The American Civil Liberties Union published a full-page ad in the New York Times featuring a black-and-white picture of President Obama morphing into former President Bush on March 7.

Above the picture reads, "What will it be Mr. President?" and below, "Change or more of the Same?"

The purpose of the ad was to urge President Obama to not back down from his administration's decision to prosecute the 9/11 suspects in civilian court, according to the ACLU's press release.

According to the press release, the Obama administration is on the verge of reversing Attorney General Eric Holder's November decision, turning instead to the discredited military commission system.

The ACLU also sent a letter to President Obama regarding this issue: Read it here.

By Ellyn Fortino, Communications Intern

Recently, the Roger Baldwin Foundation of the ACLU of Illinois spoke out on behalf of a concerned member of the Centralia community who learned that Centralia High School had a blanket policy compelling all students to stand during the morning recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. After the ACLU of Illinois was contacted, we sent a letter on February 2nd to the school district noting that compelling standing during the Pledge at the school is a violation of the First Amendment and runs counter to long standing case law on the subject. Read our letter to the high school officials.

A few days after receiving the letter, the school relented. In response to our letter, Chuck Lane, superintendent of Centralia High School, wrote to say that he agreed with the legal analysis laid out by the ACLU of Illinois legal staff. He reported to us that the school is eliminating its policy - contained in the student handbook for the 2010-2011 school year - that forced students to stand during the Pledge. The school also reported that until the policy goes into effect, no student will be punished for not standing during the Pledge of Allegiance or the National Anthem. Read Centralia High School's response letter.

By Ellyn Fortino, Communications Intern

The government is preparing a first-ever study of housing discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people that will include data from Chicago and begin Thursday, according to the Huffington Post.

Starting Thursday, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department will enlist residents in three cities with large gay populations - Chicago, New York and San Francisco - to offer ideas on how such a study should be conducted.

Bias complaints and lawsuits nationwide make clear that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people face housing discrimination, from being turned down for apartments to being steered away from certain neighborhoods, but no one has tried to track how common such bias is. HUD hopes to begin collecting data next year.

John Knight, director of the ACLU of Illinois Lesbian and Gay Rights/AIDS Project said in the article the study should ensure it detects actual bias.

Those testing "have to think of a way to make it clear that this is a gay couple and not just two men who really can't afford to do anything than get a single apartment with a single room," said John Knight of the American Civil Liberties Union.

According to the article, advocates hope HUD's data collection could be a first step in receiving legal protection for gays under the Fair Housing Act, which currently does not cover gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.