Attorneys for Edith "Edie" Windsor told the U.S. Supreme Court today that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unfairly forced Windsor to pay more than $363,000 in federal estate taxes after the death of her spouse, Thea Spyer, in violation of the equal protection principles guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to hear Edith "Edie" Windsor's challenge to the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Windsor, 83, was forced to pay more than $363,000 in federal estate taxes after the death of her spouse Thea Spyer, because their marriage was not recognized under federal law. If Spyer had married a man instead of a woman, no estate tax would have been owed.

The New York Civil Liberties Union today applauded the Syracuse Common Council’s passage of legislation amending local civil rights law to protect transgender and gender non-conforming residents from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, such as restaurants, hotels and stores.

A federal appeals court ruled today that section three of the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) unconstitutionally discriminates against married same-sex couples.

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unfairly forced Edith “Edie” Windsor to more than $360,000 in federal estate tax after the death of her spouse, Thea Spyer, that she would not have had to pay had she been married to a man, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit was told today.

More than fifteen parties – including New York City, three states, members of Congress, civil rights and religious organizations ––plan to file briefs today in support of Edith “Edie” Windsor’s constitutional challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Edith “Edie” Windsor, who sued the government for failing to recognize her marriage to her late spouse, Thea Spyer, asked the U.S. Supreme Court today to hear her challenge to the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA). The petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court was filed on Ms. Windsor’s behalf by her attorneys at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, the American Civil Liberties Union, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic.

In response to the decision by administrators at P.S. 195 in Queens to prohibit a fifth-grade student from delivering a speech on same-sex marriage, the New York Civil Liberties Union today issued the following statement, which can be attributed to NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman: “This is a clear case of censorship that violates this child’s First Amendment rights. Schools that act as if any mention of the existence of gay people is something too controversial or ‘sensitive’ to discuss are doing a disservice to their students.

The New York Civil Liberties Union’s Teen Activist Project (TAP) today unveiled a pair of creative projects that raise awareness about civil liberties issues that New York City students confront every day at school: a video on the rights of LGBTQ students and a photo essay documenting the overly aggressive policing in city schools.

The New York Civil Liberties Union today applauded changes to the NYPD’s Patrol Guide that will help ensure that police officers treat transgender and gender non-conforming people with dignity and respect.