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Victory! Kentucky Supreme Court Unanimously Affirms Lesbian Mother’s Right to Custody Petition in Lambda Legal Case

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February 18, 2016

Today, in a unanimous decision, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that Lambda Legal client, Amy H., a lesbian mother, will have her day in court to petition for joint custody of her daughter.

See Also: Adoption and Parenting, Marriage Relationships and Family Protections, Same-sex relationships
Lambda Legal Sues North Carolina Hospital That Denied Health Coverage to Employee’s Same-Sex Spouse

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February 11, 2016

Lambda Legal filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Asheville Division, seeking compensation for Sandra Lively, a registered nurse at North Carolina hospital Park Ridge Health, for the thousands of dollars of expenses she incurred when the hospital refused to allow her to enroll her same-sex spouse in the employee health plan.

See Also: Employment and Rights in the Workplace, Health Care Fairness, Marriage Relationships and Family Protections, Religious Exemptions
Victory! Lambda Legal Resolves Lawsuit on Behalf of American Military Partner Association for VA Benefits for Same-Sex Spouses

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January 20, 2016

Today, Lambda Legal and the American Military Partner Association (AMPA) announced that they are concluding litigation against the US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) following the VA’s changes to its policies on benefits ending discrimination against veterans and their same-sex spouses.

See Also: Marriage, Marriage Relationships and Family Protections, Same-sex relationships
Lambda Legal Seeks Accurate Birth Certificates for Children Born to Married Same-Sex Couples in North Carolina

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December 17, 2015

Today, Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina on behalf Melissa and Meredith Weiss, a married lesbian couple, seeking birth certificates listing both mothers as parents of their two sons.

See Also: Family, Marriage Relationships and Family Protections, Same-sex relationships, Weiss v. Brajer
Lambda Legal Asks Wisconsin Court for Swift Action in Case Seeking Accurate Birth Certificates for Same-Sex Couples

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September 11, 2015

Lambda Legal filed a motion for summary judgment in its federal lawsuit seeking an accurate birth certificate for the son of Chelsea and Jessamy Torres, a married lesbian couple, and other similarly situated same-sex couples in Wisconsin. Kyle Palazzolo, Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal, said:

See Also: Adoption and Parenting, Marriage Relationships and Family Protections
SSA Tells Court It Will Apply Obergefell Retroactively To Grant Spousal Benefits In Lambda Legal Case

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August 20, 2015

Today, in a status conference with Lambda Legal in federal court in Chicago, the Department of Justice announced that the Social Security Administration (SSA) will apply the U.S. Supreme Court's recent landmark marriage ruling retroactively and process pending spousal benefits claims for same-sex couples who lived in states that did not previously recognize their marriages.

See Also: Marriage, Marriage Relationships and Family Protections, Same-sex relationships, Social Security Administration
From Impact Magazine: Indiana Was the Tip Of The Iceberg

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August 18, 2015

More than 100 state bills so far have aimed to use religious beliefs as an excuse for discrimination. The idea is to allow businesses and public employees to mistreat LGBT people and consider married same-sex couples as unmarried.

See Also: Anti-LGBT Rulings, Laws and Amendments, Law & Policy Project, Marriage, Marriage Relationships and Family Protections, Religious Exemptions, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Religiously Motivated Discrimination, Same-sex relationships
Lambda Legal Applauds Introduction of Federal Nondiscrimination Bill in Congress

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July 23, 2015

Today Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley and Rhode Island Representative David Cicilline, together with lead co-sponsors Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), introduced 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: Employment and Rights in the Workplace, Housing, Law & Policy Project, Marriage, Marriage Relationships and Family Protections, Same-sex relationships, Teens & Young Adults, Transgender Rights, Youth and Schools, Youth in Out-of-Home Care
Ask Lambda Legal – Marriage Equality

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July 10, 2015

Following the Supreme Court’s recent historic decision to grant same-sex couples throughout the United States the freedom to marry and the right to recognition of their marriages in Obergefell v. Hodges, many questions have surfaced about just how the ruling will affect same-sex couples and families. In an attempt to answer many of these questions, legal teams at Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Freedom to Marry, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) teamed up to develop a joint FAQ.

See Also: Ask Lambda Legal, Marriage, Marriage Relationships and Family Protections, Same-sex relationships
Victory in Lambda Legal’s Puerto Rico Marriage Case

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July 8, 2015

In light of the ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges which struck down marriage bans nationwide, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated the district court’s ruling in Conde-Vidal v. Rius-Armendariz, that had upheld Puerto Rico’s discriminatory ban.

See Also: Marriage, Marriage Relationships and Family Protections, Same-sex relationships