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On August 17, Lambda Legal submitted comments to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, supporting the CDC's proposed rules that would lift the HIV travel and immigration ban by removing HIV from the list of communicable diseases of public health significance for visitors and immigrants to the United States.

The letter describes how the discriminatory restrictions violate basic human rights and cannot be justified on public health grounds, and stresses that lifting the ban will reduce the stigma faced by people living with HIV.

The CDC's July, 2009 proposal to change the regulations came almost a year after Lambda Legal sent a letter to former President Bush urging him to end the ban on visitors and immigrants living with HIV. Now, after over twenty years of barring people living with HIV from traveling or immigrating to the United States, the federal government is one step closer to getting this baseless, discriminatory rule off the books.

Lambda Legal HIV Project Staff Attorney Scott Schoettes comments: "Once these rules are finalized, U.S. policy will reflect the broad consensus among the scientific, medical and public health communities that admission of individuals living with HIV into the United States does not present a threat to the public health of this country nor does it pose any danger to its citizens. Adoption of these rules…will ensure that people living with HIV no longer face this type of stigma and discrimination from our government."

View the full text of Lambda Legal's letter.

Judge Vaughn R. Walker denied intervention in the case by the LGBT community groups represented by Lambda Legal, the ACLU and NCLR. Lambda Legal anticipates continuing to support the case as an amicus.

On August 12, a New York federal court rejected a claim by Howard K. Stern that merely being described as gay is defamatory per se.

In 2007, Stern filed a lawsuit claiming that he was defamed, and entitled to collect damages, because he was described as gay in the book Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind the Death of Anna Nicole Smith. Lambda Legal's friend-of-the-court brief urged the court to reject the claim, arguing that its recognition would demean gay men and lesbians. The brief also called attention to the fact that being called gay does not expose someone to public hatred and shame. In the court's decision, Judge Denny Chin writes:

"The past few decades have seen a veritable sea change in attitudes about homosexuality. First, and perhaps most importantly, in 2003 the United States Supreme Court, in a sweeping decision, invalidated laws criminalizing intimate homosexual conduct, holding that such laws violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause…While I certainly agree that gays and lesbians continue to face prejudice, I respectfully disagree that the existence of this continued prejudice leads to the conclusion that there is a widespread view of gays and lesbians as contemptible and disgraceful."

The court's decision is the first to hold that, as a matter of New York law, it is not defamatory per se to incorrectly describe a man as gay — a holding that is in sync with New York law and public policy, which has repeatedly maintained the rights and dignity of gay men and lesbians.

The case is Stern v. Rita Cosby, et al.

Read about Lawrence v. Texas, the landmark Lambda Legal case referenced in the decision.

A U.S. District Court judge denied a motion by Fox Ridge to dismiss our lawsuit on behalf of Reverend Dr. Robert Franke and his daughter. The case will move forward.

The Huntington Lions Club sent a letter of apology to Angela and Tina Corriere-Gooch, a lesbian couple discriminated against during a recent club-sponsored catfish derby. The letter states: “Please accept our sincerest apologies for the mistake that was made that day and any embarrassment it may have caused you and your family,” adding that the chapter is “committed to serving the community without regard to an individual’s gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, national [origin], disability or other protected class in accordance with state and federal laws.”

Lions Club officials promised that the club’s local chapters will be reminded of their responsibilities under state antidiscrimination laws. “We’re very pleased and satisfied that an organization dedicated to serving the community has reaffirmed its policy of including everyone,” says Staff Attorney Tara Borelli.

On July 16, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a clear message to state licensing boards and occupational training schools that discrimination against people with HIV will not stand. The fact sheet issued by the DOJ informed various institutions that preventing people with HIV from entering professions like barbering, massage therapy and home health care assistance violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The new guidance came, in part, as a response to requests from Lambda Legal and our sister organizations; our request was included in a 15-point HIV civil rights policy blueprint Lambda Legal was key in developing for the Obama administration's first 100 days. The groups also provided the DOJ with a list of several recent examples of people with HIV facing discrimination from state licensing boards and training schools.

According to the DOJ fact sheet, because HIV is considered a disability under the ADA, any state licensing agencies or trade schools that bar people with HIV are in violation of federal law. The fact sheet concludes that it is safe for people with HIV to work in these professions: "circumstances do not exist for the transmission of HIV in a school or workplace setting, including those involving massage therapy, cosmetology, or home healthcare services."

Lambda Legal, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are seeking to represent LGBT community groups in the federal case against Prop 8 — the antigay ballot measure that denied gays and lesbians the fundamental right to marry in the state.

Perry v. Schwarzenegger was filed by attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies in May on behalf of two same-sex couples, asking for a preliminary order blocking Prop 8. Lambda Legal, NCLR and ACLU filed a friend-of-the-court brief for the preliminary hearing in the case, and recently filed a motion to intervene — a request already granted by the Court to the proponents of the antigay measure.

Judge Vaughn R. Walker has called for efficient, comprehensive preparation of the case and trial to resolve a number of "factual disputes" relevant to the arguments presented by the existing parties in the case, including whether Prop 8 was passed with discriminatory intent and whether allowing gays and lesbians to marry undermines the stability of heterosexual marriages. "These groups wish to illustrate for the court the diverse needs of their members and the gay community generally to provide the full factual record Judge Walker said will help the appellate courts as they decide whether gay people in California have the same basic rights as the Golden State's heterosexual population," says Lambda Legal National Marriage Project Director Jennifer C. Pizer.

Chad Griffin, Board President of The American Foundation for Equal Rights, the group backing the Olson-Boies legal team, welcomed our friend-of-the-court brief, declaring that Lambda Legal and our sister LGBT legal groups "have brought inspiring leadership and legal expertise to the cause of ensuring all Americans are treated equally under the law."

The case is Perry v. Schwarzenegger.

Following a decision issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Lambda Legal's federal lawsuit on behalf of transgender woman Vandy Beth Glenn will move forward.

In 2007, when Glenn informed her immediate supervisor of her intended transition from male to female, she wasn't expecting to lose her job. But when the information was passed to her superiors and the intended transition was confirmed, Glenn was fired on the spot.

United States District Judge Richard W. Story writes: "Defendants do not claim that Glenn's transition would have rendered her unable to do her job nor do they present any government purpose whatsoever for their termination of Plaintiff's employment," adding that the "anticipated reactions of others are not a sufficient basis for discrimination."

Glenn worked for two years in the General Assembly's Office of Legislative Counsel as an editor and proofreader of bill language. She loved her job, but living as male was increasingly painful and distressing for her. Glenn's health care providers diagnosed her with Gender Identity Disorder (GID) and agreed that gender transition was necessary for her health and well-being.

Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit on Glenn's behalf in 2008, claiming that her termination violated the Constitution's Equal Protection guarantee. Later that year, the Georgia General Assembly attempted to have the case dismissed, saying the claims didn't apply.

In today's ruling, the court agreed with Lambda Legal that Glenn's Equal Protection claims are indeed viable because, not only are they based on the fact that she is both a person with GID and does not conform to sex stereotypes, but the defendants failed to offer a legitimate reason for the termination. "No one should lose their job for no good reason the way I did," Glenn says.

Today Representative Barney Frank introduced an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) which would provide federal workplace protection for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. The bill is being sponsored by a bi-partisan group of Congressional representatives that includes Reps. Tammy Baldwin and Jared Polis, who along with Rep. Frank, are the only openly gay members of Congress.

Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director of Lambda Legal, issued a statement, calling on "Congress to enact ENDA quickly to end discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation or gender identity."

Historically, workplace discrimination is the number one complaint of callers to Lambda Legal's Help Desk. An inclusive ENDA would provide a strong tool for Lambda Legal to protect LGBT people in every state from discrimination on the job.

Through our advocacy efforts with the United ENDA Coalition, Lambda Legal is encouraging constituents to contact their representatives through the U.S. Capitol to request that they cosponsor the new ENDA and work hard toward its passage.