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Ideological Exclusion

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Over the years, the ACLU has fought LGBT discrimination on several fronts—from challenging “sodomy” laws to advocating for civil rights that protect LGBT people.

> House Committee Advances ENDA Legislation that Splits LGBT Community, ACLU Urges One Bill for One Community

> New Video Shows the Need for a Transgender-Inclusive ENDA

Lesbian Gay Rights : Discrimination : Press Releases view all

After Pressure From ACLU, Gay Georgia Man Allowed To Join State Insurance Plan (03/04/2008)
ATLANTA — After pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union, Georgia's Commissioner of Insurance has agreed to allow Jon Lawson, a gay man, to purchase health insurance through a state plan designed to help people who are uninsured. Although the plan only requires that an applicant is insured for 18 months before joining the plan, Commissioner John Oxendine's office rejected Lawson's application, claiming that he was ineligible because had been covered as a domestic partner through his previous insurance plan.

ACLU Challenges Dismissal of Lesbian Major From Air Force (11/05/2007)
SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the dismissal of a decorated U.S. Air Force flight nurse on the grounds that she engaged in homosexual conduct. The ACLU is representing Major Margaret Witt in her appeal of a lower court rejection of the lawsuit she filed in 2006.

House Committee Advances ENDA Legislation that Splits LGBT Community, ACLU Urges One Bill for One Community (10/18/2007)
WASHINGTON – The House Committee on Education and Labor today passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill the ACLU cannot support because it abandons the transgender community. The first iteration of ENDA this session would have made it illegal to discriminate in the workplace based on sexual orientation and gender identity, but the bill that passed out of committee today would allow transgender workers to suffer from discrimination at work with no protection or recourse.

ACLU Cheers Free-Speech Friendly Hate Crimes Legislation (09/27/2007)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the passage of the Matthew Shepard Amendment to the Defense Department authorization bill that for the first time punishes hate crimes without infringing on free speech. The amendment, offered by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR), will broaden the definition of hate crimes and give more resources to local districts unable to investigate them single-handedly.

New ACLU Report, Working in the Shadows, Explains Why Congress Should Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (09/17/2007)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union issued a report today that shows why Congress should pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). The act is expected to be voted out of committee later this month. Working in the Shadows: Ending Employment Discrimination for LGBT Americans uses the stories of workers from across the country who have experienced workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity to make the case for passage of the bill.

Lesbian Gay Rights : Discrimination : Publications

Working in the Shadows: Ending Employment Discrimination for LGBT Americans (09/17/2007)
This ACLU-issued report urges Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), and uses the stories of workers from across the country who have experienced workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity to make the case for passage of the bill.

Lesbian Gay Rights : Discrimination : Legal Documents view all

United States of America v. Steven Roberts and Daniel Mangini - Decision (07/31/2007)

Letter to Chicago Department of Human Services Regarding Non-Discrimination Policies in Homeless Shelters (06/13/2007)

Limon v. Kansas - State's Supplemental Brief on Review (04/11/2006)

Exodus - Response Letter to Liberty Counsel (03/22/2006)

Oklahoma v. Latham - Friend-of-the-Court brief (02/01/2006)

Lesbian Gay Rights : Discrimination : Legislative Documents view all

Letter from the ACLU Asking the House Committee on Education and Labor to Oppose Any Discriminatory Amendment to the College Opportunity and Affordability Act that Could Force Accreditation of Universities that Engage in Discrimination (11/14/2007)

ACLU Position on Vote on Final Passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (11/07/2007)

New ACLU Video Shows the Need for a Transgender-Inclusive ENDA (10/09/2007)

Weakened ENDA Means Less Protection For Everyone (10/04/2007)
"Definitions of who is protected by the bill leave gaping loopholes so that no one will be fully protected against discrimination. Congress should finish the work it began 44 years ago when it made employment discrimination based on sex illegal, and once and for all rid the workplace of sexual stereotypes."

Coalition Letter Urging Congress Only to Move on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act if Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity are Addressed in One Bill (10/01/2007)

Lesbian Gay Rights : Discrimination : Resources view all

Why We Need Non-Discrimination Laws, What You Can Do To Help (02/26/2007)
Matt Coles, director of the ACLU's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project, talks about setting a standard for acceptable behavior and ending discrimination.

Exodus - Positions Against "Reparative Therapy" and the Ex-Gay Movement (03/22/2006)

Limon v. Kansas - Case Background (09/08/2005)

Advocate article on Bizzari (04/13/2005)

Johnson v. Johnson Case Profile (04/04/2005)

Lesbian Gay Rights : Discrimination : Fact Sheets

Getting Rid of Sodomy Laws: History and Strategy that Led to the Lawrence Decision (06/26/2003)

Cops in the Bedroom: How the Texas Sodomy Case Began (06/26/2003)

Why Sodomy Laws Matter (06/26/2003)

History of Sodomy Laws and the Strategy that Led Up to Today's Decision (06/16/2003)

Lesbian Gay Rights : Discrimination : Court Cases view all

Employment Non-Discrimination Act (04/24/2007)

Exodus Parody (03/22/2006)
After Justin Watt posted this parody of an Exodus International billboard for “reparative therapy” on his Web site, he received a cease-and-desist letter from an anti-gay legal organization.

Exodus Parody (03/22/2006)
After Justin Watt posted this parody of an Exodus International billboard for “reparative therapy” on his Web site, he received a cease-and-desist letter from an anti-gay legal organization.

Limon v. Kansas - Case Profile (03/08/2005)

Bizzari & Hackett v. Sitrin Health Center - Case Profile (02/24/2005)

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