(Little Rock, AR, April 7, 2011) - Today, the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld the lower court ruling that struck down Act 1, an Arkansas law banning cohabiting unmarried couples living together from adopting or fostering children.

As millions of Americans prepare their taxes, now is the perfect time to sit down and plan for your life and financial future as well. LGBT people face unique challenges when dealing with issues we all must face, from wills to health care proxies. Downloading Take the Power: Tools for Life and Financial Planning is a great way to start to get organized.

The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 was cause for celebration. But DADT is not dead yet. It left a trail of damage that repeal, even when fully enacted, won't necessarily address. In addition to the fact that the government has not completed all the steps necessary to make DADT history—meaning the policy is still in effect—14,000 service members were robbed of their livelihoods and those still serving face uncertainty about their status. Many who were issued "other than honorable" discharges left service with a taint on their reputations. Even those with "honorable" discharges often lost the ability to maintain privacy about their sexual orientation, because discharge paperwork continues to indicate to future employers that they are "unable to re-enlist" because of DADT.

As you're clearly painfully aware, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is depriving thousands of legally married same-sex couples the rights and benefits that the federal government provides to different-sex couples. Indeed, the federal General Account Office has estimated that there are 1,138 federal laws that treat individuals differently based on whether they are married or not. But unfortunately, undoing this discriminatory piece of legislation will take some time.

(Washington, April 5, 2011) - A majority of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults who answered a national online survey believe that staff of long-term care facilities would discriminate against an LGBT elder who was open about his or her sexual orientation, and more than half believe that staff or other residents would abuse or neglect an LGBT elder.

(Los Angeles, April 4, 2011) — Lambda Legal, Knights Out, OutServe, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Anti-Defamation League today filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals urging it to uphold a lower court ruling that declared "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) unconstitutional. The brief was filed in support of a case originally filed in 2004 by the Log Cabin Republicans.

(New York, April 4, 2011) - Today, on the heels of the second anniversary of marriage equality in Iowa, Lambda Legal announced that Camilla Taylor, lead attorney on the Iowa marriage equality lawsuit, has been promoted to national Marriage Project Director.

(New York, April 4, 2011)—The Department of Health and Human Services today announced a series of current and future actions to "improve the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities."

The announcement, timed to coincide with the 9th Annual LGBT Health Awareness Week, stated that "For too long, LGBT people have been denied the compassionate services they deserve. That is now changing….Safeguarding the health and well-being of all Americans requires a commitment to treating all people with respect while being sensitive to their differences."

Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai`i (ACLU) and Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing (AHFI) today announced they have dismissed their lawsuit against the state, following Governor Neil Abercrombie's signing civil unions into law last month. The Hawai`i Senate gave final approval to the bill, SB232, which allows same- and different-sex unmarried couples to enter into civil unions, with an 18-5 vote on February 16, following the 31-19 approving vote by the House on February 11, 2011. The new law takes effect on January 1, 2012.

(Washington, D.C., March 30, 2011)—Today after Rep. Barney Frank introduced the Employment Non-discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, Lambda Legal issued the following statement from Executive Director, Kevin Cathcart: