LGBT News

Following Historic Speech, Working to Realize the Promise of LGBT Equality Under the Law

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 3:02pm

President Obama made history on Monday by infusing his second inaugural address with a clarion call for LGBT equality under the law. First, he linked the equality struggles for women’s rights, African American civil rights, and LGBT rights through the eloquent statement that:

We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths — that all of us are created equal — is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall…

Polling Numbers Giving Freedom to Marry Ballot Efforts Advantage as Election Day Approaches

By Jill Barkley, ACLU of Maine & Meredith Curtis, ACLU of Maryland & Dean Jackson, ACLU of Washington & Jana Kooren, ACLU of Minnesota at 11:17am

With less than a week until Election Day, ACLU affiliates and their coalition partners in states with questions regarding marriage for gay and lesbian couples on the ballot are intensifying their efforts to make history next week. 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.  Polling data in each of the four states is encouraging, but close. As we near the finish line, thousands of volunteers and coalition staffers are working hard to ensure that all loving, committed couples can marry. Here’s a round up of what’s happening on the ground:

New Federal Standards Offer Unprecedented Protections to LGBTI Prisoners

By Leslie Cooper, LGBT Project at 2:25pm

Yesterday the Department of Justice (DOJ) released the long-awaited National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape. These standards – the first of their kind—create an historic opportunity to put an end to the epidemic of sexual abuse in prison, which disproportionately affects prisoners who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or have intersex conditions (LGBTI).

Historic Shift in Congress against DOMA Mirrors Shift in Public Opinion in Favor of Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:24am

On Friday, 212 members of Congress, 172 representatives and 40 senators, filed an historic brief in support of Edie Windsor's challenge to the discriminatory and unconstitutional so-called Defense of Marriage Act's (DOMA) exclusion of married same-sex couples from marriage-based federal responsibilities and rights.

Election Day for Marriage: What’s at Stake

By Selene Kaye, ACLU at 12:53pm

America goes to the polls today, and as we all know, there is a great deal at stake – from ballot measures on an array of civil liberties issues, to congressional seats, to the make-up of state legislatures, and of course, the presidency.

The 2012 Freedom to Marry Ballot Initiatives: On the Ground in Four Key States

By Jill Barkley, ACLU of Maine & Meredith Curtis, ACLU of Maryland & Dean Jackson, ACLU of Washington & Jana Kooren, ACLU of Minnesota at 5:08pm

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.

Bird, Bees and Bias: How New York Schools are Failing our Young People

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."

Working Towards an LGBT-Inclusive Platform

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:28pm

On Thursday evening, BuzzFeed reported that the draft 2012 Democratic National Platform includes, as part of an overall endorsement of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, a call for passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in Congress.  This important legislation would completely repeal the discriminatory so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and provide married gay and lesbian couples with certainty that, regardless of where they travel or move in the country, they will not be treated as legal strangers under federal law. 

Meet the Man Who Kept the Rainbow Flag Free

By Danielle Riendeau, ACLU of Northern California at 10:04am

(Originally posted on the ACLU of Northern California blog.)

The fight for LGBT equality in the Bay Area has faced plenty of challenges. Meet Matt Coles, who has been fighting for them from the beginning.

Just Say "No" to "Don't Say Gay"

By Amanda Goad, LGBT Project & Anna Ziering, LGBT Project at 2:11pm

For a while, it looked as if Tennessee legislators had come to their senses and backed off the bill popularly known as "Don't Say Gay." Unfortunately, the bill is now roaring forward again, but there may still be a chance of stopping it.

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