Tag Archives: ACLU

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Via press release: PANAMA CITY, FL – After a two-day trial in which a Florida high school principal testified that he believed clothing or stickers featuring rainbows would make students automatically picture gay people having sex, a federal judge today ruled that the school violated students’ First Amendment rights of students. The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties …

In a case that I first mentioned here in February, the ACLU has made its opening arguments in its challenge of a Florida high school that prevented a student from wearing items in support of gay rights. A Florida high school is “trampling the First Amendment rights of students who support equal rights for gay people”, a federal judge was …

According to the school board of Memphis, the principal who outed two gay students did nothing wrong. You may recall last week’s story in which the ACLU demanded that Hollis F. Price Middle High School Principal Daphne Beasley be reprimanded for her actions. According to the ACLU, Beasley included the two boys on a list she posted of students thought …

The ACLU is warring with the Peace Corps over their policy of rejecting volunteers who are HIV positive. Jeremiah Johnson joined the Peace Corps because he wanted to help people, but was forced to quit after giving nearly a year and a half of service because he is HIV-positive. Now, Johnson, 25, is working with the American Civil Liberties Union …

The California Supreme Court announced today that they will hear arguments over the state’s ban on gay marriage on March 4th in San Francisco. The three-hour hearing will consider a 2004 lawsuit filed on behalf of Equality California, the Our Family Coalition, and 15 same-sex couples denied marriage under the ballot measure approved by voters in 2000. Oral arguments will …

On behalf of a 16 year-old named Heather Gillman, the ACLU is suing a Florida high school for suppression of free speech. This comes after school officials ruled that any declaration of support for gay rights, such as a rainbow sticker on a notebook or saying “I support gay people” were signs that the students belonged to a “secret/illegal organization.” …

The ACLU has filed a friend of the the court brief in support of Sen. Larry Craig’s bid to overturn his disorderly conduct conviction, arguing that according that people who have sex in public restrooms have an expectation of privacy. From the brief: “The government cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Senator Craig was inviting the undercover officer to …

The NYPD is conducting a subway sting called “Operation Lucky Bag” in which undercover cops plant bags and wallets containing credit cards,, then wait around to see who picks them up. Unlucky Samaritans who pick up the bags with the intent on contacting their owners are detained, frisked, and their criminal backgrounds are checked. If I found a wallet on …