Press Release

(NEW YORK, January 18, 2000) — Against the advice of national public health groups, the United States Supreme Court has declined to hear a case brought by HIV-positive inmates challenging their complete segregation by Alabama prison officials, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said Tuesday.

(New York, February 4, 2005) — A New York State court ruled today that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry, in a decision that Lambda Legal called “a historic ruling that delivers the state Constitution’s promise of equality to all New Yorkers.” Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit last year, representing five same-sex couples seeking marriage licenses in New York City.

(NEW YORK, January 14, 2000) -- The United States Supreme Court Friday agreed to hear the Boy Scouts of America's appeal of a New Jersey ruling that struck down the group's ban on gay members and leaders, a move Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said could shed more light on the organization's discriminatory policy nationwide.

(Seattle, Tuesday, February 8, 2005) — Lambda Legal said today that briefs from dozens of groups urging the Washington State Supreme Court to allow same-sex couples to marry show an “extraordinary level of support” for marriage equality among a wide range of people in the state.

(NEW YORK, January 10, 2001) — Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund on Wednesday called on Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating to stay the execution of Wanda Jean Allen, an African-American lesbian and one of several gay inmates on death row despite improprieties during their trials, including anti-gay bias.

(New York, February 8, 2005) — Lambda Legal’s Board of Directors re-elected and elected officers for 2005 at its regular winter meeting over the weekend. Board officers serve one-year terms and are elected by the full Board of Directors.

(Baltimore, Maryland, February 11, 2005) – Saying that one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies may cost a Maryland man his life by refusing to cover a liver transplant because he has HIV, Lambda Legal urged the administrator of a Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey health plan to reverse its denial in light of a range of scientific data and the man’s personal health history and experience.

(CHICAGO, January 10, 2000) — The United States Supreme Court Monday declined to review a case that seeks to clarify that the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits insurance companies from imposing disease-specific caps that limit health coverage for policyholders with HIV or other disabilities.

Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago said the practice, which has no basis in actuarial principles, violates the ADA and jeopardizes healthcare for many people with HIV and other illnesses.

(Atlanta, February 16, 2005) — Lambda Legal today launched a nationwide drive to mobilize its members and the public to urge Nodak Enterprises not to discriminate against employees with HIV. Nodak, a major auto-glass retailer in several southern states, fired highly skilled glass installer Joey Saavedra because he has HIV.

(NEW YORK, January 9, 2001) — Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund is urging Nebraska’s highest court to hold a Richardson County sheriff more accountable for his failure to protect a rape victim, who was raped and later killed because of his gender identity.