Press Release

(New York, Wednesday, March 3, 2004) - The Attorney General of New York State said today that same-sex couples who validly married elsewhere are legally married throughout the state, and Lambda Legal vowed to take legal action if any local governments refuse to comply with the law.

(New York, Friday, March 5, 2004) -- Lambda Legal is filing a historic lawsuit in Manhattan today seeking the right to marry for same-sex couples statewide.

The case, on behalf of a gay couple who have been together for over five years, argues that denying marriage to same-sex couples violates the state Constitution’s guarantee of equality for all New Yorkers. The case is the first of its kind to be filed in New York since the Massachusetts high court ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to full marriage under that state’s Constitution.

(Seattle, Monday, March 8, 2004) - Lambda Legal and the Northwest Women’s Law Center filed a lawsuit today in state court in Seattle seeking the right to marry for same-sex couples in Washington State.

(San Francisco, Thursday, March 11, 2004) — A California Supreme Court ruling this afternoon temporarily keeps San Francisco officials from issuing more marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but the court has not yet addressed whether it’s constitutional to deny marriage to lesbian and gay couples, Lambda Legal said.

The California Supreme Court put the matter on hold while the court considers a lawsuit filed by antigay groups. Since Mayor Gavin Newsom began issuing license to same-sex couples last month, judges have refused to intervene five times.

(LOS ANGELES, March 22, 2000)—In a case concerning two Alaskan landlords who refuse to rent to unmarried couples, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund argues that gay people and many others are at risk if individuals can use personal beliefs to exempt themselves from fair housing and other anti-discrimination laws.

(San Diego, March 25, 2004) - Saying that lesbian and gay patients have a right to equal access to medical care and must be allowed to seek justice when they face discrimination, Lambda Legal urged a California State Court today to reject a medical group’s “desperate attempt to block important claims in a case filed by a lesbian who was denied fertility services.

(Los Angeles, Friday, March 12, 2004) — In a lawsuit filed this morning in state court on behalf of six same-sex couples and two organizations, Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the ACLU are seeking the right for same-sex couples to marry throughout California. Today's filing comes less than 24 hours after the state Supreme Court ordered a temporary pause on same-sex couples marrying in San Francisco — in a ruling that also said legal action to win the right marry could proceed.

(Santa Fe, New Mexico, March 30, 2004) Saying that Prudential Financial’s denial of benefits to the spouse of a lesbian retiree is baseless and uncharacteristic for the company, Lambda Legal this week formally asked the company to reconsider the decision.

After her marriage in Canada, Laurel Awishus, a retired Prudential Financial employee who worked for the company for 20 years, sought to enroll her spouse of nearly 22 years, Kathy Adelsheim, in the medical benefits program offered to the company’s retirees and spouses.