Press Release

(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 29, 2005) — A Pennsylvania state appeals court issued a strong ruling that grants a lesbian mom visitation with her daughter that had been denied solely because her ex-partner (the child’s biological mother) worked to alienate the child from her, Lambda Legal said today.

(New York, March 31, 2005) -- This morning, the New York Court of Appeals (the state's highest court) announced that a middle-level state appeals court needs to hear Lambda Legal's lawsuit seeking marriage for same-sex couples before the high court considers hearing the case. Last month, a state judge ruled in Lambda Legal's favor, saying same-sex couples must be allowed to marry under the New York Constitution.

Following is a statement from Susan Sommer, Senior Counsel at Lambda Legal and lead attorney on the case, about this morning's announcement:

(CHICAGO, December 16, 1999) — A lesbian mother faces the devastating prospect of never seeing her young daughter again because an Illinois appeals court, citing the state marriage code's silence on same-sex families, held that it could not consider her plea for visitation, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said Thursday.

(Los Angeles, Friday, April 8, 2005) — Lambda Legal today filed a friend-of-the-court brief at the California Supreme Court, seeking to ensure that children raised in lesbian- or gay-headed households always have the support of two parents.

(NEW YORK, December 10, 1999) -- Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund expressed disappointment Friday that the Hawaii Supreme Court did not strike a final blow at discrimination in civil marriage because of a state constitutional amendment. At the same time, Lambda emphasized that the clock cannot be turned back on the gay civil rights struggle.

Orange, CA, December 8, 1999) -- After months of delaying students’ request to allow a Gay-Straight Alliance Club to meet at El Modena High School, the Orange Unified School Board voted 7-0 late Tuesday to deny the students their constitutional and legal rights.

The students formed the club as a way to promote understanding and respect. The school board's action has left the students with no choice but to pursue the lawsuit they filed in federal court on November 24, said Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and People For the American Way Foundation.

(Washington, D.C., April 21, 2005) — Lambda Legal says that a new policy in the Department of Veterans Affairs directing VA hospitals nationwide to evaluate on a case-by-case basis veterans who have HIV and need organ transplants may save hundreds of lives over the coming years.

“After working closely with officials in the department, we’re pleased that the VA has made this move–the policy is backed by solid scientific data and could save hundreds of lives,” said Jon Givner, Director of Lambda Legal’s HIV Project.

(SACRAMENTO, December 8, 1999) --The League of Women Voters of California Wednesday praised a decision by a California judge affirming the accuracy of the name given by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer to a controversial ballot measure that would allow the state to discriminate against legal marriages of lesbians and gay men from other states.

(LOS ANGELES, December 7, 1999) — A Mexican citizen beaten and sexually assaulted by law enforcement officials because he is an effeminate gay man should be granted asylum in the United States, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said Tuesday, on the eve of a hearing in his case.