Tag Archives: Lambda Legal

NYC Eagle To Host Lambda Legal Benefit

On May 12th the NYC Eagle will host a benefit for Lambda Legal in solidarity with the Atlanta Eagle, who was the subject of a ridiculous raid last September. All patrons and employees were found not guilty last month, but Lambda Legal’s lawsuit against the city of Atlanta, their police chief, and 48 police officers will continue. The Atlanta City …

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Lambda Legal Sues NJ On Marriage

Yesterday Lambda Legal filed suit in the New Jersey Supreme Court arguing that the state had failed to comply with a 2006 ruling from the Court requiring that gay couples be treated the same as straight couples. “We come back to the court to turn equal rights on paper to equal rights in the real,” said Hayley Gorenberg, Lambda Legal’s …

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Maryland Recognizes Same-Sex Marriages From Other Jurisdictions

Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler issued an opinion today saying that the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions is consistent with Maryland state law. This is an amazing development coming just days away from same-sex marriage become legal in Washington DC. From Lambda Legal, via press release: Statement from Susan Sommer, Director of Constitutional Litigation at Lambda Legal: “This …

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ACLU & Lambda Legal To Sue Hawaii

After nonstop harassment by Catholic and evangelical groups protesting at the state capitol building, last week the Hawaii House indefinitely postponed a vote on civil unions after approving such an item twice in previous years. The ACLU and Lambda Legal are suing the state. Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai`i Foundation (ACLU) today announced they are …

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Reactions To SOTU Mention Of DADT

National Stonewall Democrats: Tonight, National Stonewall Democrats commend President Barack Obama for calling for the end of the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. We are concerned that President Obama did not address workplace discrimination during his first State of the Union address to Congress. Human Rights Campaign: …

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Lambda Legal To Sue In NJ Supreme Court

Lambda Legal is taking today’s marriage equality loss back to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Via press release: “The requirement to ensure equality for same-sex couples, established by the New Jersey Supreme Court in its decision in our marriage lawsuit in 2006, has not been met,” said Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director at Lambda Legal. “There is enormous, heartbreaking evidence that …

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Federal Court Dismisses Suit By Lesbian Couple Kept Apart In Hospital

A federal court in Florida has dismissed Lambda Legal’s lawsuit brought on behalf of a lesbian couple that was kept apart by a Miami hospital after one of the women suffered a brain aneurysm during an R Family cruise. She died alone even though her partner provided the hospital with documents proving she was legally entitled to make healthcare decisions. …

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Olson & Boies: Stay Out Of Our Lawsuit

On Friday, Ted Olson and David Boies filed briefs demanding that LGBT rights groups and the city of San Francisco not be allowed to join their federal suit to overturn Prop 8. Chad Griffin, president of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which launched the suit, sent a letter in July accusing the advocacy groups of undermining the case in …

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Olson/Boies To LGBT Orgs: Get Lost

Two weeks ago I told you that Lambda Legal, the ACLU, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights had reversed course and decided that they did want to join in the Olson/Boies federal marriage lawsuit after all. But still smarting from the way LGBT organizations dissed their proposal, the foundation supporting the superstar lawyers says they’re not interested. But the …

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Gays Orgs Reverse Course, Now Support Federal Marriage Suit

Earlier this month, a powerful coalition of LGBT and progressive groups issued a joint statement in opposition to the federal marriage lawsuit being brought by superstar lawyers Ted Olson and David Boies. Yesterday the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) announced that the ACLU, Lambda Legal, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights had reversed course and filed an amicus …

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DOJ To Meet With GLAD, Lambda Legal, Others Over DOMA Challenges

More reaction from the Obama administration. The DOJ has agreed to meet next week with Lambda Legal, Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) and other LGBT orgs to “hash out how to proceed with pending DOMA cases.” Via Greg Sargent: The Obama Justice Department has reached out to major gay rights organizations and scheduled a private meeting for next …

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Coalition Of LGBT Groups Join To Condemn DOJ Motion To Dismiss DOMA Challenge

A coalition of LGBT groups have issued a joint statement condemning the Obama administration’s motion to dismiss a challenge to the Defense Of Marriage Act. Via press release: We are very surprised and deeply disappointed in the manner in which the Obama administration has defended the so-called Defense of Marriage Act against Smelt v. United States, a lawsuit brought in …

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FL: Kept From A Dying Partner’s Bedside

A familiar story from Florida: When a loved one is in the hospital, you naturally want to be at the bedside. But what if the staff won’t allow it? hat’s what Janice Langbehn, a social worker in Lacey, Wash., says she experienced when her partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond, collapsed with an aneurysm during a Florida vacation and was …

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Lambda Legal Celebrates Iowa

This is a really, really sweet clip. (Via JMG reader Diane In Iowa City) Dubuque’s Telegraph-Herald notes the dramatic change in the lives of gay Iowans over the last two decades. Twenty-two years ago, a handful of gay and lesbian activists held a rally in Dubuque that bordered on a riot when hundreds of anti-gay hecklers surrounded them, throwing eggs …

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Sean Chapin – Grand

Reliable JMG reader Sean Chapin just handed in a fantastic tribute to same-sex marriage, his original song Grand, which includes video of a gay marriage ceremony at San Francisco City Hall. It’s gorgeous, for real, please turn up your speakers. Click here for more info about Sean’s soon to be released album, More Equal Union. 100% of the proceeds go …

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Georgia To Gay Parents: Keep Your Dirty Homo Friends Away From Your Kids

In Georgia, sometimes you can keep your kids if you come out after a heterosexual marriage. You just can’t let your dirty homo friends anywhere near them. A gay man in the US state of Georgia is disputing a child custody agreement restriction which prohibits him from “exposing his children to his homosexual partners and friends.” Lambda Legal, a gay …

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Just Issued: Guide To Your Rights As A Gay New Yorker Married Out Of State

The Empire State Pride Agenda, the ACLU, the NYCLU, and Lambda Legal have collaborated to create a document called Your Government Respects Your Marriage: Developments in New York State Agency Recognition of Same-Sex Couples’ Out-of-State Marriages. View the complete publication here. (PDF) From the NYCLU press release: “Couples in New York who have never known true security for their families …

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De Facto Gay Marriage For New York

An appellate court in Brooklyn has upheld a lower court’s ruling that Westchester County did not violate the New York constitution when it offered marriage benefits to same-sex couples. The ruling has led a senior attorney with Lambda Legal to declare: “Marriage has come to New York for same-sex couples.” A state appeals court has upheld an unflinching ruling by …

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Victory In Maryland Trans Rights Battle

Thanks to a judge’s miscalculation in the number of required signatures, Lambda Legal and Equality Maryland have thwarted an attempt to roll back transgender protections via a ballot referendum in Montgomery County, Maryland. “We’re pleased with this victory. The court ruled in our favor in our challenge to this improper referendum,” said Lambda Legal attorney Natalie Chin. “Though the order …

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California Supreme Court To Hear Gay Marriage Suit On March 4th

The California Supreme Court announced today that they will hear arguments over the state’s ban on gay marriage on March 4th in San Francisco. The three-hour hearing will consider a 2004 lawsuit filed on behalf of Equality California, the Our Family Coalition, and 15 same-sex couples denied marriage under the ballot measure approved by voters in 2000. Oral arguments will …

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