Press Release

Lambda Legal today filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to leave in place pending appeal the injunction a federal district court judge issued against enforcement of the U.S. military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" (DADT) ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces, saying that the policy's impact extends far beyond those in uniform and that continuing it would do irreparable harm to lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans.

Lambda Legal client Dr. Robert Franke, who was evicted from a Little Rock, Arkansas, assisted living facility because he has HIV, has been invited by the White House to participate this week in a conference on HIV and aging. Dr. Franke, a retired educator and former minister, will attend the meeting with his daughter, Sara Bowling, and Lambda Legal HIV Project Staff Attorney Scott Schoettes. Schoettes will speak on a panel addressing issues likely to affect seniors living with HIV.

>(Los Angeles, October 21, 2010) — Lambda Legal has released a short guide aimed at tax professionals and California's registered domestic partners explaining the consequences of a significant shift in federal tax policy as they file their tax returns for 2010.

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has failed to provide a meaningful explanation for its illegal release of the names of some 5,000 HIV-positive Medi-Cal recipients to a third-party service provider, said attorneys at Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC), and HIV & AIDS Legal Services Alliance (HALSA). A letter delivered to the agency from the groups today warns that DHCS must immediately act to protect the confidentiality of HIV patients, or face further steps that could include legal action.

Lambda Legal has sent a letter of support to the Snoqualmie School District on behalf of Mount Si High School senior and local GSA president Jacqueline Ferland, and her father, Daniel.

In court papers filed today, Lambda Legal is seeking to intervene on behalf of Fair Wisconsin and five same-sex couples in a lawsuit brought by an antigay group attempting to strip away critical domestic partnership protections for same-sex couples and their families.

In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth Appellate District, upheld a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit brought by an antigay group that attempted to strip away the newly enacted domestic partnership registry for same-sex couples and their families.

Today, as we heard news of the fourth apparent teenage suicide in recent weeks, following antigay bullying and harassment, we felt overwhelming grief and anger. Losing one young person because of bigotry and hate is too much—but two, three, four?

(Sacramento, Calif., September, 9 2010) - Today Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC), and HIV & AIDS Legal Services Alliance (HALSA) sent a letter to David Maxwell-Jolly, Director of the California Department of Health Care Services, demanding a full explanation for the unauthorized and illegal disclosures of confidential identifying information of approximately 5,000 HIV-positive Medi-Cal recipients. The information was released over a two-and-a-half-year period, beginning in 2007, to a third party service provider. In addition, Lambda Legal, the ACLU-NC, and HALSA seek immediate assurances from the state agency that no additional unauthorized, illegal disclosures will occur.

(Little Rock, Ark., September 1, 2010) - Lambda Legal announced today it has settled its lawsuit on behalf of an HIV-positive retired university provost and former minister against Fox Ridge, a North Little Rock assisted living facility.