Or, I should say, the marriage rights you haven't even been given yet.Between 125 and 150 people rallied at West Virginia's state capitol, demanding a constitutional referendum to define marriage as between a man and a woman:  "The Family Policy Council of West Virginia, which organized the rally, says the Legislature is bottling up measures that would allow the vote. The crowd was addressed by speakers from national groups and by House Minority Leader Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, who has tried to force a House vote on the referendum. The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says ...

ACLU Sues To Obtain Information About Taxpayer-Funded Religion In Abstinence-Only Programs Overseas. NEW YORK, NY — The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit this week against the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to obtain public documents detailing its overseas abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, which a recent Inspector General’s report says unconstitutionally promote religiously infused [...] ...

Brad Lopez, seen here addressing a Christian “fellowship for men”, is a professor as Fresno City University A health-sciences professor at Fresno City College used his health classes at the school to proselytize students with religiously-based and anti-gay views that he presented “science” or “fact”, American Civil Liberties Union charges in an official demand letter sent to the school yesterday. The letter was sent to the school’s president by ACLU’s LGBT Project and the ACLU of Northern California. In his introductory health class last semester, Dr. Bradley Lopez repeatedly referenced the Bible in the ...

ACLU Tells Fresno City College That Anti-Gay Preaching By Health Professor Doesn’t Fly SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to Fresno City College this week demanding that the school ensure that all its health science classes teach unbiased and medically accurate information. According to students at the college, lectures by [...] ...

As Florida’s LGBT activists continue to await a court decision that could eventually negate the state’s gay adoption ban, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida has turned up the heat on the debate as it is set to launch a three-year campaign in coalition with a number of national, state and local organizations. Actress Cynthia Nixon will be among the many activists scheduled to attend the campaign’s official kick-off at the Shore Club in Miami Beach on Saturday. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, state Sen. Nan Rich [D-Sunrise] and state Rep. Mary Brandenburg [D-West Palm Beach] will also be among ...

In light of continuing delays in the House of Representatives, we must state clearly and unequivocally: Passing basic job protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people must happen now. At a time when our government is deeply focused on the critical issue of employment, it is inexcusable to delay action on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Each and every job lost to prejudice based on sexual orientation and gender identity needlessly compounds the unemployment challenges facing our nation. We call on Congress for the immediate passage of ENDA. For decades now, we have called upon Congress to pass ...

An quick update on the brutal murder of 19 year old Jorge Steven López Mercado in Puerto Rico:After the multiple vigils and rallies in the United States over the weekend demanding that the murder of the young gay man be investigated as a hate crime, and a meeting Tuesday with the Puerto Rican branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, authorities in the island have announced that, for the first time ever in Puerto Rico, a little known 2002 statute will be used to go ahead and investigate the murder as a hate crime.Myriam Mercado and Jorge López, ...

Mississippi school officials have told a 17 year old student who wanted to appear in her yearbook photo wearing a tuxedo that she cannot. When her female classmates turned up to have their yearbook picture taken they wore ‘drapes’ (as is tradition in the States) but Ceara Sturgis wore a tuxedo. Sturgis is out and proud and has the support of her mother who said : “The tux is who she is. She wears boys’ clothes. She’s athletic. She’s gay. She’s not feminine.” Her mother received a letter following the photoshoot for the yearbook pics saying that only boys could wear tuxedo’s! ...

A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.Neither Bardwell nor the couple immediately returned phone calls from The Associated Press. But Bardwell told the Daily Star of Hammond that he was not a racist."I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house," Bardwell said. "My main concern is for the children."Bardwell said he has discussed the ...

Hunters Nightclub, in Elk Grove Village outside of Chicago, recently implemented a new entrance requirement because of cross-dressing prostitutes. However, the new rule (a valid photo ID that matches their "gender presentation") is presenting some issues for transgender people. The Chicago Tribune reports: "Hunters Nightclub reluctantly imposed its new ID requirement because cross-dressing prostitutes were advertising on Craigslist and mentioning the establishment, said manager Peter Landorf. 'They're implying they're coming here,' said Landorf, whose new rule could cut down on his cross-dressing clientele. 'If it is prostitution in any form, that could cost me my liquor license.' Under ...