Press Release

(SEATTLE, September 25, 2017) – The state of Washington today filed a motion to intervene in support of the plaintiffs in Karnoski v. Trump, the federal lawsuit filed last month by Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN challenging the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s ban on military service by transgender individuals. Washington becomes the first state to intervene in one of the lawsuits challenging the discriminatory ban. Lambda Legal Senior Attorney Peter Renn issued the following statement:

Washington, DC – Lambda Legal issued the below statement today about President Donald Trump's nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Jeff Mateer, who is coming under fire as news reports today are surfacing past remarks that reveal a record of extreme hostility toward the LGBT community, including Mateer's referring to transgender children as part of "Satan's plan," comparing same-sex marriage to bestiality, his endorsement of the controversial and widely-condemned practice of conversion therapy, and his extensive record of putting religious beliefs above the rule of law.

Lambda Legal joined allied religious and civil-rights organizations and members of the clergy today in telling the U.S. Supreme Court that President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban is an unconstitutional violation of religious freedom.

(SEATTLE, September 14, 2017) – Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN today asked a federal court to halt immediately all steps taken to implement the Trump Administration’s discriminatory plan to ban transgender individuals from serving openly in the U.S. Armed Services.

Washington, DC – Last week, Lambda Legal and 27 other LGBT groups urged opposition to the nomination of Stephen S. Schwartz to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, whose nomination is slated for consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee at a markup hearing tomorrow morning.

Edie Windsor, plaintiff in the landmark case United States v. Windsor, which struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and helped pave the way for marriage equality nationwide, has passed away.

(Atlanta, September 7, 2017) – Today, Lambda Legal asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case of Jameka Evans, a Savannah security guard who was harassed at work and forced from her job because she is a lesbian. The petition seeks a nationwide ruling that sexual orientation discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  

Washington, DC – Today, Lambda Legal and 27 other LGBT groups strongly opposed the confirmation of Stephen S. Schwartz to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, given this court’s “tremendous importance to the LGBT community over the years, including most notably issues affecting LGBT people in the military,” and Schwartz’s record in undermining the rights of LGBT people.

“While people of all races, faiths and immigration statuses in Texas have united to help their neighbors and save their communities from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, Trump is doubling down on his white supremacist and divisive agenda. His decision to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is cruel and serves no other purpose but to score cheap political points. Our nation has benefited from the 800,000 Dreamers enrolled in DACA who have seized the opportunity to contribute to their communities and our economy in myriad ways.

Today, Lambda Legal and 46 other national, state, and local LGBT groups from across the country strongly opposed the confirmation of Eric S. Dreiband to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the Dept. of Justice, citing his “overwhelmingly anti-civil rights record” and his efforts to “diminish the rights of LGBT people and other vulnerable communities.”