Home : Lesbian & Gay Rights

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.

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.

New Filing in Prop 8 Legal Challenge (01/05/2009)
SAN FRANCISCO — Today, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Lambda Legal filed a reply brief in the California Supreme Court, the next step in the lawsuit seeking to overturn Proposition 8, which passed by a mere 52 percent on November 4.

ACLU Asks Court To Strike Down Arkansas Parenting Ban (12/30/2008)
LITTLE ROCK - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today seeking to strike down a new law that bans any unmarried person who lives with a partner from serving as an adoptive or foster parent in the state of Arkansas.

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 Seeks Immediate Florida Supreme Court Hearing For Gay Adoptive Dad And His Children (12/05/2008)

Florida Trial Court Opens Way For Lesbians And Gay Men To Adopt (11/25/2008)
MIAMI -- A Florida circuit court today struck down a Florida law that bars lesbians and gay men from adopting. The court granted adoptions to a gay man, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, who has been raising two foster children since 2004.

California Supreme Court Grants Review In Prop 8 Legal Challenges (11/19/2008)
SAN FRANCISCO — Today the California Supreme Court granted review in the legal challenges to Proposition 8, which passed by a narrow margin of 52 percent on November 4. In an order issued today, the Court agreed to hear the case and set an expedited briefing schedule. The Court also denied an immediate stay.

ACLU/SC Urges Los Angeles County to Join Effort To Overturn Prop. 8 (11/12/2008)
Catherine Lhamon, the Racial Justice Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, today urged the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to file suit or join an existing lawsuit to overturn Proposition 8. Here is her statement:

ACLU Commends Obama-Biden Ban on Discrimination Against LGBT Applicants for Jobs in the New Administration (11/07/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union commends the Obama-Biden Transition team for including sexual orientation and gender identity in its non-discrimination policy as it prepares to assume power in January. Although President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 11478, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, there are no explicit federal protections from gender identity bias in government hiring.