Press Release

(Sacramento, December 18, 2003) - Today, a Sacramento Superior Court refused to stand in the way of a new state law that offers same-sex couples legal protections and imposes many responsibilities to each other. Judge Thomas M. Cecil denied requests by Senator Pete Knight and Randy Thomasson of Campaign for California Families to issue a preliminary injunction, which would prevent the state from putting the law into effect.

(New York, Monday, January 12, 2004) - In two new publications released today, Lambda Legal provides guidance in resolving child custody and visitation issues that emerge when a couple divorces because one parent is gay.

One publication is geared toward the gay or lesbian parent, and the other is aimed at the heterosexual spouse.

(Los Angeles, January 15, 2004) -Cirque du Soleil, which is set to open a month-long show in Orange County tomorrow night, is under increasing fire in Southern California for HIV discrimination, with several leading local groups joining an ongoing campaign against the company, a protest set for Jan. 22 outside the Cost Mesa show and the Los Angeles City Attorney speaking out directly to Cirque’s founder and CEO, Lambda Legal said today.

(New York, Friday, January 16, 2004) - In a first-of-its-kind publication released today, Lambda Legal offers information to same-sex couples who are considering whether to get married and are deciding where to do it, in Canada or Massachusetts.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions about how or whether these marriages will be honored for couples as they should be,” said David Buckel, Director of Lambda Legal’s Marriage Project “Couples need to weigh the pros and cons heavily and make a choice that is right for them.”

(New York, Tuesday, January 20, 2004) - In the first case in the nation that appropriately recognized a couple who entered into a Vermont civil union as spouses outside that state, Lambda Legal today asked an appeals court to uphold an earlier ruling that a gay man in New York is a legal spouse and able to sue St. Vincent’s Hospital for medical negligence leading to his longtime partner’s death.

(New York, January 20, 2004) - Some of the nation’s most accomplished performers, artists and celebrities are joining a nationwide campaign against Cirque du Soleil for firing a gymnast because he has HIV, Lambda Legal announced today.

(Los Angeles, January 30, 2004) - The federal government’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which for months has been investigating Cirque du Soleil for firing performer Matthew Cusick because he has HIV, concluded that Cirque likely engaged in illegal discrimination. The EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office handled the investigation and issued the determination made public today, and will now attempt to resolve the matter before it reaches court, according to Lambda Legal, which represents Cusick.

(New York, February 3, 2004) - Lambda Legal launched a national campaign today to fight police harassment and other harms men face when cruising for sex. Lambda Legal’s latest publication, Little Black Book, tells men who have sex with men about their legal rights if they are harassed or arrested while cruising for sex in public.

(New York, February 4, 2004) - Lambda Legal issued the following statement today, as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court clarified its ruling late last year that denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples violates the Massachusetts Constitution’s guarantee that all citizens be treated equally under the law. (Lambda Legal, along with other civil rights groups, filed friend-of-the-court briefs with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court; New England-based Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders represented the seven couples in the case.)

(San Diego, February 9, 2004) - A state appeals court will hear arguments today in the case of a San Diego lesbian couple whose country club refused to treat them like other committed couples. Lambda Legal, which represents the women, is asking the court to order the country club to treat same-sex couples equally and fairly.