Friend –

The Supreme Court just issued a ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia – a case which the ACLU intervened in on behalf of the city.

In its 9-0 decision, the Court says that the city of Philadelphia's decision not to renew Catholic Social Services' foster care contract was impermissible. But here's what's critical: They did so on extremely narrow grounds and the court did not recognize a general constitutional right to discriminate based on religious beliefs.

That means governments may continue to enforce laws protecting LGBTQ people and others from discrimination so long as they do so even-handedly – but today's decision also tells us how imperative the fight ahead will be in order to ensure this fact remains true.

Please, donate now and help the ACLU in this critical moment to defend people from efforts to use religion as cover for acts of discrimination. Your urgent gift will help protect all of our civil liberties.

Here is what you need to remember: While the Court has ruled that the city of Philadelphia must, in this specific instance, tolerate discrimination, you and I don't have to. We can still demand that government service providers, businesses, employers, health care providers, and landlords remain open to all. And, with your support, that's just what we intend to do.

ACLU Supporter, please make an urgent gift so that the ACLU can use every tool at our disposal to protect the civil liberties of all people as we move forward from today's decision.

It's more important than ever that we keep raising our voices and make it clear that we want a country where all of us are protected from discrimination. You can count on the ACLU to keep leading the way in that struggle.

Sincerely,

James Esseks
Pronouns: He, him, his
Director, Jon L. Stryker and Slobodan Randjelović LGBTQ & HIV Project, ACLU