Press Release

(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 20, 2003) - Leading advocates and community members will protest Cirque du Soleil’s HIV discrimination tonight at Cirque du Soleil’s “Alegria” outside of Pac Bell Park at 6:30 p.m. Matthew Cusick, a gay man who was illegally fired from his performance job at Cirque du Soleil because he has HIV, will attend the event and speak to the community.

(San Francisco, November 25, 2003) - Following successful protests at Cirque du Soleil shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles in recent days, Lambda Legal and local activists today announced plans for additional protests outside shows in San Francisco and Orange County to denounce Cirque for firing a gymnast because he has HIV.

(New York, December 1, 2003) - Lambda Legal released its seventh World AIDS Day Report Card today, failing companies and agencies that discriminate while praising organizations who fight misinformation and discrimination against people with HIV and AIDS.

(San Francisco, December 2, 2003) - A federal appeals court will hear arguments Wednesday in the case of a Reno woman who was fired from her job of 21 years as a bartender at Harrah’s Casino for not adhering to rigid sex stereotypes in the company’s new dress code. Lambda Legal, as co-counsel for the woman, is arguing that women and men should be treated equally in the workplace and that employers cannot have policies forcing employees to fit extreme gender stereotypes.

WHO: Ken Reeves, City Councilor, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Rev. Michaele Moore, God's Living Spirit Church
Donna Payne, Human Rights Campaign
Keith Boykin, Bestselling Author
Mandy Carter, Freedom To Marry Steering Committee
Alicia Heath-Toby and Saundra Toby-Heath, black lesbian couple from New Jersey
Dr. Alvin Williams and Nigel Simon, black gay couple from Washington

WHAT: Press conference to announce a nationwide African-American media campaign against the Federal Marriage Amendment

WASHINGTON -- The National Black Justice Coalition today announced a nationwide campaign to generate black support for same-sex marriage and to fight against the recently proposed Federal Marriage Amendment.

(Pittsburgh, Wednesday, December 10, 2003) - In a decision made public today, a judge ordered Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program to approve a life-saving liver transplant for an HIV-positive man with advanced hepatitis.

(San Francisco, December 17, 2003) — After publicly admitting for months that it fired a top-notch gymnast solely because he has HIV, Cirque du Soleil told the San Francisco Human Rights Commission that some positions that don't involve bodily contact are suitable for people with HIV – such as dishwashers, food and beverage staff, office assistants, prep cooks, ushers and merchandise “hawkers.”

(New York, December 17, 2003) — Lambda Legal today announced that Gary Buseck has been hired as its Legal Director following a nationwide search over the last several months. Buseck currently serves as Executive Director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, the New England legal organization that recently won a groundbreaking lawsuit on behalf of same-sex couples in Massachusetts seeking full marriage rights.