Home : Lesbian & Gay Rights

ACLU Marks Anniversary Of Landmark Student Free Speech Decision With New Video (02/23/2009)
NEW YORK – To mark tomorrow's anniversary of Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District, the American Civil Liberties Union has released a video about one of the latest of many cases in which Tinker was relied upon to uphold students' right to free speech. Despite the landmark ruling, school officials routinely ignore the rule of law and attempt illegal censorship to this day, especially against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students, the ACLU said.

Marriage Equality Offers Economic Advantages New Report Shows $60 Million Revenue for Maine (02/13/2009)
Portland, MAINE -- Extending marriage rights to same-sex couples offers significant economic benefits to Maine businesses and the state of Maine, according to a new report issued today by the Williams Institute School of Law at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

ACLU Sues Nassau County Schools to Enforce Right of Gay Straight Alliance to Meet at Yulee High School and Yulee Middle School (02/10/2009)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today filed a lawsuit against the School Board of Nassau County, Florida ("SBNC") after administrators unlawfully denied students' requests for permission to form a Gay-Straight Alliance ("GSA") this school year at Yulee High School and during the 2007-08 school year at Yulee Middle School.

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.

Women Ask Court to Order New Illinois Birth Certificates Following Sex Reassignment Surgery Abroad (01/27/2009)
CHICAGO – Citing the need to have an accurate birth certificate for identification purposes, two women born in Illinois today asked a court to order the state to issue new birth certificates that reflect their appropriate and accurate gender following gender confirmation surgery (sometimes described as sex reassignment surgery). For more than four decades, Illinois has permitted individuals who have gender confirmation surgery to change the gender “marker” on an original birth certificate; the Department of Vital Records, however, recently started interpreting the law to provide this option only if an individual has the surgery by a United States-licensed physician. This creates an unnecessary and unfair burden for the growing number of persons who select a surgeon from Europe, South America or Asia. Both of the women in today’s lawsuit opted for their own reasons to have their gender confirmation surgery in Thailand.

Rights Groups Release Updated Guide For New York Same-Sex Couples Married Out of State (01/26/2009)
NEW YORK — Lambda Legal, Empire State Pride Agenda, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union have released a guide outlining government protections and obligations for same-sex couples in New York who married out of state. The new guide is released as the first anniversary of Martinez v. County of Monroe draws near, and in light of last week’s decision in Lewis v. New York State Dept. of Civil Service - both notable appellate court rulings that upheld government recognition of out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.

ACLU Supports City Of New Orleans' Domestic Partner Registry (01/22/2009)
New Orleans - Today the ACLU Foundation of Louisiana extended its support and congratulations to the City of New Orleans for its victory in the ongoing effort to undermine the domestic partner registry, which provides benefits to the City's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered employees and their families.

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.

Civil Marriage Legislation Submitted to Maine Legislature (01/13/2009)
AUGUSTA – The drive to end marriage discrimination against same-sex couples shifted into high gear Tuesday as leaders from Maine's civil rights community joined with several Maine families to outline plans for legislation to be introduced in this session of the Legislature.