There are just five days left until voters in California will vote on Proposition 8, which would strip lesbian and gay couples of the fundamental right to marry. Although a Field Poll released today shows that we have a decent shot at defeating the initiative, there are still a large number of undecided voters. If we all speak up, we can turn those undecidededs into no votes.
The Library of Congress is being sued because it offered a key job as terrorism research analyst to Diane Schroer, then rescinded the offer, because Schroer is transgender. On last night's Countdown on MSNBC, Keith Olbermann exposed the high price of transgender discrimination. Schroer, who was hand picked after 9/11 to run a 120-person operation fighting terrorism, was suddenly considered no longer a “good fit” for a job helping Congress fight terrorism when she notified her future boss that she was in the process of transitioning from male to female.
On July 31, 2008, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill repealing a 1913 law that kept many out-of-state lesbian and gay couples from marrying in Massachusetts. The law said you couldn't marry in Massachusetts if you couldn't marry in your home state. Back in 2004 when Massachusetts became the first state in the country to allow same-sex couples to marry, then Governor Mitt Romney invoked the law to bar same-sex couples from most of the rest of the country. Thanks to the state legislature and Governor Patrick, that law is no more and same-sex couples are now able to marry in Massachusetts.
The issue of giving taxpayer funds to religious organizations providing government services recently resurfaced in the presidential campaign. Since the ACLU is a nonpartisan organization that doesn’t take sides in elections, you’ll have to look elsewhere to learn how the candidates compare on the issue. But keep reading if you want to hear about the devastating effects that can result when adequate safeguards to prevent the use of this funding for religious purposes are not put in place.
With all the excitement around lesbian and gay couples marrying in California, it’s easy to forget that really horrible things continue to happen to LGBT people around the country. Yesterday the ACLU filed a lawsuit that shows how much hard work we still have to do.
We are representing Kaylee Seals, a transgender truck driver who was fired from her job at Old Dominion Freight Lines for "impersonating a female." To add insult to injury, Kaylee was still dressing and presenting as a male while working at Old Dominion at the time she was fired.
Yesterday afternoon the Federal Appeals Court for the 9th Circuit dealt a significant blow to the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The ACLU of Washington represents a decorated Air Force Major, Margaret Witt, who was discharged for being in a relationship with another woman.
With allegations of toe tapping and under-the-stall hand motions, the recent arrest of Senator Larry Craig was a gold mine for comedians on late night TV. But beneath the laughter lies a serious civil liberties concern.
Larry Craig was arrested under a questionable law that makes it a crime to use o
