Archive

EUREKA — The ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and the law firm Rukin Hyland & Riggin LLP today filed a lawsuit against St. Joseph Health Northern California for denying care to a transgender patient. Filed on behalf of Oliver Knight, the suit argues that withholding medical care from a patient because he is transgender violates California’s Unru... Read More

After years of working to affirm my identity in a world where transgender people are questioned constantly about their decisions, I felt hopeful as I arrived for the surgery I had waited so long for. I was 27, and I would finally be closer to calling my body home. Since I was a kid, I’ve felt like my body didn’t match my soul. I felt uncomfortable in clothes. I felt disgusting when I showered. ... Read More

NEW YORK — A historic civil rights settlement was announced with Facebook today following a variety of anti-discrimination legal actions. The settlement encompasses sweeping changes that the tech giant will make to its paid advertising platform to prevent discrimination in employment, housing, and credit advertising. Since late 2016, Facebook has faced legal pressure from the American Civil Lib... Read More

The ACLU, along with our client Communications Workers of America and other civil rights groups, announced a historic settlement agreement with Facebook that will result in major changes to Facebook’s advertising platform. Advertisers will no longer be able to exclude users from learning about opportunities for housing, employment, or credit based on gender, age, or other protected characteristics... Read More

On January 14, 2019, Steven Madrid and Mikayla Garaffa, two Minarets High School students, had their pro-LGBTQ yearbook quotes rejected by school administrators who called the quotes “politically divisive.” After the quotes were rejected, the two students sent the district a letter from the ACLU national office to Minarets High School’s yearbook advisor and school principal, asserting their fr... Read More

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and the law firm Rukin Hyland & Riggin LLP filed a lawsuit on March 21, 2019 on behalf of Oliver Knight, a 29-year-old transgender man who was denied health care based on the hospital’s religious views, which do not recognize gender-affirming care. On August 30, 2017, minutes before Mr. Knight was scheduled t... Read More

MADERA, CA — The ACLU Foundation of Northern California today filed a lawsuit against Chawanakee Unified School District and Minarets High School administrators on behalf of two students for censoring the students’ speech celebrating their LGBTQ identities in violation of their free speech rights and right to be free of anti-LGBTQ bias in California schools. Steven Madrid and Mikayla Garaffa, t... Read More

New York — In response to reports that President Trump has asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign, American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony D. Romero issued the following statement: Jeff Sessions was the worst attorney general in modern American history. He was an egregious violator of civil rights and civil liberties. From his plot to deport Dreamers, remove police and... Read More

June is Pride month, a month to celebrate the strength and activism of LGBTQ people. We at the ACLU of California are excited to be working on three LGBTQ-related bills this year to make things better for students, youth in foster care, and people in jail or prison. Read More

My local school board will soon decide whether to adopt a sex ed curriculum that makes it clear: LGBTQ+ people are equally deserving of respect and love. Read More