Press Releases

The Illinois General Assembly passed the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, establishing legal protections for same-sex couples across the state.

The Illinois General Assembly passed the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, establishing legal protections for same-sex couples across the state.

The Illinois General Assembly passed the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, establishing legal protections for same-sex couples across the state.

(Chicago, IL, December 14, 2010) - To provide information and clarification to same-sex couples who are considering entering into a civil union when the new law takes effect in June, or whose out-of-state marriages will be treated automatically as civil unions under Illinois law, Lambda Legal has posted an FAQ on its website.

(San Francisco, December 14, 2010) - The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California will hear oral arguments this Friday, December 17, in a Lambda Legal case that could result in the next major court decision regarding the federal so-called "Defense of Marriage Act," or DOMA.

Today a panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger, certified to the California Supreme Court the question of whether California law either gives proponents of initiatives an interest in seeing that law enforced, or authorizes proponents to act in the place of the government to defend their initiative. Jennifer C. Pizer, National Marriage Project Director for Lambda Legal, issued the following statement

Lambda Legal and Just New Mexico are praising an opinion letter issued yesterday by New Mexico Attorney General Gary King finding that marriages between people of the same sex performed in states or countries where they are legal likely are valid in New Mexico as well.

Today the full U.S Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a case regarding the New York adoption of a Louisiana-born baby boy by a same-sex couple after the state of Louisiana denied the child an accurate birth certificate reflecting both of his parents.

Governor Quinn will sign civil unions into Illinois law on Monday, January 31, 2011, and spokespeople from Lambda Legal, the organization that provided significant technical and drafting support for the civil union bill, will be there and available for questions and interviews.

Today Governor Quinn will sign the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, which will go into effect June 1, 2011. To support families protected by the new law, Lambda Legal and Equality Illinois launched Civil Union Tracker.