ACLU of Idaho Foundation

Background

The ACLU of Idaho Foundation was officially founded in 1993. ¹ Previously, an unofficial ACLU-affiliated group formed in 1989 to fight pro-life bills under consideration in the state legislature. ² The ACLU of Idaho has continued to advocate in favor of left-of-center positions on abortion, prisoner rights, LGBT issues, and expanded immigration. ²

Issues

The Foundation has advocated for a number of left-of-center policies, such as allowing transgender people born male to participate in women’s athletics, allowing sanctuary cities, allowing driver authorization cards for illegal immigrants, and forcing the state to pay for prisoners’ sex change operations. ^{3 4 5 6}

Litigation

In 2020, the ACLU of Idaho Foundation sued on behalf of a transgender athlete born male seeking to participate in women’s track at Boise State University. The lawsuit challenges an Idaho law that bans transgender individuals who are biologically male from participating in women’s sports. ⁷

In 2020, the ACLU of Idaho Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Idaho Attorney General seeking to overturn an individual’s registration as a sex offender. The individual was convicted for consensual homosexual sex in another state under a law similar to Idaho’s Crimes Against Nature Act. Subsequently, when the individual moved to Idaho, state law required him to register as a sex offender. The ACLU of Idaho Foundation argued the original conviction was unconstitutional under the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas, which overturned anti-sodomy laws, and the law requiring him to register as a sex offender was unconstitutional. ⁸

The ACLU of Idaho Foundation sued the City of Boise on behalf of a library employee who identified as nonbinary and claimed the person threatened with firing after posting a series of posts on Facebook advertising library events for Pride Month and arguing with others opposed to such events. ⁹ The ACLU of Idaho Foundation has also filed briefs in lawsuits seeking to force a prison to pay for a prisoner’s sex change operation¹⁰ and challenging increased abortion reporting measures in the state. ¹¹

Finances

In 2019, the ACLU of Idaho Foundation recorded $1,079,125 in revenue and $805,791 in expenses. ¹ The previous year, the ACLU of Idaho Foundation raised $795,364 in revenue and had $737,999 in expenses. ¹

In 2017, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations gave $100,000 to the ACLU of Idaho Foundation. ¹² Also in 2017, the ACLU of Idaho Foundation received a seed money and rapid response grant from the Social Justice Fund Northwest,¹³ a left-wing group that provides grants to promote left-progressive social change. ¹⁴ The Pride Foundation has provided annual support for the ACLU of Idaho’s Activist Academy training. ¹⁵

Leadership

Leo Morales became executive director of the ACLU of Idaho in 2015 after being named interim executive director in 2014. ¹⁶ Previously, Morales joined the ACLU of Idaho in 2011 as director of communications and advocacy. ¹⁶ Prior to joining the ACLU of Idaho, Morales was a community organizer with Idaho Community Action Network. ¹⁷