Media Center

(New York, November 20, 2003) - On this 5th anniversary of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, Lambda Legal and National Youth Advocacy Coalition issued a statement publicly renewing their commitment to fight anti-transgender hatred and violence.

Established in 1998, the Transgender Day of Remembrance is intended to raise public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, while publicly mourning and honoring the lives of those who might otherwise be forgotten.

(San Francisco, November 19, 2003) - Several high-profile athletes, performers and AIDS experts - including Olympic competitors and pioneering HIV doctors - have joined growing public protests against Cirque du Soleil for firing a gymnast because he has HIV, Lambda Legal announced today. Local and national groups will join Lambda Legal for a community action outside Cirque du Soleil’s “Alegria” performance in San Francisco tomorrow night - and in growing protests in the weeks and months ahead.

(Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2003) - Saying that Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program may cost an Altoona man his life by refusing to cover a liver transplant because he has HIV, Lambda Legal will argue its appeal in the case at a hearing tomorrow (Wednesday, Nov. 19), asking the state program to reverse its denial in light of a range of scientific data and the man’s personal health history and experience.

(San Francisco, November 13, 2003) - One week after Lambda Legal and community activists launched protests against Cirque du Soleil for discriminating against people with HIV, the company has started sending a six-paragraph letter to members of the public - admitting that it fired a gymnast solely because he has HIV, but claiming that such action is not “discrimination.”