Tag Archives: ACLU

School Bans Rainbow Wristbands

The ACLU is on the case, defending a 14 year-old Peoria, Arizona student whose principal won’t let him wear a rainbow wristband. Via press release: “When I asked my son’s principal why he wouldn’t be allowed to wear his wristband to school anymore, he said some teachers found it offensive,” said Natali Quintanilla, mother of the eighth grader whose wristband …

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ACLU Video: We Still Have To Protest This?

Via the ACLU, here’s more of last week’s debate outside the California Supreme Court.

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ACLU Backs Lesbian Over Prom Tux

How can these silly battles still be going on? A 17-year-old Boone County girl has sued Lebanon Schools after her high school principal told her she could not wear a tuxedo to the school’s April 25 prom but would have to wear a dress. The Lebanon High School senior, whose name is not revealed in the lawsuit, is a lesbian …

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Another Gay-Straight Club Suit In Florida

Two high school students in Jacksonville, Florida are being backed by the ACLU in their lawsuit to establish a gay-straight club. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida filed the suit Tuesday in federal court on behalf of Yulee High School students Hannah Page, a freshman, and Jacob Brock, a junior. The lawsuit claims violations of the First Amendment and …

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Just Issued: Guide To Your Rights As A Gay New Yorker Married Out Of State

The Empire State Pride Agenda, the ACLU, the NYCLU, and Lambda Legal have collaborated to create a document called Your Government Respects Your Marriage: Developments in New York State Agency Recognition of Same-Sex Couples’ Out-of-State Marriages. View the complete publication here. (PDF) From the NYCLU press release: “Couples in New York who have never known true security for their families …

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ACLU Wins Arabic T-Shirt Case

In July 2007, I told you about Raed Jaffar, who was thrown off a JetBlue flight at JKF because his t-shirt said “We Will Not Be Silent” in both Arabic and English, which made the passengers and crew uneasy. One TSA official likened Jaffar’s wearing the shirt to a bank robber who walked into a bank wearing a “I Am …

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ACLU Sues To Overturn AR Adoption Ban

Via press release: The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit 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. At a press conference at the Arkansas State Capitol this morning, several of the plaintiffs described how Act …

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ACLU Backs Student Over Prop 8 T-Shirt

From Big Bear City, California: Big Bear High School student Mariah Jimenez should be allowed to wear the “Prop. 8 Equals Hate” T-shirt she was banned from wearing on campus, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. The 16-year-old sophomore, who is her class president, wore the tie-dyed T-shirt to school on Nov. 3, the day before voters approved the …

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ACLU: We’ll Be Back, And We’ll Win

Matt Coles, Director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project: Even in famously liberal San Francisco, we had to go through the process of trying to pass a simple domestic partnership law five times, and we lost twice. If you run up an unbroken string of victories in any battle for civil rights, that simply means you waited too …

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ACLU Demands Probe Of Maryland Police Accused Of Spying On 32 Groups

Has the Maryland state police been infiltrating political activism groups such as Equality Maryland? The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland yesterday demanded that the state police disclose under public information laws whether 32 grass-roots advocacy and political activist groups that have held large public protests in recent years have been targets of spying by undercover agents. Yesterday’s request follows …

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Not Lovin’ It

The ACLU has taken on the case of gay men who were called “faggots” by the employees of a Kentucky McDonald’s. Ryan Marlatt, Teddy Eggers, and three other friends had stopped for lunch at the McDonald’s restaurant on July 26, 2008, while visiting Louisville for the weekend. While they waited for their food to be prepared, an employee behind the …

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ACLU: Two Big LGBT Victories At Florida High Schools

The ACLU has bagged big victories on two different LGBT issues at Florida high schools. Victory One: At a rural Florida high school a federal judge has finally overruled the local school board and allowed the Gay-Straight Alliance to meet on campus. In a move the American Civil Liberties Union is calling “groundbreaking,” a federal judge has ruled in favor …

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ACLU: No Public Money For Religious Hate

The ACLU and the Americans United for Separation of Church and State have filed a joint lawsuit in a federal appeals court asking that government funding be refused to a Baptist childcare agency in Kentucky because the agency fires gay employees and proselytizes to the children. The lawsuit asserts that Kentucky Baptist Homes has no right to accept public funding …

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FISA: Bush Signs, ACLU Sues

Yesterday Dubya signed away another piece of democracy when he gleefully scratched his name in blood onto the FISA bill. George W. Bush Thursday signed a law expanding legal authority for wiretaps by spy agencies which he hailed as vital for America’s security, after a fierce Congress battle. “This law will play a critical role in helping to prevent another …

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Senate Approves FISA, Warrantless Wiretapping To Become Law

Thanks to today’s Senate vote to approve the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, warrantless wiretapping, arguably the most intrusive violation of Americans’ right to privacy, will become legal. Oh, and everybody who’s already done it is now immunized against lawsuits. A list of how each Senator voted is here. The Democratic-led Congress this afternoon voted to put an end to the …

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ACLU Wins Big In CA School District

Without a lawsuit, the ACLU has won a broad list of measures to protect LGBT students in a northern California school district. The ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) has reached a settlement with the Upper Lake Union School District that contains a comprehensive series of steps the district will undertake to protect students from anti-gay harassment and discrimination. The agreement …

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ACLU Launches “Blog Of Rights Symposium”

In recognition of Pride month, the ACLU has launched the Blog Of Rights Symposium, which features posts from many of the nation’s top LGBT bloggers. “We know that people’s attitudes about LGBT people are more likely to be supportive when they have had an opportunity to talk to LGBT people about what it means to be LGBT,” said Matt Coles, …

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More On The “Don’t Sue” Memo

Many of you were puzzled or angered by yesterday’s joint statement from a broad coalition of LGBT groups who are asking that out-of-state gays that marry in California not return to their home states and begin filing lawsuits requesting recognition. Today’s Los Angeles Times sheds some light on the story. The memo cautioned that the U.S. Supreme Court has traditionally …

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“Make Change, Not Lawsuits”

A broad coalition of nine major LGBT rights and legal groups have issued a joint statement asking out-of-state gay couples married in California NOT to then sue the federal government, their home states, or their employers for recognition of their marriage status. Four lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) legal organizations and five other leading national LGBT groups today issued …

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ACLU Wins Reversal In Florida Gay-Straight Student Alliance Case

Via the Palm Beach Post: A judge has reopened a case involving the Gay-Straight Alliance of Okeechobee High School, allowing students to challenge the school’s refusal to allow the club to meet on campus. U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore dismissed the case last month, saying the club’s founder, Yasmin Gonzalez, no longer was affected by the school’s decision because …

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