Press Release

(New York, March 15, 2016) — Today, Lambda Legal announced that Richard Saenz, one of its former Legal Help Desk Specialists, has returned as a staff attorney in its national headquarters in New York. In addition to serving the needs of those in the Eastern seaboard states, Saenz will be Lambda Legal’s program strategist on criminal justice and police misconduct issues.

(Atlanta March 16, 2016) - Today, a newly amended but still deeply discriminatory bill, HB 757,  passed the Georgia Legislature and is headed to the governor. Lambda Legal issued the following statement from Southern Regional Director Simone Bell:

"All Americans, and not just a select few, need justices who will uphold the Constitution and ensure that its guiding principles are applied equally to protect everyone in our nation."

(Washington, D.C) —In response to President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland, Chief Judge of the D.C. Circuit, to the U.S. Supreme Court today, Lambda Legal's Legal Director and Eden/Rushing Chair, Jon W. Davidson made the following statement:

(Houston, TX, March 14, 2016) – Today, a U.S. District Court rejected an attempt to remove Brad Livingston, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), as a defendant in Zollicoffer v. Livingston, Lambda Legal’s federal lawsuit on behalf of Passion Star (legal name: Zollicoffer), a transgender woman currently in TDCJ custody.

(San Juan, PR, March 9, 2016) – Today, Governor Alejandro García Padilla announced that the decision issued yesterday by the District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, holding that the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges striking down discriminatory marriage bans nationwide did not apply to Puerto Rico because it is not a state, would not affect the ability of LGBT people in Puerto Rico to marry. Lambda Legal applauds the Governor’s announcement.

(San Juan, PR, March 8, 2016) — Today, the U.S. District Court of the District of Puerto Rico ruled that the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges striking down discriminatory marriage bans nationwide did not apply to Puerto Rico because it is not a state, and denied a joint motion brought by Lambda Legal and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to declare Puerto Rico’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples unconstitutional. Lambda Legal will appeal the ruling.

(Washington, D.C., March 8, 2016) – Today Lambda Legal announced the resolution of its lawsuit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) brought on behalf of Kathy Murphy, a Texas widow denied spousal benefits after the death of her wife, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (the National Committee).

(Atlanta, March 2, 2016) — Today, Simone Bell, Lambda Legal Regional Director and former Georgia state representative, attended the Georgia Unites Against Discrimination rally against anti-LGBT bills that encourage discrimination. She delivered remarks on the steps of the capitol:

(Pierre, South Dakota, March 1, 2016)—Today, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard vetoed House Bill 1008, a discriminatory bill that would have prevented transgender students from accessing restrooms and single-sex facilities that correspond to their gender identity.

(Pierre, South Dakota, February 25, 2016) — House Bill 1107, a dangerously far-reaching religious refusal bill that would have allowed individuals, businesses, social service agencies and others to discriminate against same-sex couples, transgender people and single mothers on the basis of personally held religious beliefs was tabled in the South Dakota Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today.