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House Hears Testimony On Landmark Employment Non-Discrimination Act (09/23/2009)
WASHINGTON – The House Education and Labor Committee heard testimony today on H.R. 3017, a bill that would finally end workplace discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. There is also a version of that bill, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), pending in the Senate. Currently, it remains legal to fire or refuse to hire someone for being lesbian, gay or bisexual in 29 states, while transgender workers can be denied or refused jobs in 38 states. If passed, ENDA would become the first-ever federal ban on employment discrimination of LBGT people in most workplaces.

Legislation Introduced To Repeal Discriminatory Defense Of Marriage Act (09/15/2009)
WASHINGTON - A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives today that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and respect state marriages by providing federal protections for married same-sex couples. DOMA, passed in 1996, authorized discrimination against lawfully married same-sex couples. Today's bill, the Respect for Marriage Act, was introduced by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and several others.

American Civil Liberties Union Mourns Senator Edward Kennedy (08/26/2009)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today mourned the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) who succumbed to brain cancer Tuesday night.

Bill Introduced In Senate Today To Ban Workplace Discrimination Based On Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation (08/05/2009)
WASHINGTON – A bill was introduced in the Senate today that would make workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity illegal. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), would become the first-ever federal ban on employment discrimination of LBGT people in most workplaces.

Immigration Law Denies Equal Protection For Same-Sex Life Partners (06/02/2009)
WASHINGTON – The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on a bill that modifies U.S. immigration law to provide equal protection to same-sex life partners of citizens and permanent legal residents. As part of the hearing, entitled “The United American Families Act: Addressing Inequality in Federal Immigration Law,” the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to lawmakers urging the Committee to pass S. 424, “Uniting American Families Act.”

ACLU of Florida Applauds Victory as Gainesville Voters Reject Discriminatory Effort to Remove Gainesville’s Nondiscrimination Protections for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People (03/25/2009)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida applauds Gainesville voters’ overwhelming rejection, 58% to 42%, of an effort by anti-gay crusaders that would have repealed protections against discrimination for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in housing, employment, public accommodation, and credit extension services.

ACLU Statement On President’s Endorsement Of UN Resolution Against Criminalization Of Physical Intimacy Between Same-Sex Couples (03/18/2009)

Attorneys Urge California Supreme Court To Invalidate Prop 8 (03/05/2009)
SAN FRANCISCO - Attorneys for same-sex couples, civil rights organizations and the state Attorney General’s office appeared before the California Supreme Court today to urge the court to strike down Proposition 8, which took away the right of same-sex couples the right to marry. At issue in the case is whether the ballot initiative process can be used to take away a fundamental right only for one group of Californians based on a trait – in this case sexual orientation – that has no relevance to the group’s ability to participate in or contribute to society. Because the case has serious implications for the constitutional rights of all Californians, it has generated unprecedented support from many national and state civil rights groups as well as California legislators, local governments, bar associations, business interests, labor unions, and religious groups. The California Supreme Court, which has struck down several other initiatives in the past, is expected to issue a decision within 90 days.

New Web Campaign, Tell-Three.org, Encourages People to Talk About What it Means to be LGBT (02/03/2009)
NEW YORK – Join the Impact has partnered with other national LGBT groups to develop a web based public education campaign, www.tell-three.org, to encourage LGBT people and their supporters to have three conversations with friends and family to help build support for LGBT equality.

Religious and Civil Rights Groups, Legislators, Bar Associations, Labor, Businesses, and Legal Scholars Urge Court to Overturn Prop 8 (01/15/2009)
SAN FRANCISCO — Today, hundreds of religious organizations, civil rights groups, and labor unions, along with numerous California municipal governments, bar associations, and leading legal scholars collectively urged the California Supreme Court to strike down Proposition 8. Dozens of amicus curiae or “friend of the court” briefs argue that Proposition 8 drastically alters the equal protection guarantee in California’s constitution, and that the rights of a minority cannot be eliminated by a simple majority vote.

ACLU Asks Court To Stop Misuse Of Taxpayer Dollars In Trafficking Victims' Program (01/12/2009)
BOSTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today asked a federal court to require the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure that funds distributed through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act are not being used to impose religiously based restrictions on reproductive health services. Since 2006, HHS has allowed the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to limit, based on its religious beliefs, the types of services trafficking victims receive with taxpayer dollars.

ACLU Urges Tennessee Appeals Court To Protect Rights Of Lesbian Mom (12/23/2008)
NASHVILLE – In a brief filed today, the American Civil Liberties Union is urging a Tennessee appeals court to remove a ban preventing a divorced mom from having her partner of nine years and her own children stay at her home at the same time. The trial court unconstitutionally imposed the so-called "paramour restriction" on the lesbian couple even though the psychologist who performed the custodial evaluation in the case found the partner to be a positive influence in the children's lives.

ACLU Joins New Orleans Gay Pride Festivities (06/26/2008)
New Orleans - This weekend, the American Civil Liberties Union will participate in New Orleans's Gay Pride festival to support the LGBT community and to call attention to the discrimination lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people face throughout Louisiana.

ACLU Hosts Weeklong Online Symposium On LGBT Pride (06/16/2008)
NEW YORK – In celebration of LGBT Pride, several of the nation's top lesbian gay bisexual transgender writers, leaders and supporters will participate in an online symposium beginning today on the ACLU Blog of Rights (http://blog.aclu.org) and on the Get Busy, Get Equal blog (www.aclu.org/getequal) featured on the ACLU's LGBT activist toolkit. Participants will be discussing a wide range of issues affecting the LGBT community ranging from the first marriages of lesbian and gay couples in California to the need for a federal law barring workplace discrimination based gender identity and sexual orientation to censorship of LGBT students in the nation's schools.

ACLU Urges LGBT People To "Get Busy, Get Equal" (05/13/2008)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union launched a new version of its Get Busy, Get Equal online activist toolkit, www.aclu.org/getequal . Get Busy, Get Equal now incorporates new technology to make it easier for LGBT people to work for change in their communities. The website offers tools for ending gay and transgender discrimination, making schools safe, and winning recognition for LGBT relationships.

ACLU Cheers Free-Speech Friendly Hate Crimes Legislation (09/27/2007)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the passage of the Matthew Shepard Amendment to the Defense Department authorization bill that for the first time punishes hate crimes without infringing on free speech. The amendment, offered by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR), will broaden the definition of hate crimes and give more resources to local districts unable to investigate them single-handedly.

ACLU Joins National Gay Rights Groups Calling on Fort Lauderdale City Commission to Condemn Mayor's Anti-Gay Remarks (08/02/2007)
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today announced it has joined forces with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in an open letter calling on the Ft. Lauderdale City Commission to promptly pass a resolution condemning Mayor Naugle's recent series of hostile remarks about the City's gay community. In recent years the City has become a prime vacation venue for gay tourists.

ACLU Cheers House Passage of Hate Crimes Legislation (05/03/2007)
Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union today cheered the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 1592, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, with strong bipartisan support. This legislation would allow federal law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute hate crimes offenses in cases where local law enforcement lacks the resources, or in some cases the willingness to do so.

ACLU Praises Introduction of Employment Non-Discrimination Act (04/24/2007)
Washington - The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed strong support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) introduced today by Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA), Deborah Pryce (R-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Christopher Shays (R-CT). This legislation would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in all aspects of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, compensation, and most conditions of employment.

ACLU Applauds Senate Introduction of Hate Crimes Legislation (04/12/2007)
Washington – The American Civil Liberties Union today cheered Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) for introducing the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (LLEHCPA). This legislation will expand the ability of federal law enforcement to investigate and prosecute criminal civil rights violations when state or local authorities are unwilling or unable to do so.