Latest American Civil Liberties Union News

West Virginia transgender sports ban discriminates against teen athlete, appeals court says

Apr. 16, 2024 17:53 PM EDT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia's transgender sports ban violates the rights of a teen athlete under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools, an appeals court ruled Tuesday. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1...

Federal appeals court hears arguments on nation's first ban on gender-affirming care for minors

Apr. 11, 2024 13:47 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Arguments before a federal appeals court that is considering whether to reinstate Arkansas' first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for minors focused Thursday on whether it and similar restrictions adopted by two dozen states discriminate on the basis of sex. ...

Deadly Chicago traffic stop where police fired 96 shots raises serious questions about use of force

Apr. 10, 2024 19:04 PM EDT

CHICAGO (AP) — A deadly traffic stop where plainclothes Chicago police officers fired nearly 100 shots in under a minute has raised serious questions about the use of force and role of tactical officers in departments. As family and community members mourn 26-year-old Dexter Reed,...

Lawsuit challenging Indiana abortion ban survives a state challenge

Apr. 04, 2024 19:07 PM EDT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Court of Appeals gave an incremental win Thursday to a group of residents suing the state over its near-total abortion ban, arguing that it violates a state law protecting religious freedom. The three-judge panel's ruling agreed with a lower court...

Idaho lawmakers pass bills targeting LGBTQ+ citizens. Protesters toss paper hearts in protest

Apr. 03, 2024 19:47 PM EDT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho lawmakers have passed a series of bills targeting LGBTQ+ residents this year, including two this week that prevent public employees from being required to use someone's preferred pronouns and redefine gender as being synonymous with sex. On Wednesday, the...

ACLU, Planned Parenthood challenge Ohio abortion restrictions after voter referendum

Mar. 29, 2024 16:04 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood filed a legal challenge on Friday to some of Ohio’s abortion laws, now that Ohio voters have enshrined voting rights in the state’s constitution. The lawsuit filed on behalf of abortion clinics says...

Lawsuit says Ohio's gender-affirming care ban violates the state constitution

Mar. 26, 2024 17:48 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Two families of transgender minors filed a constitutional challenge on Tuesday to an Ohio law that severely limits gender-affirming health care for youth under 18. The litigation, brought in Franklin County Common Pleas Court by the American Civil Liberties...

New Jersey lawmakers fast track bill that could restrict records access under open records law

Mar. 11, 2024 19:09 PM EDT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey lawmakers voted Monday to advance a measure that could make it easier for government agencies to withhold documents under the state's open records law, casting it as a modernizing bill that would cut back on profiteering businesses. Committees in...

A Kansas judge says barring driver's license changes doesn't violate trans people's rights

Mar. 11, 2024 18:12 PM EDT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas judge ruled Monday that the state isn't violating transgender residents' rights under the state constitution by refusing to change their driver's licenses to reflect their gender identities. District Judge Teresa Watson kept in place indefinitely an...

Nebraska's new law limiting abortion and trans healthcare is argued before the state Supreme Court

Mar. 05, 2024 16:51 PM EST

Members of the Nebraska Supreme Court appeared to meet with skepticism a state lawyer's defense of a new law that combines a 12-week abortion ban with another measure to limit gender-affirming health care for minors. Assistant Attorney General Eric Hamilton argued Tuesday that the...