Domestic Partnership

(ATLANTA, September 21, 2000) — A Florida Court of Appeals upheld Broward County’s domestic partnership ordinance, derailing another right-wing effort to block domestic partner benefits for public employees, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said Thursday.

(Sacramento, December 18, 2003) - Today, a Sacramento Superior Court refused to stand in the way of a new state law that offers same-sex couples legal protections and imposes many responsibilities to each other. Judge Thomas M. Cecil denied requests by Senator Pete Knight and Randy Thomasson of Campaign for California Families to issue a preliminary injunction, which would prevent the state from putting the law into effect.

(New York, February 4, 2004) - Lambda Legal issued the following statement today, as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court clarified its ruling late last year that denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples violates the Massachusetts Constitution’s guarantee that all citizens be treated equally under the law. (Lambda Legal, along with other civil rights groups, filed friend-of-the-court briefs with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court; New England-based Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders represented the seven couples in the case.)

(New York, Thursday, February 12, 2004) - Lambda Legal today issued the following statement from Gary Buseck, the organization’s Legal Director, about San Francisco officials issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples and performing marriages:

(Washington, Tuesday, March 2, 2004) - Saying that many recent gay-rights legal victories were decided by conservative judges, Lambda Legal today announced that it is launching a major national campaign to challenge claims that so-called “activist judges” make it necessary to pass a constitutional amendment banning marriages by same-sex couples.

(New York, Wednesday, March 3, 2004) - The Attorney General of New York State said today that same-sex couples who validly married elsewhere are legally married throughout the state, and Lambda Legal vowed to take legal action if any local governments refuse to comply with the law.

(Des Moines, Iowa, May 10, 2004) - In a brief filed today, Lambda Legal, along with local organizations, is asking the Iowa State Supreme Court to reject an attempt made by antigay groups to insert themselves into a case in which an Iowa district court granted two Sioux City women’s request to terminate their civil union.

LINCOLN, NE – The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal filed their opening trial brief today in federal court urging the court to strike down a Nebraska constitutional amendment that bars the state and cities from ever granting any type of legal recognition for same-sex couples.

 (Trenton, December 7, 2004) – This morning, a state appeals court heard arguments in Lambda Legal’s case seeking marriage for same-sex couples in New Jersey. It’s not clear when the appeals court will issue its ruling in the case, which can then be appealed to the New Jersey Supreme Court.

David Buckel, Lambda Legal’s Marriage Project Director and the lead attorney on the case, argued on behalf of the plaintiffs today. Following is a brief statement from Buckel, issued immediately after this morning’s oral arguments:

(Albany, N.Y., Wednesday, January 12, 2005) — A New York State appeals court will hear oral argument from Lambda Legal this afternoon on whether the surviving domestic partner of a gay man is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits given to people whose spouses die on the job.