Statement from Anthony D. Romero on ENDA Passage
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 212-549-2666, media@aclu.org
WASHINGTON – Below is a statement from Anthony D. Romero, American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director, on the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in the U.S. Senate:
In a year of historic victories for LGBT people, this one ranks near the top. Getting ENDA across the finish line in the Senate after a nearly four-decade long journey is a huge win for all who believe that workers should be judged on the job by their merits, nothing more and nothing less. Under ENDA, workers would no longer have to hide who they are when they go to work in the United States. As this bill continues to move forward, it is critically important to ensure that it, like other landmark civil rights laws, protects as many people as possible from indefensible workplace discrimination.

LGBTQ Rights
Employment Non-Discrimination Act

LGBTQ Rights
Employment Non-Discrimination Act
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The NEA initially imposed a certification requirement and funding prohibition in response to President Trump’s order prohibiting federal funding of anything that “promotes gender ideology.” While the NEA temporarily rescinded the attestation requirement and funding prohibition after the lawsuit was filed, the agency advised the judge that the NEA was again in the process of evaluating how the executive order would be implemented, and that the evaluation would not be completed until April 30. 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We are disappointed in this decision but will continue to advocate for a theatre ecology where all voices—especially trans and nonbinary voices—are welcomed and celebrated.” “This is just one of many steps to greater relief and there is liberation in clarity," said Giselle Byrd, executive director of The Theater Offensive. “Time is our greatest ally, and I await the result from the NEA’s decisionmaking process. We must remain vigilant, and if this executive order is reimposed, we will be back in court and fighting against the unlawful attack on the First Amendment. We do not walk away silently against injustice and silence will not protect us.” The suit argues that the certification requirement and funding prohibition violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the First Amendment, and the Fifth Amendment. The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Rhode Island, David Cole, and Lynette Labinger, cooperating counsel for the ACLU-RI, filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island on behalf of Rhode Island Latino Arts; National Queer Theater; The Theater Offensive; and the Theater Communications Group. More information about the case can be found here: https://www.aclu.org/cases/rhode-island-latino-arts-v-national-endowment-for-the-artsCourt Case: Rhode Island Latino Arts v. National Endowment for the ArtsAffiliate: Rhode Island - Press ReleaseApr 2025
Free Speech
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Efforts to target me because of my op-ed in the Tufts Daily calling for the equal dignity and humanity of all people will not deter me from my commitment to advocate for the rights of youth and children.” Rümeysa Öztürk, a Ph.D. student at Tufts University, was grabbed, arrested, and detained in Somerville, Massachusetts by plainclothes ICE agents last week in apparent retaliation for a Tufts Daily op-ed she co-authored last year. Last Tuesday, a Massachusetts court ordered the government to not remove Ms. Öztürk from Massachusetts without prior notice. However, sometime after that order, ICE officials transferred Ms. Öztürk to Louisiana without notifying the court, her counsel, or Department of Justice counsel. “The government quietly and quickly hopscotched Ms. Öztürk across multiple states in a concerted effort to evade accountability. 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