News & Commentary

The October 2014 Supreme Court term has officially ended, and what a way to end. There is a term in bridge for when a player runs the table, whether they have the best cards or not; it is called a "finesse." That is what it was like watching the decisions come down in the last days of the term: a total finesse game, with civil liberties coming out the winner.

As we blogged about last week, the U.S. Senate has spent several years hemming and hawing over whether to protect LGBT students from discrimination at school. It's been an embarassing parade of inaction, with the original legislation, known as the Student Non-Discrimination Act, not even being given a chance for an up-or-down vote. Finally, yesterday, Senator Al Franken of Minnesota brought up the effort as an amendment to a separate bill as a way of forcing senators to vote on the issue.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s historic ruling on marriage, it’s easy to feel like the law is finally on the side of LGBT rights. But for all the progress we’ve made, there is still much work to be done – especially when it comes to protecting young LGBT students.

UPDATE: The bill's sponsor has announced he will withdraw the bill!

Update: The voter ID bill is defeated, and the Legislature passes a law to continue providing assistance to some immigrants in need!

The Academy Awards and civil liberties don’t always go hand in hand, but at last night’s ceremony there were a few surprising moments of synergy between Hollywood and the issues we deal with every day at the ACLU.

Last week, the Department of Education released a very important guidance document for schools looking to offer single-sex classes. The crux of it is great news, and very much in line with what the ACLU has been saying for decades: single-sex education programs based on sex stereotypes are unlawful.

Last week, the United Nations Committee Against Torture issued a report in which it took the United States to task on a wide range of issues, from lack of accountability for torture and overuse of immigration detention to criminal justice practices and police accountability. This report came after a month spent reviewing U.S. compliance with a major human rights treaty, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which the U.S. ratified in 1994. The last compliance review was in 2006.

Today, the Supreme Court declined to hear all pending petitions in marriage cases, sending an unmistakable signal that the Court is comfortable with lower court decisions in favor of marriage and quietly but forcefully bringing the number of states where same-sex couples can get married to 30.