Home : Lesbian & Gay Rights : Parenting

Just in Time for Mother's Day, ACLU Launches Toolkit for LGBT Parents (05/03/2005)
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union launched a new online toolkit today designed to provide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents with the information they need to protect their relationships with their children. The toolkit can be found online by clicking the parenting section at www.aclu.org/getequal.

Lesbian Challenges Missouri Policy Barring Gay People from Foster Parenting (05/02/2005)
KANSAS CITY, MO -- A lesbian who has spent her life helping children is challenging a Missouri policy barring lesbian and gay people from serving as foster parents. Lisa Johnston, who is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, brought a challenge to the law in state court after an administrative judge, who found her to be otherwise ""exceptionally"" qualified to foster parent, denied her application solely because she is a lesbian.

ACLU Seeks Health Insurance and Family Leave for Lesbian and Gay Wisconsin State Employees (04/20/2005)
MADISON, WI -- The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today against the state of Wisconsin on behalf of six lesbian employees and their partners seeking domestic partner health insurance and family leave protections.

ACLU Disappointed the Supreme Court Will Not Hear an Appeal in Case Challenging Florida's Anti-Gay Adoption Law (01/10/2005)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today said that it was disappointed by the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to hear an appeal in its lawsuit challenging a Florida law that bans gay people from adopting.

Arkansas Anti-Gay Foster Care Ban Overturned (12/29/2004)
LITTLE ROCK -- Finding that children are not harmed by living with gay or lesbian parents, an Arkansas court today struck down a state regulation that banned gay people and anyone living in a household with a gay adult from being foster parents in the state. The American Civil Liberties Union brought the lawsuit against the state in 1999 on behalf of three prospective foster parents.

Trial Concludes in ACLU Challenge to Arkansas Anti-Gay Foster Care Ban (12/20/2004)
LITTLE ROCK - Trial concluded this morning in the American Civil Liberties Union's challenge to an Arkansas regulation that bans gay people and anyone living in a household with a gay adult from being foster parents in the state.

Child Welfare League of America Backs ACLU in Challenging Florida Gay Adoption Ban (12/09/2004)
NEW YORK - One of the nation's oldest and most respected child welfare organizations has weighed in on the American Civil Liberties Union's request for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal in a case challenging a Florida law that bars gay people from adopting. In a friend of the court brief filed late yesterday, the Child Welfare League of America argues that banning lesbian and gay families from adoption has no scientific basis and only serves to hurt children who need loving homes by needlessly reducing the pool of potential adoptive parents.

ACLU Urges West Virginia High Court Not to Take Four-Year-Old From His Surviving Lesbian Mom (12/06/2004)
CHARLESTON, WV - In a friend-of-the-court brief filed today, the American Civil Liberties Union urged the West Virginia Supreme Court not to separate a four-year-old boy from his surviving mother following the unexpected death of his biological mother.

ACLU Resumes Challenge to Arkansas Anti-Gay Foster Care Policy (10/05/2004)
LITTLE ROCK - After a six-month delay, the American Civil Liberties Union's challenge to an Arkansas policy that prevents lesbian and gay people and anyone living in a household with a gay adult from being foster parents will resume today in the Circuit Court of Pulaski County with a new expert witness for the state.

In a Six-to-Six Vote, Federal Appeals Court Declines to Reconsider Decision Upholding Florida's Anti-Gay Adoption Law (07/22/2004)
NEW YORK- The American Civil Liberties Union today said that it is disappointed that the full United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has declined to reconsider an earlier decision from a three-judge panel, which upheld a Florida law that bans gay people from adopting.

Washington Appeals Court Allows Non-Biological Mother in Same-Sex Relationship to Seek Parental Rights After Breakup (05/04/2004)
SEATTLE - The American Civil Liberties Union today praised the Washington Court of Appeals for allowing a non-biological mother the right to seek parental rights and visitation with her daughter after the mother's relationship with the biological mother ended.

Tennessee Appeals Court Says Government Can't Treat Gay People Differently in Deciding Child Custody and Visitation (03/24/2004)
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Court of Appeals today struck down a court order that told a gay parent not to do anything which ""exposes"" his son to ""the gay lifestyle,"" according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the parent.

Trial Begins in ACLU Lawsuit Challenging Arkansas Policy Preventing Gay People from Foster Parenting (03/23/2004)
LITTLE ROCK - Trial opens today in the American Civil Liberties Union's challenge to an Arkansas policy that prevents gay people and anyone living in a household with a gay adult from being foster parents in the state. The trial will be held in the Circuit Court of Pulaski County.

ACLU Asks Appeals Court to Reconsider Decision Upholding Florida's Anti-Gay Adoption Law (02/18/2004)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today asked the United States Court of Appeals in Atlanta to reconsider its recent ruling upholding a Florida law that excludes gay people from adopting.

ACLU Convinces Tennessee Appeals Court to Reconsider Order Barring Gay Father from "Exposing" Son to Partner (02/09/2004)
NASHVILLE - The American Civil Liberties Union said today that is has convinced the Court of Appeals of Tennessee to reconsider a lower court order that prevents a gay father from ""exposing"" his son to his partner.

ACLU Dismayed by 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision Upholding Florida's Anti-Gay Adoption Law (01/29/2004)
NEW YORK-The American Civil Liberties Union today said that is saddened by the decision by the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to uphold a Florida law that prohibits gay people from adopting.

ACLU Secures Historic Custody Win for Lesbian Mother (11/14/2003)
BISMARCK, ND -- Unanimously agreeing to allow a lesbian mother to maintain custody of her two children, the North Dakota Supreme Court has struck down a 1981 decision that has been used to deny lesbian and gay parents custody of their children solely because of their sexual orientation. By reversing its earlier decision, the Court ruled that possible prejudice from others is not a valid reason to take children from lesbian and gay parents.

ACLU Urges Social Security Administration to Grant Survivor Benefits to Son of Lesbian (10/15/2003)
NEW YORK -- In a case that underscores the need for basic protections for lesbian and gay families, the American Civil Liberties Union today filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Social Security Administration to provide survivor benefits to the child of a lesbian mother.

ACLU Urges Washington State Appeals to Recognize Parental Rights of Lesbian Mother (10/03/2003)
SEATTLE -- The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the Washington Court of Appeals to recognize the parental rights of a lesbian mother who has separated from the biological mother of her daughter. The ACLU's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project and the ACLU of Washington jointly submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in the case (In Re Parentage of LB) which is being argued before the court today. The mother is represented by the Northwest Women's Law Center.

ACLU Challenge to Florida's Anti-Gay Adoption Law Gets a Boost from Supreme Court Gay Rights Ruling (07/21/2003)
ATLANTA - The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the appeals court considering the fate of Florida's ban on adoption by gay parents to heed the Supreme Court's ruling in Lawrence v. Texas. In a supplemental brief filed today, the ACLU pointed out that the recent decision from the High Court further strengthens its argument that the adoption ban is unconstitutional.