Harry Reid, U.S. Senate Majority Leader, recently came out against the planned mosque near Ground Zero. According to news reports, his spokesman said:

"The First Amendment protects freedom of religion. Senator Reid respects that but thinks that the mosque should be built someplace else."

Las Vegas resident Morgan Alan did not feel welcome in her neighborhood’s public, city-owned recreational center. Because the YMCA, a Christian organization, was running Ms. Alan’s local center and another city-owned rec center, community members were required to join the YMCA to use the facilities. In addition, both centers referenced Christianity in their brochures and one center had a Bible verse on its wall that read, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Ms. Alan, who is Jewish, did not feel welcome in this environment.

The ACLU of Nevada together with O’Melveny & Myers LLP are pleased to announce on behalf of its clients Jana Elhifny and Stephanie Hart that we have settled two related long-running federal civil rights lawsuits against the Washoe County School District filed in Reno's Federal District Court in 2004.

It is no mistake that the right to practice the religion of your choice appears in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Freedom of religion is among the most fundamental of the freedoms guaranteed to all Americans by the Bill of Rights. The ACLU works to ensure that people remain free to choose which religion (if any) they wish to practice by keeping the government out of important, personal decisions about faith. Below are three important cases that the ACLU of Nevada has recently tackled to defend this fundamental – and fundamentally American – liberty.

On August 6, 2008, United States District Court Judge Roger L. Hunt ordered that under the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Detective Steve Riback should be allowed to wear a beard at his desk job at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.