Home : Lesbian & Gay Rights

ACLU Tells Federal Court That Mandatory Anti-Gay Harassment Training Does Not Violate Students' Freedom of Religion (04/28/2005)
ASHLAND, KY -- In papers filed today in federal court, the American Civil Liberties Union argues that requiring students to undergo a court-ordered anti-harassment training at Boyd County High School does not violate their rights to free exercise of religion. Today's filing is a response to a motion for preliminary injunction by a national conservative legal organization seeking to shut down an anti-harassment training ordered by a federal judge in an earlier ACLU case.

ACLU of Tennessee Files Lawsuit Challenging State Amendment Banning Marriages for Same-Sex Couples (04/21/2005)
NASHVILLE -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a lawsuit today challenging a proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution that would ban same-sex couples from being able to marry in the state. The lawsuit charges that the state failed to meet notification requirements as outlined in the state constitution.

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 and Basic Rights Oregon Undeterred After Oregon Supreme Court Delays Ruling on Issue of Fairness for Lesbian and Gay Couples (04/14/2005)
PORTLAND, OR -- The American Civil Liberties Union and Basic Rights Oregon today said they were disappointed but undeterred by the Oregon Supreme Court's decision to delay ruling on the underlying issue of fairness for same-sex couples in a lawsuit brought by the groups.

ACLU Exposes Censorship at High Schools in Ohio and Missouri (04/06/2005)
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union today took on schools in two different states for violating the First Amendment rights of students who wish to wear t-shirts expressing their support for gay rights issues.

ACLU Says Florida's Proposed Marriage Ban Threatens Health Benefits for Thousands of Families (04/06/2005)
MIAMI - Saying thousands of men, women and children in Florida could lose their much-needed health benefits if a proposed constitutional amendment limiting marriage to a man and a woman is approved by voters, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today issued a report documenting how the proposed marriage ban threatens to deny health insurance and other benefits to domestic partners and their families.

ACLU Cheers Decision by California Appeals Court Removing Legal Challenge to Domestic Partnership Law (04/04/2005)
SACRAMENTO- The American Civil Liberties Union today cheered a decision by California's Court of Appeal throwing out a legal challenge by anti-gay activists to the state's comprehensive domestic partnership law.

ACLU Asks Court to Let Students Join in Kentucky Anti-Gay Harassment Training Case (04/01/2005)
ASHLAND, KY - The American Civil Liberties Union today asked a federal court to let several former students join a Kentucky school district in fighting a lawsuit aimed at shutting down a court-ordered anti-harassment training. The school district agreed to implement the training last year after a federal judge found that there is a widespread problem with anti-gay harassment in the school, where students in an English class once stated that they needed to ""take all the fucking faggots out in the back woods and kill them."" The new lawsuit, brought by an anti-gay legal organization, claims that the training violates the free speech rights of students who are opposed to it.

ACLU Blasts the New York Post and the New York Daily News for Poor Reporting on the Hispanic AIDS Forum Transgender Discrimination Case (04/01/2005)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union sent letters-to-the-editor yesterday criticizing the New York Post and the New York Daily News for their insensitive treatment of transgender people in articles about a recent court ruling in its lawsuit on behalf of the Hispanic AIDS Forum.