When Your Rights are Violated, ACLU-TN Is There for You

 

WHEN a Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that a gay dad could not “expose” his son to a “gay lifestyle,” ACLU-TN successfully intervened on behalf of the father and filed a petition for a rehearing. The Court agreed to the rehearing and the Court opined that “neither gay parents nor heterosexual parents have special rights” and that one’s sexual orientation should not be a factor in determining custody and visitation.

WHEN officials at the Knox County Jail denied a lesbian inmate visitation with her partner while allowing visitation of unmarried heterosexual couples, ACLU-TN succeeded in having this policy reversed.

WHEN the Rhea County Commission passed a resolution to ban gay men and lesbians from living in their county, ACLU-TN spoke out against the egregious proposal and promised to challenge the ban were it enacted. In addition, ACLU-TN consulted with a group planning a pro-gay rally in Rhea County and assured them that it would intervene were the group denied a permit.

WHEN the Tennessee General Assembly introduced bills that would prohibitrecognition of domestic partnerships and civil unions and would ban adoption and foster parenting by gay men and lesbians, ACLU-TN, in conjunction with national and local groups, spearheaded a statewide public education campaign to promote equality and privacy for all Tennesseans, organized testimony by child welfare experts, and successfully lobbied against these

 

ACLU-TN: 25 Years of Fighting for LGBT Equality

 

1982: Successfully represented University of Tennessee students forming an LGBT on-campus group

1990: Filed friend-of-court brief in successful lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s “Homosexual Act Statute” which criminalized private consensual adult sexual behavior, but only among same sex couples

1993: Successfully filed lawsuit challenging denial of parade permit to LGBT group organizing PRIDE day event in Chattanooga

1997: Successfully spearheaded lobbying campaign to defeat efforts to ban adoption and foster parenting by gay men and lesbians

2000: Initiated state-wide campaign and successfully lobbied to add sexual orientation as a protected class in enhancement penalty statute

2003: Successfully lobbied against efforts to ban civil unions and domestic partnerships

2004: Successfully intervened to ensure that LGBT parents have visitation and custody rights with their children

2005-06: Lobbied and litigated against the so-called “Marriage Protection Act,” a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and prohibit marriage equality