Press Release

(Los Angeles, June 5, 2013) - The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has vacated an Immigration Judge's ruling ordering the deportation of an HIV-positive immigrant convicted of solicitation for oral sex.

Washington, DC – As the nation marks the opening of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, executive directors from 35 LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations from across the United States have released a joint letter committing themselves and their organizations to re-engaging the broader LGBT community in the fight against HIV. While issues like marriage equality and employment protections for LGBT workers have taken center stage, HIV continues to ravage the LGBT community.

(Springfield, IL, May 31, 2013) -  At the close of the legislative session the Illinois House of Representatives did not call for a floor vote or advance the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, the bill that would grant same-sex couples in Illinois the freedom to marry. Lambda Legal issued the following statement from Jim Bennett, Director of the Midwest Regional Office of Lambda Legal:

This statement can be attributed to the National Center for Lesbian Rights, GLAAD, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, United We Dream and Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project, Lambda Legal, Equality Federation and the National Center for Transgender Equality.

(Los Angeles – May 10, 2013) –Lambda Legal announced today that it will honor Eric Webber, immediate past president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA), at its 21^st Annual West Coast Liberty Awards.  Webber is being recognized for his tireless advocacy for LGBT individuals in the legal profession that began 30 years ago when he was a law student at the University of Chicago.

(Chicago, IL, May 13, 2013) – In response to the passage of a bill granting same-sex couples the freedom to marry in Minnesota, Jennifer Pizer, Senior Counsel and Law & Policy Project Director for Lambda Legal, who worked with Minnesota advocates on the substance of the marriage bill, released the following statement:

(Chicago, IL, May 8, 2013) – Today, Lambda Legal voiced its support for H.R. 1843 the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act which was introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee late yesterday and would encourage states to reconsider laws and practices that unfairly target people with HIV for consensual sex and conduct that poses no real risk of HIV transmission.

(New York, May 7, 2013) — Today, the Delaware Senate voted to grant the freedom to marry to same-sex couples in Delaware. With Governor Jack Markell set to sign the bill, Delaware will join the rapidly growing list of jurisdictions in the United States where the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage has ended.

Susan Sommer, Director of Constitutional Litigation at Lambda Legal, made the following statement:

(Des Moines, IA, May 3, 2013) - Today the Iowa Supreme Court built upon its ruling in Lambda Legal's landmark case, Varnum v. Brien, which ordered that same-sex couples and their families be treated equally under Iowa law, and ordered the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) to provide an accurate two-parent birth certificate to all children born to lesbian married parents in Iowa. The Court was unanimous in ordering the State to treat children of lesbian couples as having two parents at birth.

(New York, May 2, 2013) — Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proclaimed, May 6, 2013  Lambda Legal Day in honor of the organization’s 40th anniversary which will be celebrated at its annual gala that evening.