meeting had been convened by Steve Glassman, Chair of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission; Andy Hoover of the American Civil Liberties Union and Jake Kaskey, outreach coordinator for Equality Advocates of Pennsylvania. Much of the publicity for the meeting was via the GLBT Voter/Activist email list.
ACLU News
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. The ACLU also works to extend rights to segments of our population that have traditionally been denied their rights, including people of color; women; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; prisoners; and people with disabilities.
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