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Maine Becomes 5th State to Approve Gay Marriage

Amy Klein-Matheny (L) and her wife Jennifer are married by Rev. Peg Esperanza (R) in the Polk County Administration Building in April 2009 in Des Moines, Iowa. The governor of Maine signed a law making the northeastern US state the fifth to allow gays to marry. (AFP/Getty Images/File/Scott Olson)

NEW YORK - The governor of Maine on Wednesday signed a law making the northeastern US state the fifth to allow gays to marry.

Governor John Baldacci, a Democrat, signed the law after the upper chamber in the state legislature voted 21 to 13 in favor.

"In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions," Baldacci said in a statement on his website.

"I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage."

Posted in civil liberties, Equality/Justice, gay marriage

Silence, Prayer and Other Activities

“All I want out of you is silence, and damn little of that.”
— A Whaler’s Captain addressing a crew member. Zephaniah W. Pease, The History of New Bedford

It is time for an update on silence. It’s back. A quiet subject, it nonetheless leads to raucous debate and seems reluctant to be what its name suggests. Silence, it turns out, is sinister. To those fearing prayer in the public schools, a threat-to prayer’s supporters, a boon.

Posted in civil liberties, Education

Landmark Civil Rights Law in Jeopardy?

Some residents of a small Texas municipal district believe that a key section of landmark voting rights legislation -- created in 1965 to protect minorities in jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination -- is archaic and should be abolished.

The debate has teed up today's Supreme Court argument, which could forever change the intersection between election law and civil rights.

Posted in civil liberties, voting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2009
3:02 PM

CONTACT: ACLU

Linda Paris, (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org  

ACLU Observes Equal Pay Tuesday With Call for Pay Fairness Law

WASHINGTON - April 27 - To mark Equal Pay Day tomorrow, April 28, the American Civil Liberties Union calls for the passage of a strong law to eradicate pay discrimination against women. On a day meant to raise awareness about the continuing pay gap between the genders, members of the ACLU plan to ask their Senators in emails, calls and letters to pass a bill addressing pay discrimination, known as S. 182, the Paycheck Fairness Act. This legislation would provide a much needed update to the Equal Pay Act of 1963, by closing loopholes and strengthening its weak remedies over 45 years.
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The ACLU conserves America's original civic values working in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in the United States by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

ACLU Links:
Posted in civil liberties, inequality, labor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2009
11:43 AM

CONTACT: ACLU

Maria Archuleta, (212) 519-7808 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org

Supreme Court to Hear Voting Rights Act Challenge Wednesday, April 29

ACLU Represents Individual Affected by Oversight Provision

WASHINGTON - April 27 - On Wednesday, April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal brought by a small municipal utility district in Austin, Texas challenging a key section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the landmark federal law that ensured African-Americans and language minorities access to voting booths across the South.
 

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The ACLU conserves America's original civic values working in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in the United States by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

ACLU Links:
Posted in civil liberties, voting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2009
1:30 PM

CONTACT: ACLU

Maria Archuleta, (212) 519-7808 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org

Supreme Court to Hear Voting Rights Act Challenge Wednesday, April 29

ACLU Represents Individual Affected by Oversight Provision

WASHINGTON - April 24 - On Wednesday, April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal brought by a small municipal utility district in Austin, Texas challenging a key section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the landmark federal law that ensured African-Americans and language minorities access to voting booths across the South.
 

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The ACLU conserves America's original civic values working in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in the United States by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

ACLU Links:
Posted in civil liberties, inequality, voting

Kite Runner Joins Gay Penguins on Top 10 Books Americans Want Banned

Khaled Hosseini has joined the illustrious ranks of Philip Pullman and the authors of a story about gay penguins, after his novel The Kite Runner became one of the books that inspired most complaints in America last year.

Posted in censorship, civil liberties

Unanimous Ruling: Iowa Marriage No Longer Limited to One Man, One Woman

Partners Terri Neuendorf, right, and LaDonna Kyle, both of Des Moines, kiss outside the Judicial Building this morning after the announcement of the Iowa Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriages. (RODNEY WHITE / THE REGISTER)

The Iowa Supreme Court this morning unanimously upheld gays' right to marry.

"The Iowa statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution," the justices said in a summary of their decision.

The court rules that gay marriage would be legal in three weeks, starting April 24.

The court affirmed a Polk County District Court decision that would allow six gay couples to marry.

Posted in civil liberties, gay marriage, glbt

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2009
11:42 AM

CONTACT: Freedom to Marry
Evan Wolfson,Executive Director, Freedom to Marry
212-851-8418; Mobile: 646-263-5552
evan@freedomtomarry.org

Iowa Ends Gay Couples' Exclusion From Marriage

Iowa Joins Connecticut and Massachusetts as the Next State to Uphold the Freedom to Marry

NEW YORK - April 3 - The Iowa Supreme Court today handed down a unanimous decision in favor of the freedom to marry, bringing marriage equality to America's heartland.  Iowa now joins Massachusetts and Connecticut in ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage.  The high court decision in Varnum v.

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Freedom to Marry is the gay and non-gay partnership working to win marriage equality nationwide. Headed by Evan Wolfson, one of America's leading civil rights advocates and lawyers, Freedom to Marry brings new resources and a renewed context of urgency and opportunity to this social justice movement.
Freedom to Marry Links:
Posted in civil liberties, gay marriage, glbt

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2009
11:37 AM

CONTACT: Human Rights Campaign
Brad Luna 202/216.1514 Cell: 202/812.8140
Trevor Thomas 202/216.1547 Cell: 202/250.2758

Iowa Becomes First Midwestern State to Recognize Marriage Equality for Gay and Lesbian Couples

Human Rights Campaign Hails Unanimous Iowa Supreme Court Decision as Part of Growing Trend Towards Marriage Equality Across the Country

WASHINGTON - April 3 - The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, applauded  the Iowa state Supreme Court's unanimous 7-0 decision today ruling that the equal protection provision of Iowa Constitution guarantees gay and lesbian couples the same right to marry as heterosexual couples.  As a result of the court's decision in Varnum v. Brien, Iowa becomes the first state in the Midwest and the third in the nation to now recognize marriages for gay and lesbian couples.   

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The Human Rights Campaign represents a grassroots force of over 750,000 members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, HRC envisions an America where LGBT people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.
Human Rights Campaign Links:
Posted in civil liberties, gay marriage, glbt
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