The ACLU filed a lawsuit in federal court against a high school that twice punished a student for wearing t-shirts expressing her support for gay rights. LaStaysha Myers, a heterosexual 15-year-old student at Webb City High School in Missouri, was twice sent home from school last November for wearing homemade t-shirts; first, one bearing several handwritten slogans such as "I support the gay rights!" and "Who are we to judge?" and the next day one that bore a rainbow and the Webster's dictionary definition of "gay": "M[e]rry, happy." Before censoring Myers, administrators routinely allowed students to wear shirts expressing other messages, including endorsements of the Bush and Kerry presidential campaigns, students' views on abortion, and religious messages.

Reviewing the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment, which cuts off federal funding to any university that bars military recruiters for failure to comply with the university's nondiscrimination policies.

Karen Wood and Terry Tavel are plaintiffs in the ACLU lawsuit to provide government employee benefits to partners of same-sex couples.

In February of 2000, Limon and another male teenager were both students at the same residential school for developmentally disabled youth in Miami County, Kansas. A week after Limon's 18th birthday, he performed consensual oral sex on the other teenager, who was nearly 15 years old - three years, one month and a few days younger. Because Kansas's so-called "Romeo and Juliet" law gives much lighter sentences to heterosexual teenagers who have sex with younger teens but specifically excludes gay teenagers, Limon was sentenced to 17 years in prison. A heterosexual teenager with the same record would serve no longer than 15 months for the same offense.

The ACLU settled a lawsuit brought on behalf of several students who wanted to form a gay-straight alliance (GSA) club at Boyd County High School in Ashland, Kentucky. The settlement requires that the district treat all student clubs equally and conduct anti-harassment trainings for all students and staff. Several students had first petitioned the school to form the gay-straight alliance in March 2002. The school initially refused to approve the club, and then later took the extraordinary step of suspending all student clubs rather than recognize the GSA.