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 Knox County and Metro Nashville public school systems blocked access to informational and political LGBT websites on school computers but allowed access to anti-gay websites, ACLU-TN successfully challenged the viewpoint discrimination and the filtering software was removed from the computers.

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: Over 25 Years of Fighting for LGBT Equality

2011: Successfully represented a transgendered whose custody and visitation was being challenged based on gender identity

2010: Protected a gay high school student’s freedom of speech when he was punished for wearing a pro-gay t-shirt

2009-10: Successfully represented a lesbian mother in Gibson County whose partner of nine years was prevented from residing in their home under an antiquated “paramour clause”

2009: Successfully lobbied for passage of the non-discrimination ordinance in Metro Nashville which protects employees of Metro contractors from being discriminated against based on sexual orientation and gender identity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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