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Protecting LGBTQ Families Across the Nation
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...Blog
“Quackery” No More—CA Gov. Brown Signs Bill Protecting LGBTQ Youth From Psychological Abuse
“Relegated to the dustbin of quackery.” When I read those words from California Governor Jerry Brown after he signed Senate Bill 1172— the bill protecting LGBTQ minors from deceitful mental health professionals who falsely claim they can change sexual orientation or gender expression—into law, I thought “FINALLY!” With that powerful and apt description, Governor Brown has intervened to save current and future generations of young people from being subjected to a discredited, denounced,...Blog
A Mother’s Love: A Gay Student’s Mother Speaks Out to Protect her Son
Last month, NCLR filed a federal lawsuit challenging Indianapolis Public Schools’ discriminatory treatment and failure to protect openly gay former student, Dynasty Young, who faced severe and relentless harassment at school throughout the 2011-2012 school year. By Chelisa Grimes No parent ever wants to hear that their child is being tormented at school, with classmates not only hurling derogatory words, but spitting on their child as they walk down the halls and throwing glass bottles. So...Blog
New Obama Initiative for LGBTQ Prisoners
Today, the Obama administration announced new rules designed to launch a major offensive to help stop the epidemic of sexual violence in the nation’s prison system and youth detention system. The rules, released by the Department of Justice (DOJ), aim to “prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse in confinement facilities.” The new rules—and a new report from DOJ that was also released today—recognize that sexual violence is an especially urgent issue for LGBTQ youth in juvenile justice...Blog
Family Acceptance Project Publishes Pioneering Resource for Youth Suicide Prevention
For the past decade, Dr. Caitlin Ryan of the Family Acceptance Project (FAP) at SF State University has been studying the impact of family acceptance and rejection on suicide risk among LGBTQ youth. Today we’d like to take this moment to congratulate FAP and Dr. Ryan on their truly groundbreaking work. Because youth suicide is typically the result of many complex interacting factors, our community needs comprehensive suicide prevention strategies and interventions to reduce the risk to LGBTQ...Blog
Desiree Shelton: Why I Fought Back Against Discrimination
Desiree Shelton is an out lesbian and a senior at Champlin Park High School, in Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin School District. She and her girlfriend, Sarah Lindstrom, were elected to the school’s Snow Days royalty court for the winter formal dance. They sued their school district—with the help of lawyers from the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Faegre & Benson LLP—after school officials said they couldn’t walk together in the traditional couples’...Blog
Making a Federal Case Out Of It
Desiree “Dez” and Sarah are high school seniors at Champlin Park High School (CPHS), which is in Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin School District. They’re also a couple, and both are out at school as lesbians, which takes a lot of courage given the conservative climate in their school district (this is Michele Bachmann’s district). There have been reports of serious anti-gay bullying, and a number of LGBTQ students in the area have committed suicide in the past year and a half. Every...Blog
Student Harassment and Discrimination: Talking Points
Why school districts should include sexual orientation and gender identity in their anti-harassment policies. Download PDFBlog