Press Release

(New York, January 20, 2015) - The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral argument in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar, a First Amendment challenge to a Florida rule that helps keep courts impartial by prohibiting judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign contributions.

Washington (January 16, 2015) – The U.S. Supreme Court today announced it has granted review of all six marriage equality cases decided by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, including two Ohio cases litigated by Lambda Legal, the ACLU and Gerhardstein & Branch.

(Cincinnati, OH, January 16, 2015) — Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted review of the Ohio marriage lawsuits brought by Lambda Legal, the ACLU and Gerhardstein & Branch seeking to compel the State of Ohio to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples.

"Across the country courts have struck down discriminatory bans denying marriage to same-sex couples as the flawed arguments supporting those bans have crumbled. Today was no different and we trust the Fifth Circuit will see through the desperate arguments the State put forth.”

(Atlanta, January 8, 2015 ) - The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled today to allow Lambda Legal’s case challenging Georgia’s discriminatory marriage ban to proceed. The case was filed on behalf of four same-sex couples and the surviving spouse of a fifth couple -- Christopher Inniss and Shelton Stroman of Snellville, Rayshawn Chandler and Avery Chandler of Jonesboro, Michael Bishop and Shane Thomas of Atlanta, Beth and Krista Wurz of Brunswick and Jennifer Sisson of Decatur.

Surviving spouses shouldn’t be penalized because they were excluded from marriage for most of their time together.

(New York, December 24, 2014) – Today Lambda Legal and six other advocacy organizations filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar, a case challenging the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct that prohibits judicial candidates from personally requesting campaign contributions. The brief opposes the challenge brought by the petitioner, and argues that public confidence in the judiciary is core to our democracy and regulation of direct solicitation in judicial elections is essential to maintaining that confidence.

(Washington, December 23, 2014) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced it plans to move ahead with a recommendation to reduce the deferral period for blood donations from gay and bisexual men from the current lifetime ban to one year.

(Dallas, TX) - Lambda Legal today launched a petition drive calling on the state of Texas and Texas Gov.-elect Greg Abbott to implement and abide by the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), the federal law signed by former President George W. Bush to address the problem of prison rape across the country.

(New York, December 16, 2014) – The U.S. Senate tonight confirmed Robert Pitman to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Pitman becomes the first openly gay judge to sit on the federal bench in Texas, and also assumes a seat that had been vacant for more than six years. Lambda Legal Fair Courts Project Manager Eric Lesh released the following statement: