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Victory! Federal Judge Strikes Down Discriminatory South Carolina Marriage Ban

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November 12, 2014

Today, the U. S. District Court for the District of South Carolina struck down South Carolina’s ban on marriages for same-sex couples as unconstitutional, paving the way for same-sex couples across the state to marry.

See Also: Marriage
Ohio Families to Petition Supreme Court for Review of Discriminatory Sixth Circuit Ruling

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November 7, 2014

Yesterday, over a strenuous dissent, two Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judges upheld discriminatory bans on marriage rights for same-sex couples in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee, becoming the first federal circuit court after the Supreme Court’s watershed 2013 Windsor ruling to uphold such bans and departing from recent decisions from the 4th, 7th, 9th and 10th Circuits.

See Also: Marriage, Same-sex relationships
Victory! Federal Court Strikes Down West Virginia Marriage Ban

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November 7, 2014

Although West Virginia’s Attorney General had already conceded that the state’s marriage ban was unconstitutional and marriages began last month, the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia made it official today, ruling in favor of Lambda Legal’s plaintiffs and striking down the discriminatory marriage ban as mandated by the U.S.

See Also: Same-sex relationships
Sixth Circuit Upholds Discriminatory Bans on Marriage Rights for Same-Sex Couples in Four States

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November 6, 2014

Today the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld as constitutional bans on marriage rights for same-sex couples in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee, becoming the first federal circuit court after the Supreme Court’s watershed 2013 Windsor ruling to uphold such bans and departing from recent decisions from the 4th, 7th, 9th and 10th Circuits.

See Also: Marriage, Same-sex relationships
Lambda Legal Sues Social Security Administration on Behalf of Gay Chicago Widower

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November 6, 2014

Today, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) on behalf of Dave Williams, a widower, formerly of Arkansas, now a Chicagoan, who was denied spousal benefits after the death of his husband, Carl Allen.

See Also: Same-sex relationships, Social Security Administration
"Flying Solo" Screening at Upcoming Film Festivals this November

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November 4, 2014

Lambda Legal's short documentary, Flying Solo: A Transgender Widow Fights Discrimination, about 93-year-old WWII veteran and pilot Robina Asti, will be showing this month at the San Francisco Trans Film Fest as part of the opening night program, and at the Mezipatra Queer Film Festival in the Czech Republic several times throughout the month.

See Also: Robina Asti, Seniors, social security, ssa, transgender
Lambda Legal Appeals Ruling That Upheld Puerto Rico’s Discriminatory Marriage Ban

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October 28, 2014

Today, Lambda Legal filed a notice of appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Conde-Vidal v. Garcia-Padilla, after the U. S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico dismissed the lawsuit seeking to end the Commonwealth’s discriminatory ban on marriage for same-sex couples.

See Also: Marriage, Same-sex relationships
Lambda Legal Sues Texas Prison System on Behalf of Transgender Woman over Persistent Sexual Abuse and Violence

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October 23, 2014

Lambda Legal today filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Passion Star, a transgender woman currently in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), arguing that TCDJ officials have displayed deliberate indifference to threats of sexual assault and violence against Ms. Star in TDCJ’s male facilities.

See Also: Criminal Justice, Government Misconduct and Support for Discrimination, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Prisons, Transgender Rights
The Time is Now to Allow South Carolina Same-Sex Couples to Marry

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October 23, 2014

Late yesterday Lambda Legal, in partnership with South Carolina Equality, filed a motion for a preliminary injunction and for summary judgment asking the U. S. District Court for the District of South Carolina to rule swiftly and strike down South Carolina’s discriminatory ban denying same-sex couples in the state the freedom to marry.

See Also: Marriage, Same-sex relationships
Lambda Legal Sues Social Security Administration on Behalf of Texas Lesbian Widow and National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare

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October 22, 2014

Today Lambda Legal filed suit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) 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), arguing that denying Social Security benefits to same-sex spouses because they live in states that discriminate against their marriages violates the U.S. Constitution.

See Also: Marriage, Same-sex relationships