12/18/2009

"Lambda Legal is the gay ACLU. They are THE gay civil rights legal group. And they're none too pleased that the Obama administration is refusing to abide by a court order directing them to provide health benefits to the lesbian partner of a gay federal employee.

12/18/2009

"The U.S. Office of Personnel Management still thinks it can't authorize health care coverage for the same-sex spouse of a federal court employee even though a judge has ordered the agency to do, a government lawyer said Friday.

"...Golinski's lawyer, Jennifer Pizer of the gay rights group Lambda Legal, disagreed that Kozinski's determination was any less authoritative because it arose out of an employee benefits dispute.

From December 2009 eNews (Vol. 6, No. 11)

It's customary at this time to reflect on the past twelve months, and here at Lambda Legal, we are celebrating our victories and taking stock of our work so we can strengthen and expand it. But mainly, we are busy looking forward! We’ve got a packed docket ahead of us, having launched a range of new cases in recent weeks all across the country, including:

12/15/2009

"Gov. David A. Paterson is preparing to issue an executive order that would include transgender people in antidiscrimination policies that govern state agencies.

"The order, which the governor plans to sign on Wednesday, represents the broadest protections ever extended to transgender public employees in New York State.

12/15/2009

"Perhaps the biggest long–term jolt to the Scouts, however, came in the form of a legal victory — the June 2000 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court which said the BSA, as a private organization, had a right to exclude gays from its adult and youth ranks.

12/15/2009

"From the moment they lost a fierce 2008 battle over Proposition 8...activists vowed to take gay marriage back to the ballot. But they have been split over when to try again.

"...In recent days, influential gay-rights advocates like Lambda Legal and the Courage Campaign have said they support a gay-marriage initiative in 2012, arguing that time is necessary to raise support and money.

12/9/2009

"In the aftermath of California's Proposition 8, a flawed CNN poll lead to the widespread conclusion among media elites and activists on both sides of the fight for LGBT rights that the black community is adamantly and uniformly homophobic.

"...The emergence of openly gay black political figures may help shift perceptions of LGBT rights issues in the black community.

12/9/2009

"Supporters on Tuesday celebrated a committee's approval of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, but opponents predicted a victory in the full Senate later this week would add momentum to their efforts around the country.

"As a result, Monday's vote in the state Senate Judiciary Committee in Trenton was a reprieve for proponents, despite the opposition of Democratic Sens. Paul Sarlo of Wood-Ridge and John Girgenti of Hawthorne.

12/2009

Arizona's legislature has stripped lesbian and gay state employees of domestic partner coverage. Staff Attorney Tara Borelli writes about why this is a mean-spirited move against employees' families and why Lambda Legal is suing to restore fair treatment.