The Institute is extremely pleased to announce that Jay Kaplan and Rana Elmir of the ACLU of Michigan will be speaking at the 2010 Institute.

Jay Kaplan, ACLU of Michigan LGBT Project Staff Attorney

Jay is a graduate of Wayne State Law School. For 13 years he worked for Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service, Inc. (MPAS) a disability rights agency and specialized in the areas of special education, vocational rehabilitation and guardianship reform. He founded the HIV/AIDS Advocacy Program at MPAS, which provides legal services to persons living with HIV/AIDS and served as staff attorney for the project for 7 years. He also implemented an information and legal referral program for sexual orientation legal issues and the development of a GLBT legal resource manual for Michigan. Prior to his work at MPAS he worked for several legal services programs, specializing in housing and family law issues.

Rana Elmir, ACLU of Michigan Communications Director

Rana Elmir joined the ACLU of Michigan as the Communications Director in May 2006. She works in conjunction with the ACLU’s legal, legislative and development departments to increase understanding and appreciation of the Bill of Rights and the ACLU’s mission. In addition, Rana is responsible for all ACLU publications and the organization’s web site.

Rana is a graduate of Wayne State University’s Journalism School and the Journalism Institute for Minorities. She speaks fluent Arabic and is the winner of a number of awards including the Chips Quinn Scholars Program, Wayne State Media and Ethics Scholarship and Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity Inaugural Scholarship and the Rosa Parks Scholarship.

In 2004, she was a member of the North American Media Justice Delegation to the U.N. Conference on Information Society in Tunisia. Before joining the ACLU of Michigan, Rana served as the Media Coordinator for LIFE for Relief and Development and Director of Programs and Outreach at the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

ACLU OF MICHIGAN LGBT PROJECT:
Since coming to the defense of The Children’s Hour, a play that was banned in 1936 for a suggested lesbian relationship, the ACLU has been protecting the rights of LGBT Americans. The ACLU’s work challenges discrimination in the courts and legislatures — case by case, law by law — to change antigay policies. As the efforts to win full civil rights and equality for LGBT people continue, the ACLU marks more than 70 years of important legal victories. More than 50 years ago, the ACLU began a full LGBT rights docket and then founded 30 years later. The ACLU of Michigan is one of only a handful of ACLU affiliates that boast a local LGBT Project.

Today, the LGBT Project continues to fight discrimination and moves public opinion on LGBT rights through the courts, legislatures and public education across five issue areas:

Relationships – Since the first marriage lawsuit for same-sex couples in 1972, the ACLU has been at the forefront of both legal and public education efforts to secure marriage for same-sex couples and win legal recognition for LGBT relationships.

Schools & Youth – The LGBT Project’s Schools & Youth program defends free expression in public schools, demands that learning environments do not encourage bullying and violence, and helps educators create an atmosphere respectful of students’ sexual orientation and gender identity.

Parenting – The ACLU is committed to defending the rights of LGBT parents, not only in custody and visitation arrangements but also by challenging discriminatory laws that restrict the rights of LGBT people to parent.

Transgender – The ACLU works to include gender identity in nondiscrimination laws, raises awareness of the types of harms that transgender people face, and brings impact lawsuits to change biased laws against transgender people in employment, schools, and public accommodations.

Discrimination – Since the 1950s, the ACLU has been defending LGBT people from discrimination. Over the years, the ACLU has fought LGBT discrimination on several fronts—from challenging “sodomy” laws to advocating for civil rights that protect LGBT people.