Proyecto Igualdad
Revista Impacto
Lambda Legal's Proyecto Igualdad extends Lambda Legal's resources and information to Spanish speakers and seeks to engage the many Latino/Hispanic communities. We provide bilingual educational materials, host community events and trainings and offer bilingual legal assistance through our Help Desks around the country. If you are an attorney sensitive to LGBT and HIV-related issues, please consider joining our Cooperating Attorney Network.
Here are some of our work priorites:
- Protecting Our Families
We work on behalf of LGBT parents so that they are not denied custody or visitation with their own children, or the right to adopt, just because of who they are. We use the courts, advocacy and education to win legal protections for our relationships, including the right to marry and domestic partner benefits. - Advocating for Young People
Because LGBTQ youth often face tremendous hostility and isolation, we work to ensure that they are safe and respected at school, that gay student clubs have the same rights as other student groups, and that school administrators are educated about their legal obligations. In addition, we work to make foster care safe, more inclusive and respectful of LGBTQ youth. - Fighting HIV Discrimination
Whether it's the blatant discrimination that has occurred since the AIDS epidemic began more than two decades ago or the more subtle bias we sometimes see today, Lambda Legal fights for and wins fair treatment where it matters most — at work, in our communities and in medical care. - Securing Immigrant Rights
Current immigration law does not recognize same-sex relationships, almost always excludes immigrants with HIV from entering the United States and makes it very difficult for people fleeing persecution in their homeland based on sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status to get asylum in the U.S. We continue to advocate for change in our immigration laws and to help LGBT immigrants who face discrimination.
Current Proyecto Igualdad highlights include:
- Connecting with national Latino/a Legal Groups While we've made many of Lambda Legal's publications and informational materials Spanish-language accessible, we still face the challenge of getting information into the hands of LGBT Latino/as and their advocates. We are reaching out to Latino/a legal communities as part of a strategic campaign to increase their support for LGBT and HIV rights. As a legal organization, we share a natural affinity with these legal groups and believe they will be good allies in addressing the legal concerns of LGBT Latino/as.
- Spearheading creation of new Latino/a coalition With the threat of an antigay constitutional revision in California, we worked with partner organizations to create the Latino/a Coalition for Justice/Los Angeles. Currently, this effort is the only Latino collaborative effort on LGBT issues in Los Angeles and it can be a powerful tool for increasing support within the Latino/a LGBT and HIV rights communities in the city. In 2006, the coalition formed a caucus at the National Latino Congreso, and Lambda Legal's Proyecto Igualdad Outreach Associate Francisco Dueñas co-authored a historic resolution calling for LGBT rights, which passed. We are now working with other Latino/a community-based organization networks that might also adopt the resolution.
For more information about Proyecto Igualdad, contact Francisco Dueñas, the Proyecto Igualdad Outreach Associate, at Lambda Legal's Western Regional Office.
