Tag Archives: Lambda Legal

TEXAS: Lambda Legal Wins Lawsuit Against Feds For Social Security Benefits For Lesbian Widow

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Today Lambda Legal announced the resolution of its lawsuit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) brought on behalf of Kathy Murphy, a Texas widow denied spousal benefits after the death of her wife, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (the National Committee). “The Social Security Administration has finally adjusted Kathy’s …

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INDIANA: Lambda Legal Raises Alarm Over “LGBT Rights” Bill Introduced By State Senate Republicans

As an anti-gay continent led by the Indiana Pastors Alliance held a prayer vigil against LGBT rights at the Indiana Statehouse, state Senate Republicans today introduced an alleged LGBT rights bill that has LGBT groups alarmed. First the report from the Indianapolis Star: Indiana Senate Republicans introduced legislation Tuesday that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to state civil …

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NEVADA: State Agrees To Pay Lambda Legal $615K After Losing Same-Sex Marriage Battle

Via the Associated Press: A Nevada board has approved a $615,000 payment to lawyers who successfully challenged the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The Nevada Board of Examiners voted Tuesday to pay attorney fees and costs to Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which said it spent about 2,000 hours working on the case. The group originally sought more …

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LGBT Groups: Decriminalize Sex Work

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 …

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Lambda Legal Head Announces Retirement

“I am proud of what we have accomplished together and the work will not stop over the next 10 months or the decades ahead. Our community deserves our best efforts, addressing the discrimination, violence, and inequality we still face. I plan to keep us moving forward until my last day at Lambda Legal and I have every confidence in the …

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Lambda Legal: Michigan & North Carolina Laws Are Worse Than Indiana’s RFRA

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Today was a discouraging day for equality and justice. Michigan today enacted a law that allows state-funded adoption and foster care agencies to turn people away on religious grounds, and North Carolina enacted a law allowing government magistrates to refuse to perform civil marriage ceremonies for couples whose union they object to on religious …

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Julianne Moore For Lambda Legal

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Lambda Legal: #LoveRules

Lambda Legal has launched a social media campaign in advance of the oral arguments at the Supreme Court. Hit the link for images to use on your Twitter and Facebook profiles.

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LGBT Groups Applaud Obama’s Support For Laws That Ban “Ex-Gay” Torture

GLSEN Studies conducted by major mental health organizations and personal testimony from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth have shown that conversion therapy can create dangerous and even life-threatening effects, including depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse and suicidal behavior. We are thrilled that President Obama will call for an end to the use of conversion therapy on minors. It is …

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Lambda Legal Calls Out Pence’s Lies

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Governor Pence continues to deceive the public about this deeply flawed law. Let’s clarify a few things. Gov. Pence myth: SB 101 is just like Illinois law that then-State Senator Obama voted to support. Truth: Gov. Pence fails to point out that Illinois has robust nondiscrimination clauses in its state Human Rights Act that …

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Who Will Argue For Us At SCOTUS?

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 …

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ARKANSAS: LGBT Groups Issue Last Minute Veto Plea To Governor

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 …

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C-SPAN: Brian Brown Vs Lambda Legal

Brian Brown appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal this morning to debate Lambda Legal litigation director Susan Sommer. As you’d expect, much of the discussion centered on Alabama and Roy Moore. Brown says that it’s “absurd” to believe that the 14th Amendment creates the right to marry “out of thin air.” Also: polygamy! The clip is not embeddable and can been …

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INDIANA: Plaintiff In Same-Sex Marriage Case Dies Of Ovarian Cancer

Via the Indianapolis Star: Niki Quasney (left), the Munster woman who, along with her wife Amy Sandler, became one of the most prominent figures in the movement last year to legalize same-sex marriage in Indiana, has died. She was 38. Quasney passed away Thursday, more than five years after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Quasney and Sandler attracted national …

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GEORGIA: Marriage Case Put On Hold

From Lambda Legal’s brief: Plaintiffs have conferred with counsel for Defendants Deborah Aderhold and Monica Fenton (“Defendants”) and are informed that those Defendants would seek at least four months of discovery were the case to proceed. Accordingly, Obergefell will be argued – and likely decided – well before the parties could finish discovery and then proceed to dispositive motions for …

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Lambda Legal: What If We Lose?

“If the Supreme Court were to rule in the cases in which it today granted review that the U.S. Constitution does not protect same-sex couples’ right to marry and does not require states to respect marriages same-sex couples lawfully have entered in other jurisdictions, a number of issues would arise. “With respect to same-sex couples who already have married as …

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LGBT Rights Groups React To SCOTUS

Freedom To Marry “The Supreme Court’s decision today begins what we hope will be the last chapter in our campaign to win marriage nationwide – and it’s time,” said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry. “Freedom to Marry’s national strategy has been to build a critical mass of marriage states and critical mass of support for ending marriage discrimination, …

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GEORGIA: Marriage Lawsuit Advances

Via press release from Lambda Legal: The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled today to allow Lambda Legal’s case challenging Georgia’s discriminatory marriage ban to proceed. The case was filed on behalf of four same-sex couples and the surviving spouse of a fifth couple — Christopher Inniss and Shelton Stroman of Snellville, Rayshawn Chandler and Avery …

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Lambda Legal: End HIV Criminalization

Via press release: On World AIDS Day 2014, Lambda Legal urges those tasked with enforcing U.S. criminal law – from governors to prosecutors to police detectives – to halt the criminal prosecution of people based on their HIV status, thereby assisting efforts to combat the misconceptions, fear, stereotypes, discrimination and stigma faced by people living with HIV that fuel the …

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LGBT Groups Disappointed With President Obama’s Plan For Immigration Reform

Via press release from Lambda Legal: While we praise President Obama’s efforts to do what is in his executive power to improve immigration, we are deeply disappointed that his plan unfairly excludes many members of the LGBT community. President Obama’s plan allows immigrants who have children who are citizens or lawful permanent residents to obtain legal work documents and temporarily …

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