Blog of Rights
Ian S.
Thompson

Ian Thompson is a Legislative Representative in the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office. In this capacity, Thompson works to advance the organization’s civil liberties and civil rights agenda in Congress and the executive branch by focusing on LGBT rights, HIV/AIDS and sex education. Prior to joining the ACLU in January 2006, Thompson interned in the Washington, D.C., office of Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio). A 2005 graduate of Penn State University, Thompson holds a degree in International Politics.

05/22/2012
Transgender Rights

Critical Transgender Concerns Awaiting Action at the Social Security Administration

By Ian S. Thompson, Washington Legislative Office at 2:48pm
Late last week, the ACLU joined a letter to the Social Security Administration (SSA) drafted by our coalition partners at the National Center for Transgender ... Read More
05/21/2012
Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

Historic NAACP Vote Signals the Ultimate Failure of Divisive NOM Strategy

By Ian S. Thompson, Washington Legislative Office at 5:17pm
On Saturday, the Board of Directors of the NAACP, the nation's oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization, passed a ... Read More
05/10/2012
Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

Anti-Gay Pandering Cannot Stop Historic Momentum for LGBT Rights

By Ian S. Thompson, Washington Legislative Office at 4:10pm
What an amazing and historic week it has been for the cause of gay rights. On Wednesday, for the first time in our country’s history, a sitting President ... Read More
04/27/2012
Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

Racial Justice and LGBT Equality – Moving Beyond the Politics of "Divide and Conquer"

By Ian S. Thompson, Washington Legislative Office at 4:53pm
It was recently revealed in internal strategy memos from the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage that the organization hoped to pit racial and ethnic ... Read More
04/20/2012
Student Rights in School

BREAKING – Obama Administration Endorses Student Non-Discrimination Act

By Ian S. Thompson, Washington Legislative Office at 5:13pm
SNDA is a necessary federal legislative solution to the serious problem of anti-LGBT discrimination and harassment in our nation's public schools. Read More
04/13/2012
LGBT Discrimination in the Workplace

President Obama: LGBT Workers Can't Wait

By Ian S. Thompson, Washington Legislative Office at 10:53am
Late Wednesday afternoon, it was reported that the Obama administration had made the decision to delay issuing an executive order to ensure that federal ... Read More
04/03/2012
LGBT Discrimination in the Workplace

President Obama, Sign Non-Discrimination Executive Order, Say Dozens of Members of Congress

By Ian S. Thompson, Washington Legislative Office at 5:21pm
On Tuesday afternoon, over 70 members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama urging him to sign an executive order to ensure that federal contractors ... Read More
03/28/2012
LGBT Discrimination in the Workplace

ACLU to Speak at Briefing on Workplace Discrimination Against LGBT Employees

By Deborah J. Vagins, Washington Legislative Office & Ian S. Thompson, Washington Legislative Office at 4:54pm
On Thursday, the ACLU, as well as partner organizations, will speak at a congressional briefing hosted by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) on the subject of sexual ... Read More
03/26/2012
Student Rights in School

Does the Obama Administration Support SNDA?

By Ian S. Thompson, Washington Legislative Office at 4:53pm
During the White House Conference on Safe Schools and Communities held at the University of Texas at Arlington on Tuesday, Atty. Gen. Read More
03/09/2012
LGBT Discrimination in the Workplace

President Obama: The Time Has Come for a Federal Contractors Non-Discrimination Executive Order

By Ian S. Thompson, Washington Legislative Office at 10:01am
In a Metro Weekly exclusive published on Thursday afternoon, Chris Geidner writes that President Obama, as a candidate for the office in 2008, specifically ... Read More
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