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.

05/04/2011

Labor Department Delivers for Trans Federal Employees

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:30am

Late last week, the U.S. Department of Labor took an important step forward for its transgender employees by adding gender identity to the department's internal equal employment opportunity (EEO) policies. The Labor Department will now explicitly prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity, as well as pregnancy, under existing bans on sex discrimination.

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12/21/2010
DADT

Republicans — The Final Nail in DADT’s Coffin

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:15pm

Following Saturday’s historic Senate vote to repeal the discriminatory and unconstitutional “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, I was struck by the undeniable fact that it was Republican support in Congress that ultimately helped to put the final nail in the coffin of this outdated law.

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11/01/2010

Gay? Fine by Me…Say Service Members

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:40pm

According to findings first reported by NBC News late last week, a majority of active-duty and reserve service members, both men and women, have no objection to serving and living alongside gay and lesbian troops. The findings, which come from surveys sent to 400,000 service members earlier this year, are expected to be included in a Pentagon working group report on how to move forward effectively with implementation of open service for those who are lesbian, gay and bisexual. That report is due to be released on December 1.

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10/25/2010
LGBT Bullying

President Obama Joins the It Gets Better Project for LGBT Youth

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 3:19pm

Last Thursday, the White House released what is perhaps the most important submission to date for the It Gets Better Project. In a three-minute long video message to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth — far too often the victims of unrelenting discrimination and harassment in their schools — President Obama conveys his support and encouragement to these young people. President Obama says:

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10/14/2010

DADT Ruling Represents a Legal Milestone — Legislative Triumph Awaits

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 1:08pm

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips issued a worldwide injunction banning enforcement of the discriminatory and counterproductive policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). Tuesday's order followed a September ruling by Judge Phillips that found DADT to be an unconstitutional violation of the due process and free speech rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual service members. In an article in Tuesday's New York Times, the newspaper called the decision a "significant milestone for gay rights in the United States."

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09/10/2010
DADT

DADT Dealt a Serious Blow by the Courts – Congress, You're Up.

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:18pm

On Thursday evening, U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips ruled that the discriminatory and counterproductive policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) violates the constitutional rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual servicemembers. In clear and striking language in the 86-page opinion, Judge Phillips stated that DADT has a "direct and deleterious effect" on the armed forces, and issued a permanent injunction barring enforcement of the policy (a step almost certain to be fought by the government).

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08/13/2010

Torture Memos Author and the Freedom to Marry

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:57am

You might think that a man who achieved infamy as one of the authors of Justice Department legal memos authorizing torture, thereby undermining the rule of law, would be happy to retreat to a life of quiet obscurity — hey, at least it isn't a prison cell! But such is evidently not the case with University of California, Berkeley, law professor John Yoo.

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08/06/2010

President Obama — Now is the Time to Lead on Marriage Fairness

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:08am

Wednesday's landmark decision by U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker striking down California's Proposition 8 as an unconstitutional violation of the rights of gay and lesbian couples provided President Obama and his administration with the perfect opportunity to finally embrace fairness in marriage. Such a position should not be a far leap for a man who has repeatedly stated his support for the rights of LGBT Americans and is a constitutional scholar, yet it has sadly eluded him, at least publicly, up to this point.

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06/14/2010
Youth PROMISE Act

Two Men Named Wes and the Challenge to Fix the Juvenile Justice System

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 2:53pm

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof used his space in Sunday's paper to highlight a new book called The Other Wes Moore, which tells the story of two young men from the decaying, inner-city streets of Baltimore named Wes Moore. One went on to win a Rhodes scholarship in 2000 and now has a successful career and family, and this book. The "other" Wes Moore is currently serving a life prison sentence for the murder of an off-duty police officer.

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06/10/2010

Blood Donation Ban for Gay and Bisexual Men Under Review

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:27pm

Current FDA policy permanently bars any man who has ever, even once, had sex with another man since 1977 from donating blood in the United States.

That's all gay and bisexual men regardless of their individual sexual histories or HIV risk. For example, the fact that an individual gay man is in a committed, monogamous relationship would not matter under the blanket ban.

Other individuals who are also at increased risk for HIV disease, however, including people who have heterosexual sex with someone who they know to be HIV-positive, or people who have had sex with a commercial sex worker, are prevented from donating blood for only a year.

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