Tag Archives: GLAD

Chris Johnson reports on the Washington Blade: President Trump’s recently announced plan to bar transgender people from the armed forces isn’t yet policy, but LGBT legal groups have already initiated a lawsuit seeking to enjoin enforcement of the ban. The 15-page complaint was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by National Center for Lesbian …

A coalition of five national LGBT groups reacted to today’s raid on the Rentboy.com offices by tweeting out links to a recently published joint statement calling for decriminalizing sex work. The statement was first issued two weeks ago. An excerpt: As LGBT rights organizations in the United States, we join to applaud and support Amnesty International’s recent resolution to protect …

Via press release: Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (WLC) have filed a class action lawsuit against Walmart, charging the retail giant with discriminating against employees who were married to same-sex spouses by denying their spouses health insurance benefits. The Complaint was filed this morning in U.S. District …

Important history from GLAD: “On April 28, 2015, Mary Bonauto will argue before the U.S. Supreme Court for the freedom to marry for all same-sex couples nationwide. In 2001 Mary and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) filed the case that first brought marriage equality to the U.S. – with the landmark 2003 Goodridge v. Department of Public Health …

As the date for oral arguments before SCOTUS draws closer, LGBT groups have been jockeying for position. Chris Geidner reports on yesterday’s developments at Buzzfeed: Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the six cases out of four states before the Supreme Court asked the justices to split the April 28 arguments, which will include 90 minutes focused on whether states can …

Two weeks ago the Arkansas legislature approved a bill that would ban any municipality from enacting LGBT anti-discrimination ordinances. Without a veto from Gov. Asa Hutchinson, that law goes into effect tomorrow. Yesterday Lambda Legal, the ACLU, GLAD, and the NCLR issued a last-minute plea to Hutchinson. SB 202 was passed to thwart cities like Fayetteville and Eureka Springs that …

This afternoon the plaintiffs in the Michigan and Kentucky marriage equality cases both filed petitions with the Supreme Court which request a review of the Sixth Circuit Court decision that upheld the bans in their states. Late last week plaintiffs in the Ohio and Tennessee cases filed their petitions. Hit the above links to read the petitions. GOP Michigan Gov. …

Via the Wall Street Journal: Mark your calendars: the Supreme Court is scheduled to consider its next steps on gay marriage when the justices meet for the first time since their summer break. The court on Wednesday listed gay marriage petitions from five states – Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin – for consideration at its Sept. 29 private conference. …

A coalition of 17 national LGBT and civil rights groups have issued a joint letter in support of the family of Missouri teenager Michael Brown, whose killing by a police officer has inflamed racial tensions and prompted a national outcry. Among the groups signing the letter are the ACLU, HRC, GLAD, GLAAD, GMHC, NGLTF, PFLAG, and the Trevor Project.

Yesterday several major LGBT groups including the ACLU, the NGLTF, and Lambda Legal announced that they no longer support ENDA due to its broad religious exemptions. Buzzfeed‘s Chris Geidner has published a lengthy look at the ENDA battle and concludes his analysis with three reasons for the sudden change of heart. The final reason: The White House is preparing an …

This afternoon the ACLU joined a growing list of civil rights group that have dropped their support for ENDA due to its gaping religious exemptions. Via press release: The provision in the current version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that allows religious organizations to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity has long been a source of significant …

Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders writes: A look at the historic November 18, 2003 ruling in GLAD’s case Goodridge v. DPH which made Massachusetts the first state in the U.S. where same-sex couples could marry. The video celebrates the powerful and beautiful decision authored by then Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, and explores the impact the ruling has had …

LGBT Rights Coalition We, America’s leading LGBT advocacy organizations, join civil rights organizations – and indeed, all Americans whom this law has served to protect – in expressing acute dismay at today’s ruling. Not only had Congress repeatedly reaffirmed the need for this bedrock civil rights protection, but authoritative voices from across America had filed amicus briefs urging the court …

GLAD For every day DOMA continues to be enforced by our federal government, thousands of legally married same-sex couples are denied critical protections. DOMA is a blatantly discriminatory law which targets a particularly disliked group, impacts important personal interests, and represents a one-time departure from the usual process of allocating federal rights and benefits. Same-sex couples who are legally married …

Another 50 Supreme Court briefs have been filed in support of the overturn of Proposition 8.  Many of the briefs have multiple sponsors, so I’ll just pull out a few of the names from the list compiled by the press office of San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera. National Women’s Law Center Williams Institute Gay & Lesbian Medical Association Lambda …

The Supreme Court has been asked for the fourth time to uphold a lower court’s ruling to overturn DOMA. Chris Geidner reports: Today’s filing by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, called a petition for a writ of certiorari, asks the Supreme Court to consider the appeal of a case it won at the trial court level on behalf of …

Via press release from GLAD: Today, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional as a violation of equal protection guarantees. Her ruling comes with respect to claims brought by six married same-sex couples and one widower from the states of Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont who were denied federal …

Interestingly, the ruling came about via a bigamy-tinged case. Via press release from GLAD: The ruling came in the case Elia-Warnken v. Elia. Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) represented Richard Elia, who obtained a license to marry Todd Warnkenin October 2005. Mr. Elia did not know at the time that Mr. Warnken was in a civil union with …

Just in via press release from GLAD: On July 4, Judge Vanessa L. Bryant of the U.S. District Court of Connecticut, denied the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group’s (BLAG) motion to stay the proceedings in Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management, the challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) now pending in federal court in the District of Connecticut. Gay …