Home : Lesbian & Gay Rights

Maryland Psychologists, Social Workers, and Child Welfare Advocates Speak Out in Support of Marriage for Same-Sex Couples (11/30/2006)
BALTIMORE – In advance of oral arguments before Maryland’s high court, prominent Maryland psychologists, social workers, and child welfare advocates spoke out today in support of marriage for same-sex couples. At a press conference this morning at the Maryland chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, representatives of these groups stressed extensive, consistent scientific evidence showing that children raised by lesbian and gay couples develop as well as children raised by heterosexual couples.

California High School Journalists Win Free Speech Victory (11/16/2006)
LOS ANGELES - A Kern County judge is expected to issue a court order today that will ensure that Bakersfield high school students are not wrongly censored and that student free speech rights in the Kern School District are preserved.

ACLU Sues to Enforce Equal Access for Gay-Straight Alliance at Okeechobee High School (11/15/2006)
OKEECHOBEE, FL – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today filed a lawsuit against the School Board of Okeechobee County after school district administrators unlawfully prevented students who formed the Gay-Straight Alliance of Okeechobee High School (GSA) to meet on high school grounds. School officials denied official recognition to the GSA even though many other extracurricular clubs – including the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Key Club, and the Rodeo team – are officially recognized and meet regularly on school grounds.

Updated Second Edition of ACLU Publication "Too High a Price" Details How Children are Hurt by Restrictions Against Parenting by Gay People (11/13/2006)
NEW YORK –The American Civil Liberties Union released an updated second edition of its publication "Too High a Price: The Case Against Restricting Gay Parenting," which compiles decades of social science research, the positions of the major child health and welfare organizations and government data to show how children are hurt by restrictions on parenting by lesbian and gay men.

Same-Sex Couples Appeal to California Supreme Court in Marriage Case (11/13/2006)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -Today, attorneys representing same-sex couples, Equality California, and Our Family Coalition asked the California Supreme Court to decide whether barring same-sex couples from marriage violates the California Constitution.

ACLU Cheers Unanimous New Jersey High Court Decision Saying State Can’t Bar Same-Sex Couples from Marriage Protections (10/25/2006)
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union today cheered a unanimous decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court holding that it is unconstitutional for the state to bar same-sex couples from the hundreds of family protections the state provides through marriage. The court referred the matter to the state legislature, which has 180 days to either amend existing marriage laws or create some other system to give same-sex couples the same marriage protections under the law.

ACLU of Virginia Urges Manassas City Council Not to Discriminate Against Gay Business Owner (10/23/2006)
MANASSAS, VA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia today urged the Manassas City Council not to deny a permit for a home-based massage therapy business simply because the owner is gay. Although the City Council has approved two other home-based massage businesses in the last two years -- and rejected none -- Howard Daniel’s request has provoked an unusual degree of opposition.

Divided California Court of Appeal Rejects Challenge to Discriminatory Marriage Law (10/05/2006)
SAN FRANCISCO - In a 2-1 decision that will be appealed to the California Supreme Court, a divided panel of the California Court of Appeal ruled today that the state may continue to bar same-sex couples from marriage.

ACLU and Lambda Legal Urge Federal Appeals Court to Reconsider Ruling Upholding Nebraska's Extreme Anti-Gay Family Law (07/28/2006)
— The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal today asked a federal appeals court to reconsider its July 14th ruling upholding an extreme Nebraska law that bans all protections for same-sex couples.