LBGT Rights

We Came Out in 1936…

The ACLU has worked on LGBT rights for decades:

1936: The ACLU took its first gay rights case in Massachusetts when Boston’s public censor banned Lillian Hellman’s play The Children’s Hour because of its "lesbian content."

1974: The ACLU of Massachusetts filed suit on behalf of two lesbians who were discharged from the military.

1980: We submitted a brief in the first gay custody case to go before any state’s highest court.

1986: We brought a historic case that challenged regulations preventing gay and lesbian people from being foster parents.

1986: We brought the first HIV employment discrimination case where a state court ruled AIDS is a disability under state discrimination law.

1990: We played leading role in preparing for an anticipated referendum to overturn the state’s new non-discrimination law.

Mid-'90s: We fought for needle exchange to help prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. We stood up for the free speech rights of ACT UP protesters, and defended AIDS Action Committee condom ads on the T.

2003-'07: We filed a brief in the historic Goodridge case, and worked from day one to protect marriage equality in our state Constitution.

2008: We defended a Lexington school’s use of children’s books about diverse families, including gay parents.

2009 and beyond: The ACLU is working with the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition to pass legislation to end anti-trans discrimination.

...and We Haven’t Stopped Fighting Since

In only the first six months of 2010, the ACLU has fought and won important cases for LGBT rights nationwide:

Fighting Discrimination in Schools
The ACLU filed a complaint against the Itawamba County School District after a student was told she couldn’t bring her female date to prom or wear a tuxedo. The Court found that District officials had violated Constance McMillen’s rights to freedom of expression.

Fighting Discrimination in Family Life
In Cole v. Arkansas, the ACLU successfully challenged the legality of a ballot measure making it illegal for unmarried people who cohabit to adopt or foster children. The ACLU argued that the law violated state and federal constitutional guarantees to equal protection and due process, and the court agreed.

Fighting Discrimination Against Trans People
In Wisconsin, the ACLU challenged a law barring prison doctors from deciding the best course of treatment for transgender people by denying them access to any type of hormone therapy or sex reassignment surgery. In Sundstrom v. Frank, the ACLU won yet another victory for LGBT rights when a federal court judge struck down the law.

Just weeks ago, Senator Al Franken, with the help of the ACLU, introduced legislation in the Senate to protect LGBT students from discrimination in schools.

Also in May of 2010, the ACLU lobbied vigorously in Washington D.C. for the repeal of the infamous military policy "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Due to the tireless, united work of LGBT advocacy groups and the ACLU, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to repeal DADT.

Legally Speaking...

The ACLU maintains that the rights of LGBT people are based on several fundamental constitutional principles:

• Equal protection of the law, guaranteed by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, and reinforced by hundreds of local, state and federal civil rights law;
• The right to privacy, or "the right to be left alone," guaranteed by the Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments;
• Freedom of speech and association, protected under the First Amendment.