Press Release

(Milwaukee, WI, February 12, 2009) — Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit today in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on behalf of Melody Rose, a 35-year-old Wisconsin woman who was denied surgery to remove her gallbladder because she has HIV.

(New York, January 22, 2009) — The New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Department today upheld a lower court's ruling that the New York State Department of Civil Service (DCS), a state agency, acted in compliance with the law when it confirmed that it would recognize out–of–state marriages of same–sex couples. This was the first Appellate Court ruling in New York to address the Paterson administration's recognition of these marriages.

(San Francisco, January 21, 2009) — In the last round of an expedited briefing schedule, final briefs were filed today by both petitioners and respondents in the lawsuits challenging Proposition 8. The briefs filed today by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU responded to the more than 60 amicus curiae, or "friend of the court," briefs filed in the case last week.

(New Orleans, January 21, 2009) — The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth District, has upheld a Lambda Legal victory in lower court that the city of New Orleans was within its authority when it granted health benefits to domestic partners of city employees and established a domestic partner registry for city residents.

(Cleveland, Ohio, January 21, 2009) — In court papers submitted in the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals, Lambda Legal defended a lesbian mother in her fight to continue to parent her 11- and 8-year-old sons.

(San Francisco, CA, January 15, 2009) — Today, hundreds of religious organizations, civil rights groups, and labor unions, along with numerous California municipal governments, bar associations, and leading legal scholars collectively urged the California Supreme Court to strike down Proposition 8. Dozens of amicus curiae or "friend of the court" briefs argue that Proposition 8 drastically alters the equal protection guarantee in California's Constitution, and that the rights of a minority cannot be eliminated by a simple majority vote.

(New York, January 15, 2009) — As inauguration day draws near, Lambda Legal sent a letter to President–Elect Obama and the leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee, explaining the monumental need for fair and impartial nominees to the federal bench who will address issues facing the gay community without bias.

(San Francisco, California, January 5, 2009) — Today, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Lambda Legal filed a reply brief in  the California Supreme Court, the next step in the lawsuit seeking to overturn Proposition 8, which passed by a mere 52 percent on November 4.  Before its passage, some 18,000 same-sex couples married across California.