Lambda Legal Honors New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu with 2016 Partners for Equality Award

(New Orleans, October 7, 2016) – Lambda Legal's South Central Regional office announced today that it will award its 2016 Partners for Equality Award to New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, at a reception in the city on Wednesday, October 19. Fellow 2016 award recipients include Avita Pharmacy and the New Orleans-based law firm Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann LLC.

The Partners for Equality Award recognizes an individual, corporation and law firm in the New Orleans area for their commitment to advancing Lambda Legal's mission of full equality for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people living with HIV.

“We are delighted to honor Mayor Landrieu with this award, in recognition of his courageous and steadfast support for all LGBT residents of New Orleans and those living with HIV,” said Roger Poindexter, Regional Director, South Central Region, Lambda Legal. “From standing up to anti-gay politicians, to championing laws that protect the rights of LGBT residents, Mayor Landrieu has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the LGBT community – during good and bad times, even when he faced criticism for doing so.”

Mayor Landrieu was the first mayor of a major Louisiana city to support the rights of same-sex couples to marry. He stood firm against former Gov. Bobby Jindal’s effort to pass so-called religious freedom laws that would have legalized discrimination against same-sex Louisianans, and he signed an executive order committing the city to full non-discrimination protections. After the horrific attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Mayor Landrieu came to the vigils held in New Orleans and assured LGBT residents that the city would do all it could to protect them during the city’s Pride celebrations.

Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann LLC received the law firm Partners for Equality award in recognition of its work advancing LGBT rights – and in particular, the role of its attorneys Dalton Courson and Lesli Harris, who were essential to bringing marriage equality litigation in Louisiana. They invited Lambda Legal to participate in the appeal with them and worked with Lambda Legal attorneys Kenneth D. Upton Jr. and Camilla B. Taylor to successfully win marriage equality in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Avita Pharmacy received the corporation Partners for Equality award in recognition of its long support for Lambda Legal and the LGBT community in the New Orleans area. Avita is a supporter of many causes, including Project Lazarus, Halloween New Orleans and the NO/AIDs Task Force.

“The lawyers of Stone Pigman have been there in the trenches with our lawyers fighting the good fight to realize full equality for LGBT individuals and families and people living with HIV, and Avita Pharmacy has a name that has become virtually synonymous with support of and commitment to the LGBTQ community in New Orleans,” Poindexter said.

The award recipients will be honored at Lambda Legal’s Cocktails for Equality event on Wednesday, October 19, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans.