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.
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.
It’s only Thursday and already so much has happened since Monday, when the Supreme Court announced that it would not take up cases from Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin that struck down state bans on marriage for same-sex couples — making it possible for same-sex couples to begin marrying in those five states.
Immediately after U.S. District Court Judge Orlando Garcia struck down Texas’ discriminatory ban denying same-sex couples the freedom to marry, Texas Governor Rick Perry attacked the ruling in the statement released by his office.
Lambda Legal today asked a U.S. District Court judge to combine two separate lawsuits filed against Houston Mayor Annise Parker and the City of Houston, one seeking to prevent and the other to preserve the extension of spousal benefits, including health insurance, to the same-sex spouses of city employees.
Lambda Legal today filed a federal lawsuit against Houston Mayor Annise Parker and the City of Houston seeking to preserve spousal benefits, including health insurance, covering the same-sex spouses of city employees.
After increasing pressure to follow U.S. Department of Defense guidelines, the Texas Military Forces today allowed Lambda Legal's client, Alicia Butler the wife of 1st Lt. Judith Chedville to register for federal military benefits at Camp Mabry.
Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Paul Castillo said: