8/5/2010

"What could happen now that Prop 8 has been declared unconstitutional by one federal court and two more courts have a stab at it?...

"I posed that question this afternoon to Jon Davidson, legal director of Lambda Legal, which has filed an amicus brief in the case and stands as one of the country's strongest litigators on LGBT rights...

fter the Senate voted to confirm Justice Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court, Lambda Legal issued the following statement from Jon Davidson, Legal Director of Lambda Legal

From August 2010 eNews

Q. My sister, who is living with HIV, is about to go into prison. I am worried about her health. Is there anything she or I can do to ensure she gets proper care while she's inside?

A. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that prison officials must provide medical treatment to prisoners, regardless of whether they are in a federal, state, or local prison or jail.

From August 2010 eNews

A feeling of celebration is in the air. Yesterday, U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker handed down a powerfully worded decision striking down California's Proposition 8, writing, "A private moral view that same-sex couples are inferior to opposite-sex couples is not a proper basis for legislation." He added that the evidence was "overwhelming" that Prop 8 violated due process and equal protection rights.

Saying that it discriminates against gay men and women, a federal judge in San Francisco struck down California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage on Wednesday, handing supporters of such unions at least a temporary victory in a legal battle that seems all but certain to be settled by the Supreme Court

Jennifer C. Pizer, National Marriage Project Director for Lambda Legal, issued the following statement in reaction to today's decision from U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker in Perry v. Schwarzenegger

8/3/2010

"For most people, donating blood is as simple as rolling up a sleeve. But not for gay men. Since 1983, the Food and Drug Administration has barred them from donating.

"...Donated blood is routinely screened for H.I.V. and other infectious agents. The F.D.A. employs multiple safeguards, including donor evaluations and computerized blood testing, to ensure that infected blood is not distributed.

I am Jenny Pizer, Lambda Legal Senior Counsel, and I am here with my Lambda Legal colleagues Staff Attorney Tara Borelli and Regional Director Loren Javier. We are proud to be joined by our co-counsel in this litigation, Dan Gluck and Laurie Temple of the ACLU of Hawai`i and Clyde Wadsworth of the Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing law firm.

8/2/2010

"Nearly four years ago, Bremen Community School District 228 Superintendent Rich Mitchell was fired after his contract had been extended through 2009. Last week, the Cook County Human Rights Commission figured out why: because he is gay.

"Mitchell was interviewed for the leadership position in 2004 by the local School Board, according to a statement from Lambda Legal. While being interviewed, board member Evelyn Gleason allegedly asked two other members if they knew Dr. Mitchell was gay.

7/29/2010

"A group of supporters for civil unions filed a lawsuit against Gov. Linda Lingle on Thursday.

"The complaint filed in circuit court by the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii and Lambda Legal argues that the state violates the constitution by denying same sex couples the rights and protections currently available to heterosexual couples through marriage.