The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) joins our allies in the reproductive health, rights, and justice movements in celebrating the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. In this landmark decision, the Supreme Court held that state abortion bans were unconstitutional—putting an end to the shameful era in which countless women risked their health, lives and freedom to obtain abortions. But too many women are still prevented from accessing safe and legal abortions or experience severe...
Our Voices
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) was outraged by the recently introduced “Birthright Citizenship Act of 2013,” discriminatory legislation that seeks to obliterate the 14th Amendment by denying birthright citizenship to the children of some immigrant parents. This legislation, which has thus far garnered little attention or support, comes amidst momentum for Congress to take up the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. Reform to the immigration system is urgently needed to...
Senator Daniel Inouye, one of the LGBTQ movement’s strongest congressional allies, passed away Monday after being admitted to the hospital for respiratory complications. At the time of his death, Sen. Inouye was the most senior member of the U.S. Senate, a nine-term Senator, a Medal of Honor Recipient, and the first Japanese-American to serve in Congress. Throughout his career, Sen. Inouye tirelessly advocated for LGBTQ people and their families. Since 1996, Sen. Inouye has been a passionate...
This week, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) joins our allies in the reproductive justice movement urging Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to remove harmful restrictions on emergency contraception (EC). The LGBTQ community – especially our young people – need access to emergency contraception without political roadblocks. Please lend your voice to this campaign! In the United States, the sale of non-prescription emergency contraception (EC) to females under...
Every year, more states and countries allow same-sex couples to marry. But in the states that continue to bar same-sex couples from marriage, a new legal question is emerging: will the state permit married same-sex couples to divorce, even though it will not allow them to marry? If not, these couples are stuck in a terrible legal limbo. They are legally married, and their mar- riages are recognized in many places. But they cannot get a divorce where they live, and they cannot file for divorce...
By Ryan Kendall NCLR Guest Columnist I was at home, deep into studying for my fall-semester class load at Columbia University in New York City, when I got the news that California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1172 into law, protecting young lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth from the same type of psychological abuse that I endured at the hands of mental health professionals who tried to change my sexual orientation. It was a powerful thing to know that we had finally done...
The President’s announcement that he supports marriage equality has encouraged other high- profile leaders and organizations to express their support for marriage equality, most notably the NAACP, which decided in a near-unanimous vote to pass a resolution officially supporting marriage equality. The President also adds his voice to a growing chorus of people of faith who embrace equality not in spite of their religious beliefs, but because of them. It would be tempting to see this moment as...
For the last several months, OutSports.com’s Cyd Ziegler, GLSEN’s Changing the Game Sports Project Director Pat Griffin and I have worked with Nike representatives to organize the groundbreaking, strategy-building summit
that attracted dozens of leading organizations and people working to eliminate homophobia/ transphobia in sports. The summit—held June 14 to June 18—was based on the belief that collaboration, communication, and coordination will accelerate change in the culture of...
By Dynasty Young NCLR Guest Columnist Before last year, I had little to fear in high school. I came out a couple of years earlier when I was a freshman, and couldn’t imagine that people who didn’t even know me could have so much hate built up against me. But I soon learned that wasn’t true. After enrolling in Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis, I faced constant name calling and threats just because I have a unique style and I’m gay. What made things worse is that the harassment...
Since NCLR’s founding 35 years ago, we have worked to advance family law for LGBTQ people and their families. NCLR has helped change the law in numerous states over the years, including prohibiting courts from taking custody away from a parent just because of his or her sexual orientation, allowing same-sex couples to adopt, ensuring that transgender parents are recognized and protected, and recognizing all non-biological and non- adoptive parents as legal parents of their children. Although...
