Press Release

(Washington, D.C., September 3, 2003) -- Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund filed a lawsuit in federal court today arguing that the State Department illegally prohibits anyone with HIV from being hired as a Foreign Service officer, regardless of applicant’s qualifications or health status.

(LOS ANGELES, February 2, 2001) — A new report by the Judicial Council of California says that anti-gay bias is a major problem in the court system statewide, with over half of lesbians and gay men reporting anti-gay comments or actions when sexual orientation became an issue, and nearly a third of court employees believing that it is unsafe for them to come out in the workplace.

(Augusta, Georgia -- Wednesday, September 10, 2003) In a hearing set for Thursday, September 11, a state judge will hear a Richmond County transgendered woman’s request to change her name to reflect her gender.

(Augusta, Georgia -- Thursday, September 11, 2003) At the conclusion of a hearing this morning in Augusta, a Georgia state judged granted a Richmond County transgender woman’s request to legally change her name to reflect her gender.

(LOS ANGELES) — Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund will describe key national and regional civil rights concerns for the year at a media briefing in Los Angeles, said Lambda Executive Director Kevin M. Cathcart.

At a breakfast briefing on Friday, February 2 at 9:30 a.m., top legal strategists from Lambda’s headquarters in New York and Western Regional Office in Los Angeles will identify leading discrimination problems facing the gay community.

Washington, DC - The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund (Lambda Legal) have launched an historic partnership to fundamentally change the way lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth are treated in the nation’s foster care system. The three-year venture, “Fostering Transitions: CWLA/Lambda Legal Joint Initiative To Support LGBTQ Youth and Adults Involved with the Child Welfare System,” is supported by a grant from the Andrus Family Fund.

(San Francisco, Friday, Sept. 19, 2003) - With Gov. Gray Davis set to sign the most sweeping statewide domestic partnership legislation in the nation this evening, Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund today released in-depth resources that outline what the new law means for same-sex couples in California and how their lives will be impacted by the protections it provides.

(Denver, Monday, Sept. 22, 2003) - Saying that one of the nation’s largest HMOs may cost a Denver man his life by refusing to cover a kidney transplant because he has HIV, Lambda Legal today filed a formal appeal with Kaiser Permanente and asked the HMO to reverse its denial in light of a range of scientific data and the man’s personal health history and experience.

(Boca Raton, September 30, 2003)—Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund announced today that a favorable settlement agreement has been reach in an anti-gay housing discrimination case in Boca Raton, Florida.

The agreement requires Royal Colonial Apartments to post a nondiscrimination statement in their office and on housing application forms. The statement makes it clear that Royal Colonial will not discriminate against gay and lesbian individuals or couples.

(Washington, D.C., October 2, 2003) -- Just months after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all laws prohibiting consensual sodomy in the nation, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network are urging the military’s highest court to strike a similar law from its code of conduct.