In Kansas, dozens of foster children are spending their nights not in warm beds in safe homes, but on couches and cots in child welfare offices run by state contractors. These children need loving foster and adoptive families to provide the care they need. Yet, in spite of this crisis, Kansas legislators are trying to make it harder for these children to find families who can give them warm, safe beds.
Denied Opportunity To Become Foster Parents, LGBTQ Couple Sues Government For Using Religion As An Excuse To Discriminate
Education Department Announces It Will No Longer Act On Transgender Student Bathroom Complaints
Yesterday’s announcement is more of the same from the Trump administration: They are putting in place policies that could result in discrimination against women, LGBTQ people, and others, often using religion as an excuse to do so.
California Judge Rules Bakery Can Refuse To Serve Same-Sex Couples
This week, a California judge ruled that Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, California, can violate the state’s nondiscrimination law and refuse to serve same-sex couples. The bakery had used religion as an excuse to turn away Mireya and Eileen Rodriguez-Del Rio when they tried to buy a cake for their upcoming wedding reception—the judge ruled the bakery had a constitutional right to do so.
North Dakota Couple Sues Catholic Charities After Being Denied Adoption
The Associated Press reports that a North Dakota couple filed a lawsuit against Catholic Charities for refusing to let them adopt a 15-year-old girl who had been in foster care for eight years because they were living together before they were married.
US House To Vote On Amendment Blocking DC Nondiscrimination Law
Georgia GOP Committee To Debate Resolution Urging Gubernatorial Candidates To Support "Religious Freedom" Legislation
AU Urges House Committee To Protect Women's Access To Healthcare
This year's Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill has a lot of problems—including a range of attacks on women’s reproductive healthcare. There will be many amendments offered to try to repair some of the damage, and this morning, we urged committee members to support two of them.
AU To Federal Court (Again): Trump's Leaked Contraception Rule Threatens Women's Access To Vital Healthcare
One month after filing our objections in court to the Trump administration’s leaked draft rule that would gut the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that most health insurance plans cover contraceptives, we repeated our warning: Women, including the students we represent, would be seriously harmed by the new regulations. Under the draft Trump rule, any employer or university, even for-profit corporations, could use religion as an excuse to completely deny their employees and students contraceptive coverage.
Taxpayer-Funded Child Welfare Agencies Can Now Use Religion To Discriminate In Texas
Trump Administration Says It Will "Reassess" Key Parts Of Healthcare Law's Protections For Women And LGBTQ People
The executive order signed by President Donald Trump wasn’t the only action taken last week by the Trump Administration to signal its intent to roll back key protections against discrimination in the Affordable Care Act under the guise of religious freedom.
Alabama Enacts Two Laws That Could Allow Discrimination Against People In The Name Of Religion
Under the guise of “religious freedom,” Alabama has enacted two laws in the last ten days that are aimed at allowing discrimination against LGBTQ couples and women. Religious freedom is a fundamental American value. It guarantees us the right to believe—or not—as we see fit. It does not, however, grant anyone the right to use religion to discriminate or harm others.
Texas "Religious Freedom" Bills Could Discriminate Against Children And Families
Americans United supports true religious freedom—the freedom to believe or not believe according to your own conscience. SB 892 and HB 3859 pervert this cherished American right, allowing taxpayer-funded child-welfare agencies to use their religious beliefs to harm children who need a caring home and the families that long to provide one for them.
North Carolina Legislators Try (And Fail) To Ban Marriage Equality
On Tuesday, just before the filing deadline for bills for the North Carolina legislature’s regular session, state GOP legislators introduced a ridiculous anti-LGBTQ bill, HB 780, which would ban marriage for same-sex couples. Less than 24 hours later, House Speaker Tim Moore declared that the bill would not advance, effectively killing this misguided legislation.
Federal Court Rulings Are Important Victories For LGBTQ Community. Now We Must Fight To Protect Them
Former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson Warns President Trump Against Signing Draft "Religious Freedom" Executive Order
Last week, former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, a Republican from Wyoming, extended a piece of advice to fellow Republican President Donald J. Trump on his rumored draft “religious freedom” executive order that would allow the use of religion to discriminate: “Don’t do it.”
Governor McAuliffe Vetoes Virginia's Dangerous "Religious Freedom" Legislation
Today Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe vetoed SB 1324/HB 2025, a combination First Amendment Defense Act and Pastor Protection Act that would have allowed religion to be used as an excuse to discriminate against LGBTQ Virginians. In his veto statement, Governor McAuliffe called the bill “unconstitutional” and stated that any bill that privileges one religious belief “equates to discrimination under the guise of religious freedom.”
Wyoming Supreme Court Rebukes Judge For Refusing To Marry LGBTQ Couples
Judge Ruth Neely, a municipal judge and part-time circuit court magistrate in Pinedale, Wyoming, has never been asked to preside over the marriage of a same-sex couple. Nonetheless, she announced that, based on her religious beliefs, she’d refuse to do so if asked. Last week the Wyoming Supreme Court formally reprimanded Judge Neely because she wouldn’t treat everyone the same way and apply the law fairly.
It's Now Up To Governor McAuliffe To Veto Virginia's Dangerous "Religious Freedom" Bill
For the second year in a row, the Virginia General Assembly has sent the Governor “religious freedom” bill that would allow religion to be used as an excuse to discriminate. Religious freedom is a fundamental value. It guarantees us the right to believe—or not—as we see fit. But it does not give anyone the right to discriminate against others.
Georgia Governor Vows To Veto Newly Introduced "Religious Freedom" Bill
On Tuesday, February 21, 20 Republican Georgia state senators dropped SB 233, a bill many are calling this year’s “religious freedom” bill. By Thursday, however, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal had already vowed to veto it. This is no real surprise considering Governor Deal vetoed a similar bill last year after it evoked large-scale opposition across the state and the country as well as threats of boycotts.