LGBTQ Rights

The ACLU believes that sexual orientation and gender identity should not affect a person’s legal ability to be a parent. We are fully supported in this belief by reputable child welfare experts and social scientists who study LGBTQ parenting. We therefore advocate for LGBTQ people to have equal opportunities to build the kinds of families that they feel are most meaningful to them.

The ACLU believes that LGBTQ people, like everyone else, should have the freedom to build the kinds of personal, intimate relationships most meaningful to them without risking that their families will be disregarded or harmed by the state.

We’re working to make public schools safe and bias-free for LGBTQ students, defending students' free speech in school, and helping students start gay-straight alliance clubs. Check out our information for students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Learn about your rights, download resources, and get support here.

For over 80 years, the ACLU has included LGBTQ people in its vision of civil rights and civil liberties for all. We still have much more work to do to achieve lasting legal and social change. That’s why we’re fighting in the legislatures, courts, and streets for nondiscrimination laws that specifically protect LGBTQ people.

The ACLU champions transgender people’s right to be themselves. We’re fighting against discrimination in employment, housing, and public places (including restrooms) by seeking to add clear transgender protections to the law and bringing cases under the laws that already exist.

As part of our work to combat the relentless expansion of the criminal justice system, the ACLU works to ensure that LGBT people and people living with HIV/AIDS who have contact with law enforcement are treated fairly and are not singled out for violence or discrimination.