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Press Releases

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President Obama To Lift HIV Travel Ban: Lambda Legal Says Good Riddance to Bad Policy

(New York, October 30, 2009) — Today President Obama announced that the administration will publish a new rule on Monday that will lift the HIV travel and immigration ban by removing HIV from the list of communicable diseases of public health significance for immigrants to the United States. Lambda Legal has provided legal analysis and formal comments on numerous occasions urging the government to end the discriminatory ban that has been in place for over 20 years.

Lambda Legal Warns SkyWest and Delta Air Lines To Stop Discriminating Against Married Gay Employees

(Palm Springs, California, October 29, 2009) — Lambda Legal has sent a letter to SkyWest and Delta Airlines warning the companies that their treatment of gay employees' spouses and registered domestic partners violates not only the airlines' own policies, but also California law.

Lambda Legal Elects Four to National Board of Directors

(New York, October 29, 2009) — Lambda Legal announces that Laura Brill of Los Angeles, Marla Butler of Atlanta, Karen Dixon of Washington D.C., and Marcus Boggs of Chicago were elected to Lambda Legal's National Board of Directors at its board meeting in Dallas earlier this month.

President Signs Hate Crimes Bill into Law: 31 Advocacy Groups Hail Historic Event

(New York, October 28, 2009) — After President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law this afternoon 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV advocacy organizations issued the following statement to mark the historic event:


"It took much too long, more than a decade. And it came at too great a price: the brutal killings of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. are just two among the thousands of crimes motivated by hate and bigotry.

Lambda Legal Files Complaint Against Philadelphia Youth Detention Facility for Tormenting Transgender Girl

(Philadelphia, PA October 27, 2009) — Today Lambda Legal filed a complaint with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR) against the City of Philadelphia and the Youth Study Center (YSC) among others on behalf of a 17-year-old transgender girl who was physically attacked by other residents and verbally abused by staff every day for almost a year and a half.

Hate Crimes Bill Passes Senate: Lambda Legal Urges President Obama to Sign Bill into Law

(New York, October 22, 2009)--After the U.S. Senate passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, Lambda Legal issued the following statement from Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director of Lambda Legal:

Joint Statement Responding to the Denial of Marriage to an Interracial Couple in Louisiana

(Washington, D.C., October 16, 2009) — The following statement was issued today by a coalition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality advocates in response to the refusal by a Louisiana justice of the peace to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple in the southeastern part of the state. Keith Bardwell, a justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, refused to marry Beth Humphrey, who is white, and Terence McKay, who is black, because they are an interracial couple.


The statement may be attributed to the individuals and organizations listed below:

New York High Court Hears Argument in Cases Attacking Government Respect for Out-of-State Marriages of Same-Sex Couples

(Albany, New York, October 13, 2009) –Today, Lambda Legal argued before the New York State Court of Appeals on behalf of two married same-sex couples after the Alliance Defense Fund, an antigay legal group, objected to county and state officials acting in compliance with long-standing New York law by recognizing out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.

U.S. Court of Appeals Hears Arguments in Lambda Legal's Case Seeking Birth Certificate for Child Adopted by Two Fathers

(New Orleans, October 7, 2009) – A three-member panel of federal judges in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard today from attorneys on both sides regarding Lambda Legal’s lawsuit against the Louisiana Registrar of Vital Statistics for refusing to respect the New York adoption by a same-sex couple of a Louisiana-born baby boy.

Federal Court Dismisses Lambda Legal's Lawsuit Against Jackson Memorial Hospital on Behalf of Deceased Lesbian's Family

(Miami, FL, September 29, 2009) — The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida today rejected Lambda Legal's lawsuit filed against Jackson Memorial Hospital on behalf of Janice Langbehn, the Estate of Lisa Pond and their three adopted children who were kept apart by hospital staff for eight hours as Lisa slipped into a coma and died.

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