Home : Lesbian & Gay Rights : Discrimination

Over the years, the ACLU has fought LGBT discrimination on several fronts—from challenging “sodomy” laws to advocating for civil rights that protect LGBT people.	> Fresno Hospital Bars Lesbian From Visiting Partner And Giving Advice About Her Treatment > McDonald’s Agrees To Training and Settlement After Staff Called Gay Customers “Faggots”

Fresno Hospital Bars Lesbian From Visiting Partner And Giving Advice About Her Treatment (06/15/2009)
SAN FRANCISCO – After a lesbian was barred from visiting her partner and giving advice about her treatment at a Fresno hospital, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Lesbian Rights sent a letter to the hospital today urging that it adopt policy changes respecting same-sex relationships.

McDonald’s Agrees To Training and Settlement After Staff Called Gay Customers “Faggots” (05/06/2009)
LOUISVILLE, KY – Nine months after an employee at a McDonald’s restaurant in downtown Louisville called a group of gay customers a series of anti-gay slurs, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today that McDonald’s has agreed to a cash settlement and diversity training for management at 30 of its Louisville-area restaurants.

Federal Court Awards Transgender Veteran Maximum Compensation In Sex Discrimination Case Against Library of Congress (04/29/2009)
WASHINGTON, DC — A federal judge ruled that transgender veteran Diane Schroer is entitled to the maximum compensation for the discrimination she suffered after being refused a job with the Library of Congress. The American Civil Liberties Union brought a sex discrimination lawsuit on behalf of Schroer, a Special Forces veteran who retired after 25 years of service, when she was denied a job after announcing her intention to transition from male to female.

ACLU of Florida Applauds Victory as Gainesville Voters Reject Discriminatory Effort to Remove Gainesville’s Nondiscrimination Protections for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People (03/25/2009)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida applauds Gainesville voters’ overwhelming rejection, 58% to 42%, of an effort by anti-gay crusaders that would have repealed protections against discrimination for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in housing, employment, public accommodation, and credit extension services.

Federal Appeals Court To Hear Challenge To Kentucky Childcare Agency’s ‘Faith-Based’ Bias (03/09/2009)
CINCINNATI, OH - Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union will urge a federal appeals court on Wednesday to uphold the right of taxpayers to challenge public funding of a Baptist childcare agency that proselytizes youngsters in its care and discriminates against gay employees who do not share its belief that homosexuality is sinful.

Working in the Shadows: Ending Employment Discrimination for LGBT Americans (09/17/2007)
This ACLU-issued report urges Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), and uses the stories of workers from across the country who have experienced workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity to make the case for passage of the bill.

Fresno Hospital Discrimination - Demand Letter (06/15/2009)

Schroer v. Library of Congress - Damages Order (04/28/2009)
Order awarding damages to plaintiff in landmark transgender employment discrimination case Schroer v. Library of Congress.

Pedreira, et al. v. Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children, et al. - Proof Brief for Appellants Alicia Pedreira, et al. (07/17/2008)

United States of America v. Steven Roberts and Daniel Mangini - Decision (07/31/2007)

Letter to Chicago Department of Human Services Regarding Non-Discrimination Policies in Homeless Shelters (06/13/2007)

Letter from the ACLU Asking the House Committee on Education and Labor to Oppose Any Discriminatory Amendment to the College Opportunity and Affordability Act that Could Force Accreditation of Universities that Engage in Discrimination (11/14/2007)

ACLU Position on Vote on Final Passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (11/07/2007)

New ACLU Video Shows the Need for a Transgender-Inclusive ENDA (10/09/2007)

Weakened ENDA Means Less Protection For Everyone (10/04/2007)
"Definitions of who is protected by the bill leave gaping loopholes so that no one will be fully protected against discrimination. Congress should finish the work it began 44 years ago when it made employment discrimination based on sex illegal, and once and for all rid the workplace of sexual stereotypes."

Coalition Letter Urging Congress Only to Move on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act if Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity are Addressed in One Bill (10/01/2007)

ACLU Seeks Stories of Anti-LGBT Discrimination in West Virginia (03/02/2009)

Complaint to Louisville, Ky., Human Rights Commisssion on Behalf of Ryan Marlatt and Ted Eggers (09/16/2008)

Why We Need Non-Discrimination Laws, What You Can Do To Help (02/26/2007)
Matt Coles, director of the ACLU's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project, talks about setting a standard for acceptable behavior and ending discrimination.

Exodus - Positions Against "Reparative Therapy" and the Ex-Gay Movement (03/22/2006)

Limon v. Kansas - Case Background (09/08/2005)

Cops in the Bedroom: How the Texas Sodomy Case Began (06/26/2003)

Getting Rid of Sodomy Laws: History and Strategy that Led to the Lawrence Decision (06/26/2003)

Why Sodomy Laws Matter (06/26/2003)

History of Sodomy Laws and the Strategy that Led Up to Today's Decision (06/16/2003)

Fresno Hospital Discrimination - Case Profile (06/15/2009)

Advocacy on Behalf of Gay Men Verbally Abused by McDonald's Staff (09/16/2008)
The ACLU is representing two gay men in an official complaint to the Louisville Human Relations Commission after an employee at a McDonald’s restaurant in downtown Louisville called them and three friends a series of anti-gay slurs.

Employment Non-Discrimination Act (04/24/2007)

Exodus Parody (03/22/2006)
After Justin Watt posted this parody of an Exodus International billboard for “reparative therapy” on his Web site, he received a cease-and-desist letter from an anti-gay legal organization.

Exodus Parody (03/22/2006)
After Justin Watt posted this parody of an Exodus International billboard for “reparative therapy” on his Web site, he received a cease-and-desist letter from an anti-gay legal organization.