News & Commentary

BOISE — Idaho’s Add the Words Coalition is denouncing Idaho’s Attorney General Lawrence Wasden signing onto an amicus brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on August 23, 2019. The friend-of-the-court brief encourages this country’s highest court to rule against three individuals who were fired for being LGBTQ+. The three cases include the first transgender civil rights case to be heard by the high court.“Once again, Attorney General Wasden has shown that he is out-of-touch with the majority of Idahoans who support the idea that

After a long, hard-fought legislative session defending LGBTQ+ rights and fending off discriminatory bills, we’re excited to celebrate and be in community with our LGBTQ+ friends and allies at several Pride events taking place this summer.

BOISE--An Idaho judge ruled today in Professor Aliza Cover’s case against the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) seeking information about Idaho’s lethal injection drugs, finding that IDOC and its current Deputy Director Jeff Zmuda behaved frivolously and that its Public Information Officer Jeff Ray denied Cover’s request in bad faith. The court ordered IDOC to disclose many but not all of the records Professor Cover sought and imposed a $1,000 fine on Ray.Among the many previously undisclosed documents that the court ruled IDOC must immediately turn over is a document that identifies the source of the lethal injection drugs used in Richard Leavitt’

BOISE—Today, Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill sent a letter to members of the media regarding his desire to find “a balanced solution” between non-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Idahoans and religious rights. While acknowledging that conversations had taken place in the last year regarding potential amendments to the Idaho Human Rights Act, he also indicated that no legislation will be introduced during the 2019 session.

January 7, 2019 marks the kick-off of the 2019 legislative session. With Governor Brad Little stepping into his newly elected role, many new state agency leaders and significant changes to the make-up of the Idaho Legislature, we at the ACLU of Idaho are even more committed to ensuring that our elected officials and policy makers defend and protect civil liberties for all in Idaho.With the start of a

BOISE—The ACLU of Idaho sent a letter to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office demanding that signs posted at polling locations in Madison County be removed because they violate the First and Fourteenth amendments in addition to section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which protects against voter intimidation. The organization also demanded that the same information which exists on the Secretary of State’s voting website be removed as well.  The signs and webpage, which directly target students, assert that there “is no federal right to vote anywhere in the United States for the office of President” and create confusion regarding the rights of students to register and vote.“The signs posted by Madison County election officials raise serious legal issues regarding voter intimidation directed at one specific group

Every student—regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability—should feel safe and welcome in our public schools. Indeed, federal and state laws safeguard our students from discrimination, intimidation and harassment based on many of the same protected characteristics.

Idaho Continues to Place Unprecedented Barriers on Reproductive Health Care Across the State

Boise--On Monday a Fourth District judge ordered Idaho prison officials to disclose lethal injection records they had previously sought to keep secret regarding the drugs used in Idaho’s two most recent executions.