Election Day is in 15 days and it will be a pivotal moment for LGBT rights. Voters in three states – Maine, Maryland, and Washington – have the opportunity to be the first to grant same-sex couples the freedom to marry, and voters in Minnesota can be the first to defeat a hurtful constitutional amendment to ban marriage for same-sex couples.
Washington is a vote-by-mail state and ballots will be in voters’ mailboxes this week. Washingtoninans can start sending in their ballots to Approve Referendum 74 and secure the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples.
By James Esseks, Director, ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & AIDS Project at 12:20pm
Yesterday, in Edie Windsor’s challenge to the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that DOMA violates the Constitution. It’s the second federal appeals court to strike DOMA down, and it’s the first to rule that “heightened scrutiny” applies when the government discriminates against lesbians and gay men.
Two weeks ago we brought you news about the four states that have marriage-related ballot initiatives this fall. As the election quickly approaches, each of the campaigns in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington have begun running television ads that highlight the stories of individuals, religious leaders, and community leaders who support the freedom to marry. These ads show the underlying issue at stake this fall – that marriage, both for straight and gay couples, is about building a life with someone and making a commitment to take care of and love one another.
By Diane Balogh, ACLU of Eastern Missouri at 4:44pm
Book banning still makes headlines, but today the practice seems pretty old school. The 21st century form of censorship has now become Internet filtering.
Today is Banned Websites Awareness Day – a designated day within Banned Books Week – which is sponsored by our friends at the American Association of School Librarians and designed to raise awareness of the overly restrictive blocking of legitimate, educational websites and academically useful social networking tools in schools and school libraries. At the ACLU LGBT Project, this is a subject near and dear to our hearts, and today we’re releasing a new report about our work to fight back against banned websites.
By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 1:57pm
In August, over 80 members of Congress, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), wrote to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requesting recognition, explicitly and in writing, of the ties of a same-sex partner or spouse as a positive factor for determining discretionary relief in immigration cases. On Friday, it was reported that DHS had announced it would be issuing new, written guidance providing that relief to LGBT immigrant families.
Marriage for same-sex couples is on the ballot in four states this November, and it will be a pivotal moment for the LGBT movement. In Maine, Maryland and Washington voters have the opportunity to expand the freedom to marry to same-sex couples; and Minnesota voters could make that state the first ever to defeat a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Even a single ballot box win would change the national debate and would reinforce the polls showing growing majorities across the country that support marriage for committed same-sex couples.
By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:09am
This Thursday, September 20, marks one year since the discriminatory policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) finally came to an end, opening the door to service in the Armed Forces to individuals regardless of their sexual orientation.
By Johanna Miller, New York Civil Liberties Union at 7:07pm
You won't believe what passes for sex ed in classrooms across New York State: An anatomy lesson defining the vagina as a "sperm deposit", a handout portraying women as "hazardous material", cautioning students that same-sex attraction is a cause to seek "counseling."
Earlier today, the ACLU and the ACLU of Vermont announced a fantastic settlement that we obtained in Baker & Linsley v. Wildflower Inn. We brought the case on behalf of a same-sex couple who were told they could not have their wedding reception at a Vermont resort called Wildflower Inn because of the owner’s personal religious beliefs about marriage. As part of the settlement agreement, Wildflower Inn agreed that Vermont’s public accommodations law prohibits unequal treatment of same-sex couples, which includes turning away same-sex couples seeking to have a wedding reception, failing to respond to inquiries from those couples, or discouraging those couples from using the facilities. The resort also agreed to pay $10,000 to the Vermont Human Rights Commission as a civil penalty and to place $20,000 in a charitable trust to be disbursed by the couple. The plaintiffs, Kate Linsley (nee Baker) and Ming Linsley, will not be retaining any of the money for themselves.
