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ACLU on Civil Rights
American Civil Liberties Union
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Supported "no excuse" absentee voting bill
Sununu vetoed the so-called "no excuse" absentee voting bill, warning it would erode the state's vaunted political tradition of in-person participation at the polls. Advocates of the bill had wanted New Hampshire to join 28 other states and the
District of Columbia, which allow voters to obtain an absentee ballot without having to give a reason for why they can't make it to the polls.The League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union had supported this cause (HB 611).
Source: New Hampshire legislative voting record, bill HB611
, Sep 8, 2019
Fight to defend Supreme Court's same-sex marriage ruling
Nearly four years after the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal throughout the US, Republican lawmakers in Tennessee introduced a bill aimed at banning gay marriage in the state. The "Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act," which was first
proposed in 2016, seeks to "defend natural marriage between one man and one woman regardless of any court decision to the contrary."One obstacle is the state's LGBTQ community and its allies, who banded together in 2017 to prevent the bill's
passage. "Tennesseans who are in committed same-sex relationships simply want to be treated with the same dignity and respect as everyone else," the executive director of the ACLU in Tennessee, said. "A handful of state legislators cannot nullify the
law of the land and drive our state backward simply because they wish to discriminate. The ACLU of Tennessee, along with many partners, will be working hard to defeat this narrow-minded, blatantly unconstitutional legislation."
Source: NBC News on Tennessee voting record SD-022
, Feb 12, 2019
Religious objections to GLBT services same as 1960s racism
We see today claims to a right to discriminate--by refusing to provide services to LGBT people--based on religious objections. For example: wedding service providers closing their doors to same-sex couples planning their weddings. While the situations
may differ, one thing remains the same: Religion is being used as an excuse to discriminate.Claiming a right to discriminate in the name of religion is not new. In the 1960s, we saw objections to laws requiring integration in restaurants because of
sincerely held beliefs that God wanted the races to be separate. We saw religiously affiliated universities refuse to admit students who engaged in interracial dating. In those cases, we recognized that requiring integration was not about violating
religious liberty; it was about ensuring fairness. It's no different today.
Religious freedom in America means that we all have a right to our religious beliefs, but this does not give us the right to use our religion to impose those beliefs on others.
Source: ACLU 2015-16 voting recommendation on RFRA vs LGBT
, May 11, 2016
First Amendment doesn't include right to turn away LGBT
The House of Representatives, as well as leading anti-LGBT organizations, are pushing a bill--disingenuously titled the First Amendment Defense Act--that would open the door to unprecedented taxpayer-funded discrimination against LGBT people, single
mothers, and unmarried couples. While this bill does nothing to protect individuals' rights under the First Amendment, its parade of horribles would:- allow federal contractors, including those that provide homeless shelters or drug treatment
programs, to turn away LGBT people
- permit a university to fire an unmarried teacher simply for becoming pregnant
- permit government employees to discriminate against married same-sex couples and their families--federal employees could refuse to
process tax returns, visa applications, or Social Security checks for all married same-sex couples
- allow businesses to discriminate by refusing to let gay or lesbian employees care for their sick spouse, in violation of family medical leave laws
Source: ACLU 2015-16 voting recommendation on FADA
, Jul 20, 2015
Gay marriage bans deny rights to loving & committed couples
A federal judge in Utah struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, saying the law violates the US Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process: "The state's current laws deny its gay and lesbian citizens their fundamental right
to marry and, in so doing, demean the dignity of these same-sex couples for no rational reason. Accordingly, the court finds that these laws are unconstitutional."The judge said that while he agreed with Utah that marriage has traditionally been left
to regulation by the states: "The issue the court must address in this case is not who should define marriage, but the narrow question of whether Utah's current definition of marriage is permissible under the Constitution."
The ACLU of Utah filed an
amicus brief in the case and legal director John Mejia said the organization was "thrilled" by the decision. "We think that it was a discriminatory law that only served to deny loving and committed couples the protection and dignity of marriage," he said
Source: Salt Lake Tribune, "Marriage & Utah laws"
, Dec 20, 2013
Page last updated: May 01, 2021