Home : Lesbian & Gay Rights

House Bill Announced Today To Ban Workplace Discrimination Based On Gender Or Sexual Orientation (06/24/2009)
WASHINGTON – Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) announced the introduction of a bill today that would make workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity illegal. As a long time defender of the civil rights and civil liberties of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, the American Civil Liberties Union urges Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). If the group of bipartisan co-sponsors, including the Chairmen of the Judiciary and Education and Labor Committees successfully pass this legislation, it would become the first-ever ban on employment discrimination of LBGT people.

Child Advocacy Groups Urge Florida Appeals Court To Strike Gay Adoption Ban (06/23/2009)
MIAMI – The most respected Florida and national children’s health, welfare and legal advocacy groups filed seven friend-of-the-court briefs before a Florida appeals court Monday urging the court to strike down a Florida law barring lesbians and gay men from adopting. The briefs were filed in support of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit that resulted in a Florida juvenile court judge striking down the law and granting the adoptions of two brothers to a gay man who has been raising the boys with his partner for more than four years.

Virginia Court of Appeals Rejects Latest Effort to Avoid Enforcement of Vermont Custody Orders in Virginia (06/23/2009)
Richmond, VA -- In a long running custody and visitation dispute, the Virginia Court of Appeals today thwarted Lisa Miller's latest attempt to avoid complying with Vermont orders requiring her to grant visitation to her former partner, Janet Jenkins. The Lambda Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU of Virginia represented Janet Jenkins, the non-biological mother, who asked Virginia to honor a Vermont court's ruling, which awarded her visitation rights after the civil union was dissolved.

Fresno Hospital Bars Lesbian From Visiting Partner And Giving Advice About Her Treatment (06/15/2009)
SAN FRANCISCO – After a lesbian was barred from visiting her partner and giving advice about her treatment at a Fresno hospital, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Lesbian Rights sent a letter to the hospital today urging that it adopt policy changes respecting same-sex relationships.

LGBT Legal And Advocacy Groups Decry Obama Administration's Defense of DOMA (06/12/2009)
We are very surprised and deeply disappointed in the manner in which the Obama administration has defended the so-called Defense of Marriage Act in a brief filed today in Smelt v. United States, a lawsuit brought in federal court in California by a married same-sex couple asking the federal government to treat them equally with respect to federal protections and benefits. The administration is using many of the same flawed legal arguments that the Bush administration used. These arguments rightly have been rejected by several state supreme courts as legally unsound and discriminatory.

California School Apologizes For Illegally Banning Sixth Grader’s Presentation On Harvey Milk (06/09/2009)
RAMONA, CA – A California school has apologized to a sixth grader for illegally censoring her classroom presentation about Harvey Milk last month, and school officials promise they won't engage in unconstitutional restriction of similar free speech in the future. The apology comes after the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter on May 30 to the Ramona Unified School District about its violation of the student’s free speech rights when it refused to allow her to give the presentation in class. Wrongly citing a school policy on sex education, the school had improperly required classmates to get parental permission to see the presentation during a lunch recess.

Tennessee Schools End Censorship Of Gay Educational Web Sites After ACLU Lawsuit (06/04/2009)
NASHVILLE, TN – Dozens of Tennessee schools have restored access to online information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, just over two weeks after the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against two Tennessee school districts for unconstitutionally blocking student access to such sites. The company that provides Internet filtering software to as many as 107 Tennessee school districts has adjusted the software to allow access to a variety of educational and political LGBT Web sites that were blocked before the lawsuit was filed.

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.”

Wisconsin Trial Court Dismisses ACLU Lawsuit Seeking Domestic Partner Benefits For Lesbian and Gay State Employees (06/01/2009)
MADISON, WI – On Friday, a Wisconsin trial court dismissed a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of lesbian state employees and their partners seeking domestic partner health insurance and family leave protections. In a 46 page opinion, the court notes that although it believes it is unconstitutional for the state to continue to deny the employees equal health insurance coverage and family leave protection, it is bound by a prior decision from the Wisconsin Court of Appeals from 1992.