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Kentucky Judge Refuses Adoptions to Same-Sex Couples, Gets Hit with Ethics Complaint

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May 16, 2017

Today Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kentucky, Kentucky’s Fairness Campaign and University of Louisville Law Professor Sam Marcosson filed a complaint against Judge W. Mitchell Nance for violating Kentucky’s Code of Judicial Conduct by recusing himself from any adoption proceedings involving lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

See Also: Anti-LGBT Rulings, Laws and Amendments, Marriage, Marriage Relationships and Family Protections, Same-sex relationships
An Oregon Judge Refused to Marry Same-Sex Couples. We're Fighting Back.

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May 2, 2017

Judge Day directed court staff to use the court record system to investigate whether couples wishing to marry were of the same sex and, if so, to represent that he was unavailable, rather than unwilling, to marry them.

See Also: Fair Courts Project, Law & Policy Project, Marriage, Religious Exemptions, Same-sex relationships
Equality Act, LGBTQ Federal Non-Discrimination Bill, Reintroduced in Congress

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May 2, 2017

Today Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley and Rhode Island Representative David Cicilline were joined by Democratic Leaders in the Senate and House as well as members of the bipartisan LGBTQ Equality Caucus to reintroduce the Equality Act, a bill to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing, credit, education, and jury service.

See Also: Advocacy & Inclusion, Community Education, Employment and Rights in the Workplace, Health Care Fairness, Law & Policy Project, Marriage, Relationships and Family Protections.Transgender Rights, Youth and Schools
We're Suing a Mississippi Funeral Home for Refusing to Transport and Cremate the Body of Gay Man

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May 2, 2017

Lambda Legal today announced it has joined a lawsuit against a Picayune, MS, funeral home for refusing to provide any service for Robert Huskey after his death, leaving his 82-year-old husband, Jack Zawadski, desperate to make other arrangements in the hours after his beloved spouse’s passing. The suit seeks damages for breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, and the intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

See Also: Anti-LGBT Rulings, Laws and Amendments, Marriage, Same-sex relationships, Seniors
Lambda Legal Sues Over Idaho's Anti-Trans Birth Certificate Policy

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April 18, 2017

Lambda Legal today filed a federal lawsuit challenging the State of Idaho’s refusal to allow transgender people to correct the gender on their birth certificates.

See Also: Transgender Rights
Justice Department Dismisses Lawsuit Against North Carolina's Discriminatory HB 2 After Fake "Repeal"

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April 14, 2017

Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU of North Carolina today condemned the decision by the U.S. Department of Justice to dismiss its lawsuit challenging House Bill 2, the discriminatory North Carolina law that banned many transgender people from restrooms and other public facilities matching their gender and prohibited local municipalities from extending nondiscrimination protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

See Also: Anti-LGBT Rulings, Laws and Amendments, Transgender Rights
Nevada Passes Law Supporting Trans Young People in Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems

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April 11, 2017

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval today signed Assembly Bill 99, a bill that requires child welfare and juvenile justice agencies in Nevada to treat transgender children in their care in accordance with their gender identity.

See Also: Youth in Out-of-Home Care
Lambda Legal Sues Puerto Rico for Anti-Transgender Birth Certificate Policy

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April 6, 2017

Lambda Legal today filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of three transgender Puerto Ricans and the LGBT rights organization Puerto Rico Para Tod@s to compel the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to allow transgender individuals to correct the gender marker on their birth certificates.

See Also: Transgender Rights
Victory! Court Rules Landlord Discriminated Against LGBT Family

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April 5, 2017

A federal district court judge today ruled that a Boulder County property owner violated both the federal Fair Housing Act and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act when she refused to rent a housing unit to Lambda Legal clients Rachel and Tonya Smith, a same-sex couple, one of whom is transgender, and their children, because she worried their “uniqueness” would jeopardize her standing in the community.

See Also: Housing, Marriage, Marriage Family and Relationship Protections, Same-sex relationships
Fighting for the Rights of an Incarcerated Transgender Woman in Missouri

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April 5, 2017

Yesterday, Lambda Legal asked a federal district court to order the Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC) and Corizon LLC (Corizon) to provide medically necessary, doctor-recommended health care for the treatment of gender dysphoria for Jessica Hicklin, a 38-year-old transgender woman incarcerated at the Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point, Missouri.

See Also: Criminal Justice, Transgender Rights