RESOURCES: LEGAL FACT SHEETS
To Report LGBT/ HIV Discrimination
If you have been mistreated or harassed based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status, the ACLU wants to hear about it. Click on the link below to complete the online form.
The ACLU will inform you if they can provide legal assistance. If they can't, they will try to find another organization that may be better equipped to help.
Please note that this is ONLY for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and HIV/AIDS concerns. For any other issue or question, please contact your local ACLU affiliate. Please review their legal disclaimer.
https://www.aclu.org/secure/report-lgbthiv-discrimination
The ACLU will inform you if they can provide legal assistance. If they can't, they will try to find another organization that may be better equipped to help.
Please note that this is ONLY for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and HIV/AIDS concerns. For any other issue or question, please contact your local ACLU affiliate. Please review their legal disclaimer.
https://www.aclu.org/secure/report-lgbthiv-discrimination
Our Schools and Our Children
Southern CA Safe Schools Coalition
socalsafeschools.org
The Southern California Safe Schools Coalition is a region-wide organization formed to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer youth (LGBTQ) and their allies to help schools become safe places - where every family can belong, where every educator can teach, and where every child can learn, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Its Role: SCSSC's role is to reduce bias-based bullying and violence in schools and to help schools better meet the needs of LGBTQ youth and parents/guardians by:
The Southern California Safe Schools Coalition also serves the community by .
Areas of Focus:
Informational Literature:
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SAFE SCHOOLS IMPROVEMENT ACT (HR 1199)
Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2013 - (Introduced 03/14/13) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states to direct their local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish policies that prevent and prohibit conduct, including bullying and harassment, that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to: (1) limit students' ability to participate in, or benefit from school programs; or (2) create a hostile or abusive educational environment that adversely affects their education. Requires schools to also provide: (1) students, parents, and educational professionals with annual notice of the conduct prohibited in their discipline policies; (2) students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct; (3) the public with annual data on the incidence and frequency of that conduct at the school and LEA level; and (4) discipline policies that minimize the removal of students from instruction and prevent disproportionate punishment. Requires: (1) the Secretary of Education to conduct, and report on, an independent biennial evaluation of programs and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elementary and secondary schools; and (2) the Commissioner for Education Statistics to collect state data, that are subject to independent review, to determine the incidence and frequency of the conduct prohibited by LEA discipline policies. STUDENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT (HR 1652)
Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2013 (Introduced 04/18/13): Prohibits public school students from being excluded from participating in, or subject to discrimination under, any federally-assisted educational program on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or that of their associates. Considers harassment to be a form of discrimination. Prohibits retaliation against anyone for opposing conduct they reasonably believe to be unlawful under this Act. Authorizes federal departments and agencies to enforce these prohibitions by cutting off the educational assistance of recipients found to be violating them. Allows an aggrieved individual to assert a violation of this Act in a judicial proceeding and recover reasonable attorney's fees should they prevail. Deems a state's receipt of federal educational assistance for a program to constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity for conduct prohibited under this Act regarding such program. | ||||||||
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AB 1266: GENDER-SEGREGATED SCHOOL PROGRAMS & ACTIVITIES
AB 1266 Pupil rights: sex-segregated school programs and activities (Introduced 02/22/13). Existing law prohibits public schools from discriminating on the basis of specified characteristics, including gender, gender identity, and gender expression, and specifies various statements of legislative intent and the policies of the state in that regard. Existing law requires that participation in a particular physical education activity or sport, if required of pupils of one sex, be available to pupils of each sex. This bill would require that a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil's records. |
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advancingjustice-la.org
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles (Advancing Justice - LA), formerly the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, is the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (NHPI).
Founded in 1983 as the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Advancing Justice - LA serves more than 15,000 individuals and organizations every year. Through direct services, impact litigation, policy advocacy, leadership development, and capacity building, Advancing Justice - LA focuses on the most vulnerable members of Asian American and NHPI communities while also building a strong voice for civil rights and social justice.
Advancing Justice - LA is based in downtown Los Angeles, with satellite offices in Orange County and Sacramento.
Founded in 1983 as the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Advancing Justice - LA serves more than 15,000 individuals and organizations every year. Through direct services, impact litigation, policy advocacy, leadership development, and capacity building, Advancing Justice - LA focuses on the most vulnerable members of Asian American and NHPI communities while also building a strong voice for civil rights and social justice.
Advancing Justice - LA is based in downtown Los Angeles, with satellite offices in Orange County and Sacramento.
On Marriage EqualityStates with Marriage Recognition:
Same-sex marriage, also referred to as gay marriage, is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or gender identity. Legal recognition of same-sex marriage is often referred to as marriage equality, particularly by advocates and supporters.
Since 2000, 14 countries (Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Uruguay) have legalized same-sex marriage, as have parts of Brazil and Mexico. On July 17, 2013, the United Kingdom legalized same-sex marriage in England and Wales; the law will take effect sometime in 2014. In the United States, same-sex marriage is legal in 18 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois*, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington), and in the District of Columbia. (*Illinois same-sex marriage law takes effect on June 1, 2014.) |
RESPECT FOR MARRIAGE ACT (H.R. 2523)
Respect for Marriage Act - (Introduced 6/26/13) Amends the Defense of Marriage Act to repeal a provision that prohibited a state, territory, possession, or Indian tribe from being required to recognize any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other state, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a same sex marriage. Amends the federal rules of construction added by such Act concerning the definitions of "marriage" and "spouse" to provide that, for purposes of any federal law in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage is valid in the state where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any state, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a state. Removes the definition of "spouse" (currently, a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife).
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On Workplace EqualityEMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT (HR 1755)
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013 - (Introduced 4/25/13) Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity by covered entities (employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, or joint labor-management committees). Prohibits preferential treatment or quotas. Allows only disparate treatment claims. Prohibits related retaliation. Makes this Act inapplicable to: (1) religious organizations, and (2) the relationship between the United States and members of the Armed Forces. Declares that this Act does not repeal or modify any federal, state, territorial, or local law creating a special right or preference concerning employment for a veteran. Prohibits this Act from being construed to: (1) prohibit an employer from requiring an employee to adhere to reasonable dress or grooming standards, or (2) require the construction of new or additional facilities. Prohibits the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from compelling collection or requiring production of statistics from covered entities on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Provides for enforcement, including giving the EEOC, the Librarian of Congress (LOC), the Attorney General (DOJ), and U.S. courts the same enforcement powers as they have under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, and other specified laws. Allows actions and proceedings, subject to exception, against the United States and the states.
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On Health Care AccessHIV ORGAN POLICY EQUITY (HOPE) ACT (HR 698)
HIV Organ Policy Equity Act - (Introduced 02/14/13) Amends the Public Health Service Act to repeal the requirement that the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network adopt and use standards of quality for the acquisition and transportation of donated organs that include standards for preventing the acquisition of organs infected with the etiologic agent for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Replaces this requirement with authorization for the Network to adopt and use such standards with respect to organs infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), provided that any such standards ensure that organs infected with HIV may be transplanted only into individuals who are infected with such virus before receiving such an organ. Revises similarly the requirement that organ procurement organizations arrange for testing to prevent the acquisition of organs infected with the AIDS etiologic agent to require that they arrange for testing to identify organs infected with HIV. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and publish guidelines for the conduct of research relating to transplantation of organs from HIV-infected donors. Requires the Network to revise its standards of quality regarding HIV-infected organs and the Secretary to revise related regulations. Requires the Secretary to: (1) review annually the results of scientific research in conjunction with the Network to determine whether they warrant revision of quality standards relating to donated HIV-infected organs and to the safety of cross-strain transplantation; and (2) direct the Network, if the review so warrants, to revise its standards in a way that ensures the changes will not reduce the safety of organ transplantation. Amends the federal criminal code to declare that an organ donation does not violate the prohibition against a knowing organ donation by an HIV-infected individual if the donation is made in accordance with this Act. 
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Transgender Law Center http://transgenderlawcenter.org/pubs#public
The Transgender Law Center works to change law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression. For additional resource literature on reports and publications, click on the link: Reports and Publications |
Comprehensive Immigration ReformBORDER SECURITY, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY and IMMIGRATION MODERNIZATION ACT - COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM
Fixing our broken immigration system and achieving equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community are urgent civil rights issues currently facing our nation. Undocumented LGBT people live at the intersection of the civil rights battle facing both of these movements, making them some of the most vulnerable individuals in our country. According to a study by the Williams Institute, there are close to 1 million LGBT adult immigrants, of which about two-thirds are documented and one-third are undocumented, and 32,300 LGBT binational couples living in the U.S. today. Clearly, comprehensive and inclusive immigration reform is a critical issue for the LGBT community. Organized by four guiding principles: (1) Keep LGBT Families Together, (2) Create a Pathway to Citizenship, (3) Improve the U.S. Asylum System for LGBT Applicants and (4) Protect the Health and Safety of LGBT Immigrants.
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