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Press releases related to Conde Vidal v. Garcia Padilla (formerly known as Conde Vidal v. Rius Armendariz)

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  • New Judge Strikes Down Puerto Rico Marriage Ban Hours After Lambda Legal Victory

    April 8, 2016
    (San Juan, PR, April 8, 2016) — Just hours after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed for the second time that Puerto Rico’s ban on marriage for LGBT people is unconstitutional and ordered the case be reassigned to a new judge, District Court Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí issued a judgment striking down that ban. Judge Gelpí applied the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which granted the freedom to marry to all people in the United States, after instruction from the First Circuit making clear that the decision applies to territories as it does to states.

  • Victory! First Circuit Removes Judge and Reaffirms Ban’s Unconstitutionality in Lambda Legal Puerto Rico Marriage Case

    April 7, 2016
    (San Juan, PR, April 7, 2016) — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit today once again affirmed that Puerto Rico’s marriage ban is unconstitutional and ordered the District Court of Puerto Rico to enter judgment in favor of Lambda Legal’s plaintiffs and, in light of the egregious disregard of its prior order, ordered that the case be reassigned to a different district court judge. In so doing, the First Circuit made clear that the Supreme Court’s historic decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which struck down discriminatory state bans denying same-sex couples the freedom to marry nationwide, applies to all people in the United States, regardless of whether they live in a territory or a state.

  • Lambda Legal asks Court of Appeals to Intervene in Puerto Rico Marriage Case

    March 21, 2016
    Today, Lambda Legal filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit asking the court to make clear that last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which granted same-sex couples the right to marry, applies to Puerto Rico and to order the district court to enter judgment in favor of the plaintiffs.

  • Lambda Legal applauds Governor García Padilla’s Statement that Marriages will Continue in Puerto Rico

    March 9, 2016
    (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.

  • Lambda Legal Condemns Puerto Rico Court Ruling Upholding Commonwealth’s Discriminatory Marriage Ban

    March 8, 2016
    (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.

  • Victory in Lambda Legal’s Puerto Rico Marriage Case

    July 8, 2015
    (San Juan, PR, July 8, 2015) – Today, in light of the ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges which struck down marriage bans nationwide, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated the district court’s ruling in Conde-Vidal v. Rius-Armendariz, that had upheld Puerto Rico’s discriminatory ban.

  • Lambda Legal Urges First Circuit to Immediately Strike Down Marriage Bans in Puerto Rico

    June 26, 2015
    Lambda Legal appealed a lower court ruling dismissing the challenge to Puerto Rico’s discriminatory ban to the First Circuit, where it has been pending during the Supreme Court’s consideration.

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