Home : Lesbian & Gay Rights

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.

ACLU Applauds Georgia Students' Gay-Straight Alliance Victory (03/22/2005)
ATLANTA, GA - The American Civil Liberties Union today announced that officials at White County High School in Cleveland, Georgia have agreed to drop their attempts to stop students from forming a gay-straight alliance club. The agreement comes after several weeks of negotiation between the school and the ACLU of Georgia.

ACLU of Michigan Files Lawsuit of Behalf of 21 Couples Who May Lose Same-Sex Partner Benefits Under Proposal 2 (03/21/2005)
DETROIT -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today filed a lawsuit asking a state court to declare that ""Proposal 2,"" an amendment passed by Michigan voters in November 2004 regarding same-sex marriage, does not prohibit domestic partnership benefits offered by public employers.

ACLU Applauds California Judge's Decision Ending Discrimination Against Same-Sex Couples in Marriage (03/14/2005)
SAN FRANCISCO -- Today's decision is a landmark for the law, and an important development for the entire nation. With plain but compelling logic, the court has shown us all why in a nation committed to fairness, same-sex couples must not be shut out of marriage. But this decision is most important to the thousands upon thousands of same-sex couples who desperately need the protection that marriage gives, and who deserve the dignity it brings. Gay people are firefighters, teachers, doctors and neighbors; we deserve the same rights and protections as other Americans. Our constitution promises liberty to all; this decision takes us a step closer to that promise.

Massachusetts ACLU and Town Clerks Challenge Governor's Discriminatory Ban on Marriage Licenses for Non-Resident Same-Sex Couples (03/11/2005)
BOSTON -The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and 13 city and town clerks today filed an historic brief with the Supreme Judicial Court seeking authority to challenge orders by the governor and state attorney general that would require the clerks to discriminate against same sex-couples who come to the state to marry.

Virginia School's Move to Block Gay Speaker is Discriminatory, Says ACLU (03/10/2005)
MIDLOTHIAN, VA - The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia today asked Manchester High School in Chesterfield County to allow gay author Greg Herren to speak at the school tomorrow afternoon as originally planned. Herren's invitation to address the members of the school's Gay-Straight Alliance and other students was rescinded last week by Principal Peter Koste, who claimed that ""concerns from the community"" and possible ""inappropriate"" content led him to cancel the talk.

ACLU Urges Washington Supreme Court To Uphold Marriage Equality (03/08/2005)
OLYMPIA, WA -- In a case filed on behalf of 11 couples across the state who wish to marry in Washington or to now have their marriage recognized under Washington law (Castle v. State), the American Civil Liberties Union appeared before the Washington Supreme Court today to urge the court to uphold marriage equality for same-sex couples. Plaintiffs include a police officer, a firefighter, a banker, a nurse, a retired judge, a college professor, a business executive, and others. They reside in communities from Seattle to Spokane and from Port Townsend to Hoquiam.

ACLU Files Discrimination Lawsuit on Behalf of Couple Kicked Out of Health Care Center Because They Are Lesbian (02/24/2005)
SYRACUSE, NY - The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a discrimination lawsuit today on behalf of a Utica couple kicked out of the wellness program at the Charles T. Sitrin Health Care Center, Inc., because they are lesbian. One of the plaintiffs suffers from severe osteoarthritis and other medical conditions and needs to use the facility's pool to avoid losing her leg.

ACLU Applauds Decision by New York Trial Judge Striking Down Laws Banning Same-Sex Couples from Marrying (02/04/2005)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union applauded a decision by a New York trial court issued today striking down as unconstitutional New York marriage laws that ban same-sex couples from marrying.

ACLU Criticizes Reintroduction of Federal Marriage Amendment; Says Measure Has Different Name, Same Discriminatory Goals (01/24/2005)
WASHINGTON - The new measure being proposed by Senator Wayne Allard of Colorado is not about protecting marriage - it's about forever shutting the door to marriage protections to loving, committed, gay and lesbian families.