“Our petition represents the voice of a public eager to reform Texas’s prisons. Rape is not an inevitable part of incarceration, but leadership is key. We are hopeful that Governor Abbott will do the right thing and take steps to implement PREA.”
“As welcoming communities gather throughout the country today, Lambda Legal calls for greater appreciation and integration of LGBT immigrants, and immigrants in general.”
(Los Angeles, May 1, 2015) -- Lambda Legal today marked May 1st, International Worker’s Day, with a call for supporting efforts to bring visibility to LGBT immigrants, especially those who are undocumented. Francisco Dueñas, Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Proyecto Igualdad, and Carmina Ocampo, Lambda Legal’s lead attorney on immigrants’ rights issues, issued the following statement:
“No one should have to endure rape as a condition of their sentence. May 15, the national deadline to certify PREA compliance, should be seen as an opportunity for Texas to step up and do the right thing.”
(New York, April 29, 2015) —Yesterday, members and allies of the LGBT community raised their voices for justice as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the six cases collectively known as Obergefell v. Hodges, challenging discriminatory state bans on marriage for same-sex couples. But just miles from the courthouse steps, in Baltimore, a community is in turmoil, mourning the death of another black man while in police custody.
“Florida, and the 39 other states that elect judges, must be allowed to place reasonable restrictions on how these candidates raise money in order to guard against a perception among the public that justice is for sale."
(New York, April 29, 2015) In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled to uphold a Florida rule that helps keep courts impartial by prohibiting judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign contributions in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar.
“Today was an awe-inspiring and singular moment in the march towards justice for same-sex couples and their families as powerful arguments for fairness, equality and love echoed in the chamber of our nation’s highest court.”
“We … look forward to a productive relationship with Attorney General Lynch to continue the impressive work of her predecessor … in advancing the cause of full equality for all across the land.
“Congress must ensure that federally-funded programs that serve at-risk runaway and homeless youth support and affirm them rather than allow providers to subject these vulnerable youth to the very same rejection they experienced at home.”
“The passage of these discriminatory bills would have dangerous, devastating effects for children in these foster care systems by allowing state-funded agencies to turn away loving individuals and families.”
(New York, NY – April 21, 2015) – A September 2014 NPR special on transgender families that featured Robina Asti, a 94-year-old transgender woman who worked with Lambda Legal to successfully challenge the Social Security Administration, has won a Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting.
