Tag Archives: ACLU

The Austin Statesman reports: A web-based ad, shot by Austin film director Richard Linklater, uses humor to attack arguments that the transgender bathroom bill is needed to protect privacy. The digital ad, which will appear in targeted buys on Facebook, includes a diverse cast — including two transgender Texans — to argue that Senate Bill 6 is about discrimination, not …

Raw Story reports: Norm Eisen, co-founder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, has offered to help Nordstrom and other companies sue President Donald Trump for improperly using his executive position to hurt their businesses. In a tweet on Wednesday, Trump blasted Nordstrom for dropping his daughter Ivanka’s line of products. “My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly …

Slate reports: The American Civil Liberties Union broke all its fundraising records this weekend as it became the main group challenging President Donald Trump’s immigration restrictions. The ACLU raised $24,164,691 this weekend from 356,306 online donations after Trump signed the order suspending the country’s refugee program and banning entry into the United States of citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries. …

Reuters reports: Immigration lawyers sued on Saturday to block President Donald Trump’s order halting the entry of refugees and foreign nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries to the United States, saying numerous people have already been unlawfully detained. The lawyers from numerous immigration organizations and the American Civil Liberties Union sued in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on behalf …

Via press release from the ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union has taken legal action seeking documents on conflicts of interest and violations of the Constitution and federal law posed by President Trump’s and his family’s business interests. The organization also released a Seven-Point Plan laying out how it intends to challenge other Trump policies and protect the Constitution. The efforts are made possible by the organization’s new Constitution Defense Fund, …

From a joint statement issued this afternoon by the ACLU and Lambda Legal: “H.B. 2 was an unprecedented attack on the LGBT community, in particular against transgender people, and we are encouraged that its days are numbered,” said Sarah Gillooly, Policy Director for the ACLU of North Carolina. “It is imperative that the General Assembly hold up their end of …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: A federal appeals court Tuesday overturned a lower-court ruling that supported the Lake County School Board’s decision to block middle-schoolers from forming a gay-straight-alliance club to combat bullying. In a battle dating to 2011, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling found that the Equal Access Act, which requires federally funded secondary schools to treat all …

The Hill reports: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is warning President-elect Donald Trump that it will “see him in court,” threatening to use its “full firepower” if he tries to follow through on controversial campaign promises on immigration, torture and other issues. “These proposals are not simply un-American and wrong-headed, they are unlawful and unconstitutional,” Anthony Romero, executive director …

Dominic Holden reports at Buzzfeed: The legal advocacy group that represented several couples in a lawsuit against Kim Davis — the county clerk in Kentucky who famously refused to issue marriage licenses after the Supreme Court struck down bans on same-sex marriage — is asking a federal court to award it $233,058 to cover legal expenses. In court documents filed …

Dominic Holden reports at Buzzfeed: A federal judge expressed skepticism on Monday that North Carolina lawmakers were solving a legitimate safety problem when they passed a law in spring that bans many transgender people from restrooms in government facilities that match their gender identity. US District Court Judge Thomas D. Schroeder also seemed flummoxed at one point by how the …

From Raleigh’s CBS affiliate: Law enforcement started making arrests Monday evening after hundreds of HB2 protesters moved inside the Legislative building. A crowd of around 350 gathered between the Legislative Building and the Capitol building before moving inside the Legislature just before 5 p.m. The Raleigh Police were seen arresting demonstrators around 5:20 p.m. As of 5:40 p.m., 11 people …

Via press release: The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina, and Lambda Legal today asked a federal court to order an immediate halt to enforcement of a North Carolina law that targets transgender people for discrimination in single-sex facilities. The three organizations and the law firm of Jenner and Block are challenging the law, House Bill 2, …

Via press release from the ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Mississippi today filed a lawsuit to challenge an anti-LGBT law passed this spring that allows public officials and businesses to refuse to serve gay and transgender individuals. The lawsuit, which targets the registrar of vital records, was filed on behalf of ACLU of Mississippi members …

AL.com reports: The Oxford City Council today voted 3-2 to rescind its controversial public restroom ordinance, a little more than a week after it was passed. Councilmembers Charlotte Hubbard, Phil Gardner and Mike Henderson voted to rescind the ordinance, while Council President Steven Waits and Councilman Chris Spurlin voted to keep it. The council was able to reconsider the ordinance, …

Dominic Holden reports at Buzzfeed: The country’s top LGBT legal organizations urged federal officials on Thursday to make it clear that passing anti-LGBT laws like one in North Carolina will jeopardize their federal education funding. In their letter to White House counsel Neil Eggleston and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the five groups write, “This administration must make definitively clear …

Lambda Legal says this is a “game changer.” Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed: A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the Department of Education’s interpretation of existing federal civil rights laws to protect transgender people against discrimination in education. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, upheld the department’s interpretation of Title IX of the Education Amendments …

Minutes ago Buzzfeed News reported that Democratic North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper will not defend the constitutionality of his state’s newly-enacted anti-LGBT law. Cooper is running for governor against incumbent Pat McCrory, who has issued lie-filled statements in support of the law, which excludes LGBT citizens statewide from all discrimination protections. Story developing. See the tweets below from Buzzfeed’s …

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is a very unhappy with the lawsuit filed yesterday. From a statement issued by his office: “The governor respects the right of any legal challenges; however, he does not respect the continued distortion of the facts by the groups challenging this law and by many members of the state and national media,” said Graham Wilson, …

Yesterday a press conference was held at which the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit against North Carolina appeared. Watch below. The Associated Press reports: The plaintiffs are two transgender people, a lesbian law professor, the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina and Equality North Carolina. Defendants include McCrory and the University of North Carolina system, where two of the …

Early this morning North Carolina was sued in federal court over the recently signed law which overturns LGBT rights statewide and bans transgender citizens from using public facilities that align with their gender identity. The suit was filed on behalf of three individuals and two LGBT rights groups. Buzzfeed News has details: “By singling out LGBT people for disfavored treatment …