Lambda Legal (260 Articles with 268,897 total views)
Founded in 1973, Lambda Legal is the oldest and largest national legal organization whose mission is to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV; through impact litigation, education and public policy work. As a nonprofit organization, we do not charge our clients for legal representation or advocacy, and we receive no government funding. We depend on contributions from supporters around the country.
December, 2024
Court Upholds Missouri's Ban on Essential Health Care for Transgender Missourians
Jefferson City, MO - November 25, 2024 - Today, in a ruling largely copying a brief submitted by the State and ignoring thousands of pages of a transcript not yet provided to the parties that reflects nine days of testimony in the case, a Missouri Circuit Court has refused to halt enforcement of SB 49, Missouri's discriminatory law that bars transgender adolescents from receiving gender-affirming medical care and prohibits Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming medical care for transgender people of any age. The law penalizes health care professionals who provide such care to minors with the loss of their medical licenses. The ruling came in Noe v. Parson, a lawsuit challenging the law filed by Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Missouri, and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP.
Lambda Legal Statement on the 2024 Election
(New York, NY, November 6, 2024) Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings issued the following statement: "We won't sugarcoat this last night's election results were incredibly detrimental to the cause of equality. There is no doubt that many of us feel scared, angry, and perhaps demoralized. And we are not naive: we are entering a seriously dangerous period confronted by a new administration and at least one house of Congress that have made their hostility to our community crystal clear.
November, 2024
The Harmful Legacy of Trump's Anti-LGBTQ+ Federal Judges: Lambda Legal Analysis Reveals Enduring Impact
Washington, DC - October 22, 2024 Today, in the first weeks of the new U.S. Supreme Court's term, Lambda Legal released a comprehensive report detailing the far-reaching consequences of the Trump administration's anti-LGBTQ+ judicial appointees on LGBTQ+ civil rights and civil rights more broadly. Between 2017 and 2020, 234 federal judges were appointed by former President Trumpincluding three U.S. Supreme Court justices. After careful review of their records, Lambda Legal formally opposed 34 judicial nominees, due to their explicit records of anti-LGBTQ+ bias, including the three U.S. Supreme Court Justices.
U.S. Supreme Court Grants Lambda Legal's and ACLU's Request for Divided Argument in Challenge to Tennessee's Transgender Youth Health Care Ban
(Washington, DC October 21, 2024) The United States Supreme Court today granted the petition for divided argument in U.S. v. Skrmetti, the challenge to Tennessee's discriminatory ban on health care for transgender Tennessee youth. The Court Friday scheduled oral argument in the case for December 4, 2024.
October, 2024
Lambda Legal Applauds Historic Senate Confirmation: 12th LGBTQ+ Judge Confirmed Under Biden Administration
Washington, D.C. - September 18, 2024 - Yesterday, in a historic moment for judicial diversity, the U.S. Senate confirmed Mary Kay Costello to serve as a district court judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by a vote of 52-41. Judge Costello, a military veteran, is the 12th openly LGBTQ+ judicial nominee to be confirmed under the Biden administration. This landmark confirmation solidifies President Biden's record of having more LGBTQ+ judges confirmed than any other president in history.
Trial Challenging Missouri's Ban on Essential Health Care for Transgender Missourians Concludes
Jefferson City, MO - October 4, 2024 - Yesterday, the two-week trial concluded in a lawsuit challenging Missouri's SB 49, a law banning transgender adolescents in Missouri from receiving gender-affirming medical care and banning Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming medical care for transgender people of any age. The law would penalize healthcare professionals who provide such care to minors by the loss of their medical licenses.
September, 2024
Appeals Court Sends Case Challenging Iowa's Book Ban and "Don't Say LGBTQ" Law Back to Lower Court, Delaying Relief for Iowa Students
ST. PAUL, MN - August 9, 2024 Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit sent a lawsuit challenging two provisions of Iowa's SF 496 the book ban and "don't say LGBTQ" provisions back to a lower court, allowing the law to take effect just before students go back to school. The appeals court asked the district court to reconsider the law's constitutionality in light of Moody v. Netchoice, a recent decision by the United States Supreme Court.
Lambda Legal Applauds President Biden's Call for Reform of the U.S. Supreme Court
(New York, NY, July 29, 2024) Today, President Biden recognized the crisis to our constitutional form of government caused by the ends-oriented rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court since dominated by justices nominated by former President Trump. President Biden's voice amplified the chorus advocating for meaningful reform, proposing to reimpose essential limits on Executive power, term limits for Supreme Court justices, and an enforceable code of ethics. Lambda Legal Chief Legal Officer Jennifer C. Pizer issued the following statement: "Today, in an important change of position, President Biden added his voice to those calling for significant reform of the U.S. Supreme Court. His respect for separation of powers prompted him for years to resist calls for reform of the Court. But the Trump/McConnell Court majority's decisions brazenly up-ending well-reasoned, decades-long precedent, culminating in the indefensible immunity decision, require strong action. This Court's rulings have become extreme and dangerous to the balance and stability of our form of government, and reform is required if we are to remain a democratic nation of laws, not one essentially subject to monarchs. President Biden's spotlighting of this national emergency is an urgent call-to-action to the Congress and to all of us."
Lambda Legal Asks Court to Affirm Decision Protecting Transgender Indiana Students
Indianapolis, IN - August 23, 2024 Lambda Legal asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to affirm a lower court ruling that held a public school was not required under Title VII to accommodate a request by an anti-LGBTQ+ teacher to disregard the gender identities of his students because doing so affirmatively disparaged and harmed students. The district court recognized that allowing a teacher to refuse to use names and pronouns consistent with students' gender identities caused real harm to transgender students and disrupted the learning environment.
New Report Reveals Significant Barriers for Trans and Nonbinary Youth in Public Systems; Call for Urgent Reforms
(Washington D.C. - August 13, 2024) National experts alongside a group of transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse ("TNGD") youth with lived experience in child welfare, juvenile legal, and homelessness systems have released a new report highlighting ongoing challenges and harms to young people perpetuated by government-funded systems.
Victory! Court Strikes Down Last Categorical Disqualification to Military Service for Those Living with HIV
(Washington, DC, August 20, 2024) Today, in a Lambda Legal case filed against the Department of Defense in 2022, a U.S. District Court struck down the last categorical disqualification preventing people living with HIV from joining the U.S. Armed Services, writing: "Defendants' policies prohibiting the accession of asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals with undetectable viral loads into the military are irrational, arbitrary, and capricious. Even worse, they contribute to the ongoing stigma surrounding HIV-positive individuals while actively hampering the military's own recruitment goals.
August, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court Allows Oregon City's Draconian Ban Targeting the Unhoused to Go into Effect
(Washington, DC, June 28, 2024) The United States Supreme Court today reversed a lower court ruling that had blocked enforcement of an Oregon city's draconian ordinance criminalizing people experiencing homelessness. Lambda Legal, the Juvenile Law Center, the law firm Baker McKenzie, and 223 experts on unhoused youth, including young people who have experienced homelessness, had submitted a friend-of-the-court brief to the Court in the case, City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, underscoring the particular harm the unconstitutional ban posed to unhoused youth, many of whom face rejection and abuse at home and face additional barriers to accessing other housing.
July, 2024
Lambda Legal "Relieved" by Braidwood v. Becerra Decision on Preventative Care
(New Orleans, LA, June 21, 2024) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today issued its ruling in Braidwood v. Becerra, a challenge to the Affordable Care Act's coverage mandate. Lambda Legal HIV Project Director Jose Abrigo issued the following statement:
Legal Advocates Urge Court to Permanently Protect PFLAG's Members from Texas Attorney General's Latest Attacks
AUSTIN, Texas - June 10, 2024 Today, on the 10th day of LGBTQ+ Pride Month, legal advocates defended the rights of transgender Texans and their families to live with dignity and respect. They urged the Travis County District Court to significantly limit the Texas Attorney General's Office's demands that PFLAG National turn over information and documents and to permanently enjoin the Office from accessing member-identifying information and private communications through the demands.
Victory! Appeals Court Overturns Ruling Upholding Oklahoma's Discriminatory Birth Certificate Policy
(Denver, CO, June 18, 2024) Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit overturned a lower court ruling that had dismissed a lawsuit challenging Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt's discriminatory birth certificate policy, which categorically prohibits transgender people from correcting the gender marker on their birth certificates to match their gender identity.
June, 2024
Lambda Legal Urges Ninth Circuit to Block Enforcement of Idaho's Transgender Restroom Ban
(Pasadena, CA, May 9, 2024) -- Lambda Legal today urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to continue to block enforcement of an Idaho school facilities law that singles out transgender students for discriminatory treatment. In oral argument today before the Ninth Circuit, Lambda Legal asked the court to reverse a lower court ruling and secure a preliminary injunction preventing implementation of Idaho Senate Bill 1100 while Lambda Legal pursues a challenge to the law.
VICTORY! Court Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging California's Transgender Prison Policy
(Sacramento, CA, Thursday, May 16, 2024) The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by an anti-transgender group against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) challenging SB132, the groundbreaking law protecting transgender people incarcera
May, 2024
Fourth Circuit Rejects West Virginia Law Barring Transgender Girls From Student Athletics
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals today voted to block a West Virginia law banning transgender student-athletes from playing on teams consistent with their gender identity, finding the law violates the rights of transgender students under Title IX.
Lambda Legal Commends Administration for Healthcare Nondiscrimination Rule Restoring Critical Protections for LGBTQ+ People
(New York, April 26, 2024) - Lambda Legal today commended the Biden administration for issuing new regulations under Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that will protect access to nondiscriminatory healthcare for LGBTQ+ people and other vulnerable populations. The new rule, released by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), restores and clarifies important regulatory protections for LGBTQ+ people and other vulnerable populations under Section 1557, also known as the health care nondiscrimination law, that were previously rescinded by the Trump administration.
Lambda Legal, Juvenile Law Center Urge Supreme Court to Affirm Ruling Blocking Oregon City's Draconian Ban Targeting the Unhoused
(Washington, DC, April 22, 2024) - The United States Supreme Court heard oral argument today in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, a challenge to a draconian ordinance that criminalizes people experiencing homelessness. A U.S. District Court in July, 2020, blocked enforcement of the ban, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed that ruling in September, 2022. Lambda Legal, the Juvenile Law Center, the law firm Baker McKenzie, and 223 experts on unhoused youth submitted a friend-of-the-court brief underscoring the particular harm the unconstitutional ban posed to unhoused youth, many of whom face rejection and abuse at home and face additional barriers to accessing other housing.
Sixth Circuit Hears Appeal of Ruling Upholding Tennessee's Discriminatory Birth Certificate Policy
(Nashville, TN, May 2, 2024) - Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit heard oral argument in Lambda Legal's appeal of a district court ruling upholding Tennessee's discriminatory birth certificate policy. Tennessee's policy does not allow transgender people born in Tennessee to correct the gender marker on their birth certificates, leaving them grappling with inconsistent government identity documents and forcibly disclosing their transgender status. Tennessee is one of only a handful of states left in the country that still categorically prohibit transgender people from correcting their birth certificates to accurately reflect their identity.
Victory! Fourth Circuit Rules North Carolina and West Virginia Can't Deny Transgender People Coverage for Medical Care
(RICHMOND, VA - April 29, 2024) -- Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed two lower court rulings ordering North Carolina and West Virginia to end their discriminatory exclusions for coverage of gender-affirming medical care for transgender people in both states.
Victory! Lambda Legal Announces Settlement of Case on Behalf of Former Military Cadet and Midshipman Living with HIV
(Baltimore, MD - April 8, 2024) - Lambda Legal and co-counsel Winston & Strawn LLP, Perkowski Legal, PC, and Scott Schoettes today announced they have reached a settlement with the Department of Defense (DoD) in a lawsuit filed in 2018 on behalf of a former Navy midshipman, Kevin Deese, and a former Air Force cadet, John Doe (a pseudonym), who were denied commissions after graduating from their respective service academies because they are living with HIV. The settlement provides for Deese and Doe to be commissioned as officers in recognition of the status and military careers they qualified for and earned years ago.
April, 2024
Formerly Incarcerated HIV+ Man Denied from Work Program Settles with Delaware County and the GEO Group
(Delaware County, PA - March 6, 2024) - Yesterday, a settlement agreement was reached in Doe v. Delaware County, et al., Lambda Legal's lawsuit on behalf of a man formerly incarcerated in the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Delaware County, Pennsylvania (GWHCF) from February 2020 through July 2020. The settlement provides for financial compensation for the plaintiff and a change to the facility's policies. The plaintiff proceeded anonymously as John Doe and brought claims against Delaware County and the GEO Group in which he alleged that he was denied the opportunity to participate in a prison work program because he is living with HIV and that his confidential HIV status was disclosed.
Lambda Legal and City of Nashville Reach Settlement in HIV Discrimination Lawsuit
(NASHVILLE, TN -- March 25, 2024) Lambda Legal and co-counsels McDermott Will & Emery and Merchant Gould P.C. announced that it has reached a settlement agreement in a lawsuit brought against the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County challenging the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department's (MNPD) discriminatory hiring policies after the MNPD rescinded a hiring offer after learning the applicant was living with HIV.
Lambda Legal Launches "Speak OUT" Awareness Campaign Uplifting Trans and Nonbinary Voices
(NEW YORK, NY -- March 28, 2024) In advance of Transgender Day of Visibility, Lambda Legal, the nation's oldest and largest legal nonprofit working to achieve full equal rights for LGBTQ people and everyone living with HIV, today launched a multimedia campaign, "Speak OUT: Trans and Nonbinary Voices". The campaign will be a platform for transgender and nonbinary voices to share their stories and experiences, in their own words as they navigate the current challenging social and political climate
Lambda Legal to 10th Circuit: Reverse Ruling Upholding Oklahoma's Discriminatory Birth Certificate Policy
(Denver, CO - March 20, 2024) - Today, Lambda Legal urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to reverse a lower court ruling upholding Oklahoma's discriminatory policy of categorically prohibiting transgender people born in Oklahoma from correcting the gender marker on their birth certificates to match their gender identity.
Texas Appeals Court Upholds Rulings Blocking State from Investigating Trans Youth and Their Families
March 29, 2024 - Today the Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, upheld injunctions in two related cases against the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and Commissioner Masters, barring them from implementing the agency's rule expanding the definition of child abuse to presumptively treat the provision of gender-affirming care as child abuse.
VICTORY! Court Issues Temporary Injunction Against Texas Attorney General's Latest Attack on Texas Families with Transgender Youth
AUSTIN, Texas - March 25, 2024 - Today, the Travis County District Court granted a temporary injunction blocking the Texas Attorney General's Office's latest effort targeting transgender Texans-its demand that PFLAG National turn over information and documents about its support of families in Texas seeking gender-affirming medical care for their transgender youth.
March, 2024
Court Halts Latest Effort by Texas Attorney General to Persecute Texas Families with Transgender Youth
AUSTIN, Texas - March 1, 2024 - Travis County District Court Judge Maria Cantú Hexsel today blocked the latest effort by the Texas Attorney General's Office to persecute Texas families with transgender youth, temporarily halting the Attorney General's demand that PFLAG, Inc. turn over information and documents about its support of families in Texas seeking gender-affirming medical care for their transgender youth.
Judge Warns Florida Not to Ignore His Ruling Blocking Anti-Transgender Health Care Ban
(TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA -- February 2, 2024) U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Hinkle this week called out the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) for its evident non-compliance with his order invalidating AHCA's 2022 rule banning Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming medical care for Florida's transgender Medicaid beneficiaries.
Lambda Legal on the Passing of Pat Logue
CHICAGO, February 26, 2024 - Former Cook County Circuit Judge Patricia "Pat" Logue passed away last week. Lambda Legal, where Judge Logue worked for 14 years, including opening its Chicago office in 1993, issued the following statement: "Pat Logue was a brilliant lawyer, a trailblazing jurist, and a hero to the LGBTQ community. Pat's legacy includes numerous landmark cases she litigated over her 14 years as a lawyer with Lambda Legal that transformed the lives of LGBTQ people nationwide. She will be greatly missed.
LGBTQ+ Advocates Condemn Latest DeSantis Administration Attack on Transgender Floridians
Washington, DC, - January 31, 2024 -- The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (HSMV) in late January ambushed transgender Floridians by issuing a surprise memo eliminating the existing pathway for transgender Floridians to update their Florida driver's licenses to accurately reflect their gender.
Response to Death of Nex Benedict from Bridge v. Oklahoma State Board of Education Legal Team
Oklahoma City, Okla. - February 20, 2024 - In response to the death of 16-year-old Owasso High School student Nex Benedict following an assault in the school restroom, Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Oklahoma issued the following joint statement "We are gravely heartbroken to learn about the death of Nex Benedict and extend our overwhelming condolences to their family, their friends, and the entire transgender community across Oklahoma. The assault on Nex is an inevitable result of the hateful rhetoric and discriminatory legislation targeting Oklahoma trans youth. We challenged Oklahoma's law requiring schools to discriminate against students like Nex because we believe every student should have the safe and affirming environment they need to thrive, and policies that put transgender students in danger make schools less safe places for all students.
February, 2024
Families and Advocates Urge Appeals Court to Block Oklahoma's Ban on Gender-Affirming Health Care
Denver, CO - January 16, 2024 - Lawyers representing transgender adolescents and their parents will urge the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to reverse a lower court's denial of an injunction of SB613, an Oklahoma law banning medical care for trans youth, at a hearing Wednesday, January 17 at 9:00 a.m. MT. The hearing can be live-streamed online here.
Lambda Legal Sues to Block Louisiana's Ban on Gender-Affirming Medical Care for Transgender Youth
(NEW ORLEANS, LA -- January 8, 2024) Today, five transgender Louisiana youth and their families sued a Louisiana state agency to stop the harm caused by the recently enacted "Health Care Ban" (HB 648), now Act 466, which prohibits the provision of necessary gender-affirming medical care only for minors who are transgender and punishes health care providers for providing such care in Louisiana.
US HHS Issues Final Rule Replacing Earlier Rule that Allowed Health Care Workers to Deny Care for Religious Beliefs
(Washington, January 9,2924) - Today, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule replacing much of a Trump-era rule that invited any health care worker - including doctors, nurses, EMTs, administrators, janitors, and clerical staff - to withhold medical treatment, information, and services to patients because of personal religious or moral beliefs.
January, 2024
VICTORY: Blue Cross Blue Shield Illinois May Not Exclude Gender-Affirming Care in Any Health Plan Across the U.S.
(Tacoma, WA, December 20, 2023) - Today, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Bryan instructed Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) to cease imposing discriminatory exclusions on gender-affirming care in all of its health plans across the country. The court's Order forbids BCBSIL from applying such discriminatory exclusions even when requested to do so by an employer. The injunction makes no exception for religious employers.
December, 2023
Lambda Legal and ACLU of Iowa File Lawsuit To Block Banned Books and "Don't Say LGBTQ" Law
Des Moines, Iowa - November 28, 2023 - Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Iowa, and the law firm Jenner & Block LLP filed a lawsuit today in federal court to block provisions of SF 496, the sweeping Iowa law that seeks to silence LGBTQ+ students, erase any recognition of LGBTQ+ people from public schools, and bans books with sexual or LGBTQ+ conten
LGBTQ and Health Groups to 11th Circuit: Affirm Ruling Striking Down FLORIDA's anti-TRANSGENDER MEDICAID ban
(Tallahassee, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia-- Nov 27, 2023) Today, Lambda Legal, Southern Legal Counsel (SLC), National Health Law Program (NHeLP), Florida Health Justice Project (FHJP), and the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to affirm a lower court ruling that struck down Florida's anti-transgender rule and statute that banned coverage for evidence-based, widely accepted gender-affirming medical care for all of the state's transgender Medicaid beneficiaries.
Oklahoma Families Appeal Ruling Denying Temporary Relief from Ban on Medical Care for Trans Youth
OKLAHOMA CITY - November 10, 2023 - Lawyers representing transgender adolescents and their parents last night urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to reverse a lower court ruling that denied a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of Oklahoma's discriminatory law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender adolescents with gender dysphoria.
Tennessee Families and Doctors Urge Supreme Court to Block Ban on Essential Health Care for Transgender Youth
WASHINGTON - November 1, 2023 - Transgender youth, their families, and their medical providers today asked the Supreme Court of the United States to block a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender people under 18.
November, 2023
Lambda Legal Appeals Court Ruling Upholding Tennessee's Discriminatory Birth Certificate Policy
(Cincinnati, OH, October 20, 2023) - Late yesterday, Lambda Legal urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to reverse a district court ruling upholding Tennessee's discriminatory birth certificate policy. Tennessee's policy does not allow transgender people born in Tennessee to correct the gender marker on their birth certificates, leaving them grappling with inconsistent government identity documents and forcibly disclosing their transgender status. Tennessee is one of only a handful of states left in the country that still categorically prohibit transgender people from correcting their birth certificates to accurately reflect their identity.
Ninth Circuit Temporarily Blocks Idaho Restroom Ban as Court Challenge Proceeds
(Boise, ID, October 26, 2023) - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today temporarily blocked enforcement of an Idaho school facilities law that singles out transgender students for discriminatory treatment. The law was set to take effect November 2, 2023.
Transgender North Carolinians, Medical Providers Sue to Block Medical Care Ban
(Raleigh, North Carolina - October 11, 2023) Today, on National Coming Out Day, Lambda Legal and the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) sued the State of North Carolina to block implementation of a discriminatory law banning the provision of medically necessary care for transgender North Carolina youth. The legal advocates simultaneously filed a motion for preliminary injunction seeking to block enforcement of the ban as the court challenge proceeds.
October, 2023
Advocates Will Appeal Ruling Denying Request to Temporarily Block Oklahoma Ban on Gender-Affirming Care
OKLAHOMA - October 6, 2023 - The United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma has rejected a request from families and a medical provider to temporarily block an Oklahoma law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth while the case proceeded. Until now, the law (SB613) was not enforceable by state officials based upon an agreement by the parties.
Federal Appeals Court Rejects Request to Block Tennessee Ban on Gender-Affirming Care
CINCINNATI, Ohio - September 28, 2023 - The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals today rejected a request from families and medical providers to block a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. Today's ruling follows an earlier ruling by the Appeals Court rejecting a stay request to block enforcement of the law which took effect in July 2023.
Judge Grants Kansas AG's Request to Modify Consent Judgment Requiring Nondiscriminatory Transgender Birth Certificate Policy
(Kansas City, Kansas - August 31, 2023) Today a federal judge granted a request from Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach to vacate parts of a consent judgment entered by the court in 2019, at the request of the parties in Foster v. Andersen.
Lambda Legal and TLDEF Urge Fourth Circuit to Uphold Rulings Protecting Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender People in North Carolina and West Virginia
(RICHMOND, VA - Thursday, Sept 21) -- Today, a full panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard arguments in two cases involving equal access to health care for transgender people. State officials in North Carolina and West Virginia previously appealed to the Fourth Circuit victories secured by Lambda Legal and co-counsel that found the states' denial of gender-affirming care to be discriminatory and unconstitutional.
Legal Advocates to Texas Trans Youth and Families: The Fight is Far from Over
AUSTIN, Texas - August 31, 2023 - The Texas Supreme Court today refused to grant an emergency request for temporary relief and allowed S.B. 14, the state's unconstitutional medical care ban, to go into effect, endangering Texas transgender youth, infringing on the rights of parents, and exposing doctors who care for them to loss of medical licenses and other potential penalties. A Travis County District Court had granted a temporary injunction last week that blocked implementation of the discriminatory ban, but the Texas Attorney General immediately appealed directly to the Texas Supreme Court, thereby staying the injunction.
Montana Court Blocks Enforcement of Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
Missoula, MT - September 27, 2023 - A Montana state district court judge today blocked enforcement of Senate Bill 99, the discriminatory law that threatens the health and well-being of Montana transgender youth by denying them access to the only evidence-based care for gender dysphoria. In his order. Judge Jason Marks finds SB 99 "is unlikely to survive any level of constitutional review" and "barring access to gender-affirming care would negatively impact gender dysphoric minors' mental and physical health."
September, 2023
Historic Commissioning of Nick Harrison, U.S. Serviceman Living with HIV
(Washington, DC, August 7, 2023) - Family, friends, fellow service members and mentors gathered for the historic commissioning of Nick Harrison as an officer in the United States Army at the D.C. Armory in Washington, D.C. on August 5.
Idaho Court Temporarily Blocks Restroom Ban as School Year Begins
(Boise, ID, August 10, 2023) - With school set to start next week, a U.S. District Court has temporarily blocked enforcement of an Idaho school facilities law that singles out transgender students for discriminatory treatment.
Judge Grants Kansas AG's Request to Modify Consent Judgment Requiring Nondiscriminatory Transgender Birth Certificate Policy
(Kansas City, Kansas - August 31, 2023) Today a federal judge granted a request from Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach to vacate parts of a consent judgment entered by the court in 2019, at the request of the parties in Foster v. Andersen.
Texas District Court Grants Injunction to Pause Transgender Youth Medical Care Ban
AUSTIN, Texas - August 25, 2023 - The 53rd Judicial District Court granted an injunction this afternoon to pause the state's unconstitutional medical care ban targeting transgender youth.
Transgender Youth Medical Care Ban Receives Hearing in Texas District Court
AUSTIN, Texas - August 17, 2023 - Civil rights organizations were in a Texas district court Tuesday and Wednesday for a hearing in the lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 14, an unconstitutional medical care ban targeting transgender youth.
August, 2023
Families and Medical Providers Sue Missouri to Block Transgender Youth Medical Care Ban
(Jefferson City, MO, July 25, 2023) - Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Missouri, and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP filed a lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court to block the implementation of SB 49, which would prevent transgender adolescents in Missouri from accessing evidence-based gender-affirming medical care. The legal advocates filed the challenge to SB 49 on behalf of three families of transgender young people, medical providers, and the organizations PFLAG National and GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality. The law is scheduled to take effect on August 28.
Lambda Legal Replies to Biden Administration Proposed HHS Grants Rule
(Washington, DC, July 11, 2023) - Today the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a proposed new rule modifying nondiscrimination protections for beneficiaries of and participants in services and programs funded by HHS grants.
Students Sue to Block Discriminatory Idaho Restroom Ban
(Boise, ID, July 7, 2023) - Lambda Legal, Munger Tolles & Olson LLP, and Alturas Law Group, PLLC, last night filed a federal lawsuit against the Idaho State Superintendent of Education Debbie Critchfield and other Idaho school officials on behalf of a rising seventh-grade transgender student and an LGBTQ high school student organization challenging Idaho's new school facilities law that singles out transgender students for discriminatory treatment. Plaintiffs also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, seeking immediate relief to stop the law from being enforced as the academic school year approaches.
July, 2023
Advocates Hail Court Order blocking Florida's Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
(TALLAHASSEE, FL - June 6, 2023) Today, a U.S. District Court Judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of Florida's discriminatory ban on gender-affirming medical care for trans youth. The case - Doe v. Ladapo- was brought by Southern Legal Counsel, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the Human Rights Campaign on behalf of nine families and enjoins enforcement of the ban as to the three families on whose behalf the injunction was sought.
All In For Equality Coalition Statement on Pride Month After a Dangerous Regular Legislative Session for LGBTQIA+ Texans
AUSTIN, Texas - June 1 marks the start of Pride Month for the state's LGBTQIA+ community, which begins just days after the 88th Texas Legislature adjourned its regular session sine die on Monday.
Lambda Legal Applauds Supreme Court Ruling Affirming Limits on Religious Accommodation in the Workplace
(Washington, DC, June 29, 2023) - The U.S. Supreme Court today affirmed that employers may consider the burdens imposed by a requested religious accommodation on coworkers in determining whether the accommodation would harm the employer's business. The ruling established that to deny an accommodation request, an employer must show that the burden of granting it would result in substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business.
Lambda Legal Condemns Court Ruling Upholding Tennessee's Anti-Transgender Birth Certificate Policy
(Nashville, Tennessee - June 23, 2023) - Late yesterday, a federal court judge upheld Tennessee's discriminatory anti-transgender birth certificate policy that will not allow transgender people to correct the gender marker on their Tennessee birth certificates, leaving them grappling with inconsistent government identity documents. Tennessee is one of only a handful of states left in the country that still categorically prohibit transgender people from correcting their birth certificates to accurately reflect their identity.
Lambda Legal Sues Premera Blue Cross on Behalf of Transgender Teen Denied Needed Medical Care
(Seattle, WA, June 27, 2023) - Today, Lambda Legal, Sirianni Youtz Spoonemore Hamburger PLLC, and QLaw Foundation of Washington filed a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of 15-year-old transgender adolescent A.B. and his parents challenging Premera Blue Cross' arbitrary and categorical policy to deny coverage for gender-affirming chest surgery for patients under 18, regardless of the patient's medical needs. Identified by his initials, A.B.'s medical providers recommended gender-affirming chest surgery as treatment for his gender dysphoria, but Premera has refused to authorize coverage for the surgery that A.B., his parents, and medical providers all agree is necessary and appropriate.
Lambda Legal: Historic LGBTQ+ Legal Organization Celebrates 50 Years During Pride Month Nationwide
New York / Los Angeles, June 5, 2023 - Lambda Legal is proud to celebrate Pride Month this June by participating in events across the county, celebrating the diversity and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community and everyone living with HIV, and reaffirming our unwavering dedication to advancing legal rights as we have done for the past 50 years nationwide.
Transgender Woman Living with HIV Files Lawsuit After Being Held in Solitary Confinement for Over Six Years
(Jefferson City, MO, June 27, 2023) - Today, Lambda Legal, the MacArthur Justice Center and law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon sued the Missouri Department of Corrections ("MODOC") on behalf of Jane Roe, a formerly incarcerated transgender woman living with HIV, who was put in solitary confinement for over six years between 2015 and 2021 while held at the Jefferson City Correctional Center ("JCCC") due to an unconstitutional and discriminatory policy against people living with HIV. The severe physical and psychological harms associated with solitary confinement - much of which Ms. Roe endured - are well-researched and documented. In fact, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture has determined that solitary confinement lasting beyond 15 days constitutes torture or cruel, inhumane, and or degrading treatment in violation of international human rights law.
Victory! Court Voids Florida's Policy Prohibiting Medicaid Coverage of Gender-Affirming Care
(TALLAHASSEE, FL - June 21, 2023 ) Today, a U.S. District Court Judge struck down Florida's anti-transgender health care rule that denied the state's transgender Medicaid beneficiaries coverage for evidence-based, widely accepted gender-affirming medical care. The ruling came in Dekker v. Weida, a federal lawsuit challenging the rule filed by Lambda Legal, Southern Legal Counsel, Florida Health Justice Project, the National Health Law Program, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
June, 2023
Advocates to File Lawsuit Against New Law Banning Healthcare for Transgender Youth in Texas
AUSTIN - May 18, 2023 - Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, and Transgender Law Center today pledged to file a lawsuit against sweeping new legislation banning transgender youth from accessing medically necessary health care that the Texas legislature passed yesterday evening.
Lambda Legal to Pentagon: It's Time to Let People Living with HIV Join the Military
(Washington, DC, May 31, 2023) - Today, Lambda Legal asked a U.S. District Court to strike down the last remaining ban preventing people living with HIV from joining any branch of the U.S. Armed Services. Together with co-counsel Winston & Strawn LLP, Perkowski Legal, PC, and Scott A. Schoettes, Esq., Lambda Legal filed a motion for summary judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Missouri Attorney General Issues Order Terminating Anti-Transgender Rule
Jefferson City, Mo. - May 16, 2023 - Today, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey issued an order terminating his anti-transgender emergency rule challenged in Southampton Community Healthcare v. Bailey, the lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal, ACLU of Missouri and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP. Bailey issued the emergency rule on April 13, seeking to impose severe restrictions on transgender people of all ages seeking gender-affirming care. Attorney General Bailey filed the request to terminate the rule after the court issued a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the rule in the lawsuit.
STATEMENT: Lambda Legal Responds after Florida Gov. DeSantis Signs Four Anti-LGBTQ Bills into Law
(Miami, Florida - May 17) Today, on International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law four anti-LGBTQ+ bills at a signing ceremony at a private Christian school. The bills signed into law included: The "Don't Say Gay or Trans" expansion (HB 1069), extending last year's legislation from K-3 to 8th grade; a gender-affirming care ban (SB 254) with sweeping impacts on transgender youth and adults; an anti-drag bill (SB 1438) seeking to censor art; and a bill restricting transgender students from accessing bathrooms aligned with their gender identity in K-12 schools and public facilities (HB 1521).
Trial Challenging Florida's Ban on Medicaid Coverage for Gender-Affirming Medical Care for Transgender Floridians Comes to a Close
(TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA -May 22) Today, the trial concluded in a lawsuit challenging Florida's prohibition on Medicaid coverage for the treatment of gender dysphoria for transgender Floridians, as set forth in recently enacted SB 254 and the rule promulgated by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) last August. A ruling is expected in the near future from the Northern District of Florida, after a two-week federal trial in Dekker, et al. v. Weida, et al.
May, 2023
Lambda Legal Replies to Biden Administration Proposed Title IX Rule
(Washington, DC, April 6, 2023) - Today the U.S. Department of Education released a proposed Title IX rule concerning participation by transgender youth in school sports programs. Lambda Legal Senior Attorney and Director of Lambda Legal's Nonbinary and Transgender Rights Project Sasha Buchert released the following statement: "This proposed rule includes critical recognition of the importance of participating in sports for transgender youth and shows why 100% of the state bans are invalid. We are concerned about whether the proposed rule can properly eliminate the discrimination that transgender students experience due to the pervasive bias and ignorance about who they are. These students must have full and equal chances to participate because participation in athletics provides many long-term benefits for young people, including important health benefits, and chances to develop leadership skills, discipline, and self-confidence. Given the importance of the opportunity to participate in athletics to students' educational experience, we look forward to submitting comments and working with the administration to further remove those remaining bigotry-based barriers to full and equal participation by transgender youth."
National LGBTQ Legal Groups Condemn Missouri Action Barring Healthcare for Transgender People
April 13, 2023 - Today, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey issued an Emergency Rule regarding the medical treatment of transgender people. Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), and Human Rights Campaign (HRC) issued the following statement. As national legal groups who represent LGBTQ people and their families in every state across this country, we condemn the lawless action of Missouri's Attorney General in purporting to bar essential medical care for both transgender adolescents and adults.
NEW REPORT: Biden Continues to Fall Short on LGBTQ+ Representation in the Federal Judiciary
Washington, D.C. - As President Biden continues to fulfill his key commitment to diversify the federal judiciary with picks from a range of racial, gender, ethnic and professional backgrounds, a new report released today by Lambda Legal finds that despite the progress, the president continues to fall short in appointing LGBTQ+ nominees. The report asserts that while there has been a 0.6% increase in LGBTQ+ judges on the federal bench since last year, the LGBTQ+ population of the U.S. has increased, creating a more significant gap in LGBTQ+ representation from our reporting last year.
US Supreme Court Rejects West Virginia's Effort to Deny a 12-Year-Old Trans Girl Her Right to Play
WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 6, 2023 - The United States Supreme Court has rejected an effort by West Virginia's Attorney General to block a 12-year-old transgender girl from continuing to participate in school sports with her peers along a 7-2 vote.
April, 2023
"Outrageous:" Lambda Legal Condemns Ruling Striking Down Insurance Coverage of Preventative Services such as PrEP
(New York, March 30, 2023) - Today, U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor issued a nationwide injunction striking down a key component of the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. Preventative Services Taskforce, retroactively to the inception of ACA in March of 2010. The basis is that the advisory committee was created in violation of the Appointments Clause in the Constitution. He also enjoined HHS from enforcing the USPSTF moving forward.
Advocates to Take Legal Action in Defense of Transgender Youth in Montana
HELENA, Mont. - March 24, 2023 - Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana are reassuring the transgender youth of Montana that they will take any necessary legal action against a proposed ban on their health care currently being considered by the state.
Lambda Legal to 4th Circuit: Affirm Ruling Striking West Virginia Medicaid Ban on Gender-Affirming Care
(Richmond, VA, March 7, 2023) -- Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard oral argument in an appeal brought by West Virginia seeking to reverse a district court decision requiring the State's Medicaid program to treat transgender people's healthcare needs equally.
Lambda Legal, Americans United Urge Supreme Court to Affirm Coworkers' Rights Cannot Be Burdened by Religious Accommodation in the Workplace
(Washington, DC, March 30, 2023) - Lambda Legal and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AU) today filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that employers must be free to consider the burdens imposed by a requested religious accommodation on coworkers and customers, including the dignitary harms of discrimination, in determining whether the accommodation would harm the employer's business.
LGBTQ+ Advocates Respond to West Virginia's Latest Attack on Transgender Youth
Charleston, W.Va. - March 9, 2023 - Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and ACLU-WV issued the following statement in response to the latest attack on transgender youth in the state, the West Virginia Attorney General's announcement that the state will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the recent U.S. Court of Appeals ruling allowing Becky Pepper-Jackson to participate in team sports pending her appeal.
Supreme Court Must Reject West Virginia's Effort to Deny a 12-Year-Old Girl Her Right to Play
WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 20, 2023 - Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of West Virginia urged the United States Supreme Court to reject an effort by West Virginia's Attorney General to block a 12-year-old transgender girl from continuing to participate in school sports with her peers.
March, 2023
Advocates Promise Legal Action In Defense of Transgender Youth in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - February 3, 2023 - The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Tennessee, and Lambda Legal are promising the transgender youth of Tennessee they will bring immediate legal action against proposed restrictions on their health care currently being considered by the state legislature.
Tennessee Bans Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth
NASHVILLE - March 2, 2023 - Taking away the freedom of families of transgender youth to seek critical healthcare, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law a ban on all forms of gender-affirming care for transgender people under 18 - putting the government in charge of making vital decisions traditionally reserved to parents in Tennessee. The law takes effect on July 1, 2023.
Victory! Lambda Legal Secures $372k Settlement in California HIV Medical Data Breach Case
(San Francisco, CA, February 10, 2023) - Lambda Legal today announces Final Approval of a $372,000 settlement for 93 low-income Californians living with HIV whose confidential medical records - including their HIV status - may have been compromised by a data breach of A.J. Boggs & Company's online enrollment system for the California AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). ADAP is operated by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and 30,000 low-income Californians rely on ADAP for life-saving medication. In 2016, CDPH contracted with A.J. Boggs to administer the enrollment program.
February, 2023
Advocates Promise Swift Legal Action Against Restrictions on Health Care for Oklahoman Trans Youth
OKLAHOMA CITY - February 2, 2023 - Lambda Legal, The American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Oklahoma today promised swift legal action in opposition to proposed restrictions on critical and often life-saving health care for transgender Oklahomans should any be signed into law.
Lambda Legal to 4th Circuit: Affirm Lower Court Ruling Striking North Carolina's Discriminatory Transgender Health Care Ban for Transgender State Employees
(Richmond, V.A. - Wednesday, January 25) Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard oral arguments in an appeal brought by the North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell and the Executive Administrator of the North Carolina State Health Plan (NCSHP) asking the court to reverse a lower court decision finding that the State violated the rights of transgender state employees by categorically excluding transgender health care coverage from the state employee health plan.
STATEMENT: Lambda Legal on FDA Blood Ban Changes: A Welcomed Huge Step Forward, Yet Further Work Needed
(New York, NY - January 27, 2023) Lambda Legal responded today to new draft recommendations by the FDA on blood donation policies proposing changes to time-based deferrals in assessing blood donor eligibility, including a gender-inclusive approach and individual risk-based screening processes to reduce the risk of HIV transmission through blood transfusion. These recommendations are not final and will undergo a rulemaking process with a 60-day comment period to gather input and recommendations.
January, 2023
US HHS Issues Revised Rule Striking Earlier Rule that Allowed Health Care Workers to Deny Care for Religious Beliefs
(Washington, December 29, 2022) - Today, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a new proposed rule rescinding much of a Trump-era rule that invited any healthcare worker - including doctors, nurses, EMTs, administrators, janitors, and clerical staff - to deny medical treatment, information and services to patients because of personal religious or moral beliefs.
VICTORY: Court Rules that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois Cannot Administer Health Plans with Gender-Affirming Care Exclusions
(Tacoma, WA, December 19, 2022) - A federal district judge today ruled that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) cannot exclude coverage for medically necessary gender-affirming care in its administration of employer-provided ERISA health plans. This follows the district court's November 9, 2022, order certifying a class comprised of individuals who were, are, or will be denied pre-authorization or coverage of gender-affirming care as a result of BCBSIL's administration of categorical exclusions of such care.
December, 2022
Lambda Legal to Challenge Discriminatory Military Service Policy Preventing People Living with HIV from Enlisting in U.S. Armed Forces
(Washington, D.C., November 10, 2022) - Today, Lambda Legal filed a legal challenge to the U.S. Military policy that prevents people living with HIV from enlisting in the U.S. Armed Forces. The discriminatory policy requires that applicants for appointment and enlistment, as well as individuals being inducted into military Services, be screened for HIV and denied entry if they test positive.
November, 2022
Judge Refuses to Block Florida Law Known as "Don't Say Gay or Trans"
(Orlando, FL, October 21, 2022) - Yesterday, a U.S. District Court refused to halt Florida's enacted House Bill 1557, commonly referred to as the "Don't Say Gay or Trans" law, and dismissed the case altogether, but is allowing the plaintiffs an opportunity to file an amended complaint by November 3. The law bans discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3 and restricts such discussions for students through grade 12 based on undefined standards of appropriateness.
October, 2022
Lambda Legal Announces Government to Pay $1.325M to Settle Legal Fees in Cases on Behalf of HIV-Positive Service Members
(Alexandria, Virginia - September 20, 2022) - Today, Lambda Legal announces that the Government will pay $1,325,000 to settle certain Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) claims for attorney's fees and costs incurred by Lambda Legal, Modern Military Association of America (MMAA), Scott Schoettes, Esq., Peter Perkowski, Esq., Winston & Strawn LLP, and Greenberg Traurig LLP for their work on behalf of MMAA and three active U.S. military service members living with HIV who were denied commissions or threatened with discharge due to their HIV status.
LGBTQ+ and Health Groups Sue to Block Florida's Anti-Transgender Medicaid Health Care Rule
(FLORIDA - September 7, 2022) LGBTQ+ and health advocacy groups Lambda Legal, Southern Legal Counsel, Florida Health Justice Project, and National Health Law Program, together with international law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, filed a federal lawsuit today challenging Florida's anti-transgender health care rule denying coverage for transgender Medicaid beneficiaries' medically necessary gender-affirming medical care.
Texas Court Expands Injunction Blocking State From Targeting Families of Trans Youth Who Are Members of PFLAG National
AUSTIN - September 16, 2022 - The Travis County District Court issued a third injunction today blocking the State of Texas from implementing a directive targeting trans youth and their families across Texas. The directive ordered the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate parents who work with medical professionals to provide their adolescent transgender children with medically necessary healthcare. The directive could have led to transgender youth being placed in foster care and their parents criminally charged with child abuse-just for following the advice of their physicians and mental health providers.
Transgender Public School Students Sue to Block Discriminatory Oklahoma School Facilities Law
(Oklahoma City, OK, September 7, 2022) - Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Oklahoma (ACLU-OK), and pro-bono co-counsel Covington & Burling LLP late yesterday filed a federal lawsuit against the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), three Oklahoma public school districts, one public charter school, and numerous government officials for implementing and enforcing a new school facilities access law that singles out transgender students for discriminatory treatment.
VICTORY! Prince George's County Board of Ed Agrees to Policy Changes to Protect LGBTQ+ Students and School Staff after Lawsuit
(Maryland -- September 26, 2022) -- Today, Lambda Legal and Arnold & Porter announced they have reached a settlement agreement with the Prince George's County Board of Education in Maryland on behalf of a transgender teacher, Jennifer Eller, who had suffered years of abuse, harassment, and discrimination at the hands of both students and staff while teaching in Prince George's County public schools on account of her being transgender. Through today's settlement agreement, the lawsuit has now been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties. The settlement agreement includes monetary compensation and incorporates policy and training changes to protect transgender students and staff within Prince George's County Public Schools.
September, 2022
Advocates Urge Florida Board of Medicine to Reject Anti-Transgender Health Care Guidance
(Fort Lauderdale, FL, August 5, 2022) - Today, the Florida Board of Medicine (the "Board") at its full board meeting is to consider a request by Florida's State Surgeon General for the Board to promulgate a rule prohibiting the provision by medical professionals of gender-affirming medical care. The State Surgeon General's biased and politically-motivated petition, however, runs counter to well-established medical guidelines for the treatment of gender dysphoria, such as those published by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and the Endocrine Society, and the overwhelming medical consensus in the United States and internationally, and would in effect deny essential, medically necessary, and often life-saving care to transgender people, including transgender youth.
Legal Advocates Urge Court to Block Florida Law Known as "Don't Say Gay"
(Orlando, FL, August 26, 2022) - Today, Lambda Legal, Southern Legal Counsel (SLC), the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and private counsel Baker McKenzie urged a federal district court to halt implementation of enacted Florida House Bill 1557, commonly referred to as the "Don't Say Gay" law, which bans discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3 and restricts such discussions for students through grade 12 based on undefined standards of appropriateness. The law, which effectively silences and erases LGBTQ+ students and families that went into effect July 1, 2022, requires school districts to implement it and empowers any parent to directly sue the school district if they are dissatisfied with its implementation of the law. The legal advocates filed a lawsuit challenging the law on July 25, 2022.
Legal Advocates Urge Supreme Court to Reject Effort Seeking Unprecedented Exemption from Anti-Discrimination Law
WASHINGTON - August 19, 2022 - LGBTQ civil and legal rights advocates today filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm long-standing precedent that preserves equal access to the commercial marketplace for all. They warned that granting the unprecedented "free speech exemption" sought by petitioners in 303 Creative v. Elenis would inevitably lead to increased discrimination based on the religious or other beliefs of the service provider, not only related to LGBTQ people or weddings but across the population.
LGBTQ and Health Groups Denounce Florida's Adoption of Anti-Transgender Health Care Rule
(Tallahassee, FL -- August 11) Lambda Legal, Southern Legal Counsel, Florida Health Justice Project, and National Health Law Program today issued the following statement in response to the adoption of an anti-transgender healthcare rule by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which oversees Florida's Medicaid Program, that will deny Medicaid coverage for all medically necessary gender-affirming care for both youth and adults: "Ignoring thousands of public comments and expert testimony, Florida's AHCA has finalized a rule that will deny Medicaid coverage for all medically necessary gender-affirming care for both youth and adults. This discriminatory and medically unsound rule will take effect on August 21, 2022, putting transgender people in jeopardy of losing access to critical gender-affirming health care services.
Victory! Court Rules for Transgender West Virginia Medicaid Participants Denied Health Care Coverage
(Charleston, WV, August 3, 2022) - The federal District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers ruled yesterday that West Virginia's Medicaid program could no longer discriminate by excluding coverage for gender-confirming surgical care for transgender West Virginia Medicaid participants.
August, 2022
Court Removes Trump-Era Rule That Eliminated Discrimination Protections
Washington, DC, July 5, 2022 - A federal district court on Wednesday rescinded a discriminatory Trump-era rule that prohibited the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from requiring that service providers in its $500 billion federal grants program not discriminate based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, and other characteristics when providing HHS grant-funded services. Democracy Forward and Lambda Legal, along with pro bono co-counsel Cravath, Swaine, and Moore, LLP, filed a lawsuit challenging the rule in February 2021 on behalf of Facing Foster Care in Alaska, Family Equality, True Colors United, and SAGE. Wednesday's order rescinds the rule completely and restores protections in the 2016 Rule.
Florida Families and Advocacy Groups Sue to Block the Florida Law Known as "Don't Say Gay"
(Orlando, FL, July 26, 2022) - Late yesterday, Lambda Legal, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Southern Legal Counsel (SLC), and private counsel Baker McKenzie filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Florida enacted House Bill 1557, commonly referred to as the "Don't Say Gay" law.
Lambda Legal: Supreme Court Today Greenlights More Sectarian Prayer in Public Schools
(Washington, DC - June 27, 2022) - Today, the U.S. Supreme Court continued its alarming and misguided practice of mixing government and religion. It further limited public school officials' ability to protect students from imposition of religion by school authority figures by approving the explicitly Christian exercise of religion of a public high school football coach who insisted on kneeling on the 50-yard-line of a public high school football field at the conclusion of games and inviting the student athletes to join him in Christian prayer.
Lambda Legal: The Supreme Court's Erasure of Essential Rights Demands Urgent Corrective Action
(Washington, DC, July 1, 2022) - Lambda Legal today underscored its joint demand with GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the Transgender Law Center for expanding the U.S. Supreme Court and requiring Supreme Court justices to abide by a code of ethics, along with lifting the filibuster and passing voting rights legislation, by citing numerous specific examples of the Court's legally unsound and devastating upending of long-settled precedents, heedless of the harmful impacts on the American people, all issued in recent weeks.
July, 2022
Lambda Legal Launches New Podcast
(New York) - Lambda Legal launched the first episode of its new podcast today. "Making the Case'' is a short-form interview series featuring Lambda Legal attorneys discussing impactful cases and policy work with host Alex Berg. Listeners will have the opportunity to learn more about the creative strategies, unique challenges, and passion that helped win some of the most significant cases for the LGBTQ+ community and people living with HIV in recent memory.
Texas Court Issues Emergency Stop to Gov. Abbott's Anti-Trans Directive to Investigate Families of Transgender Youth
AUSTIN, Texas - June 10, 2022 - The Travis County District Court granted a temporary restraining order on Friday to block the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) from investigating PFLAG families who are supporting their transgender children with medically necessary health care, including the three plaintiff families in the case.
Victory! Court Rules for Transgender North Carolina State Employees Denied Health Care Coverage
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - June 10, 2022 - Today, a federal judge ruled in favor of plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by counsel Lambda Legal and Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) challenging North Carolina's categorical exclusion of gender-affirming health care for transgender state employee health plan participants.
June, 2022
ACLU, Lambda Legal Statement on Texas Supreme Court Ruling Partially Upholding Injunction Blocking Investigations into Families of Transgender Youth
AUSTIN, Texas - May 13, 2022 - The Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling this morning that upholds part of an appeals court order preventing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) from investigating parents who work with medical professionals to provide their adolescent transgender children with medically necessary health care.
Lambda Legal and Black & Pink National Launch "Protected & Served?" Survey
NEW YORK - May 5, 2022 - Today, Lambda Legal, in partnership with Black & Pink National, launched the new Protected & Served? community survey, a study that will explore discrimination and bias against LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV in the criminal legal system. The findings of the Protected & Served? survey, will inform and support new research, advocacy, litigation, and policy efforts to address the discrimination and abuse experienced by LGBTQ+ people and living with HIV in the criminal legal system, and hold them accountable.
Lambda Legal Files Second EEOC Complaint against Dallas Arboretum on Behalf of Terminated Employee
(Dallas, TX, June 1, 2022) -- Late yesterday, Lambda Legal filed a second complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society, Inc. on behalf of a second former employee who was demoted and then fired after he revealed that he was gay. Also, as with the first complaint, Lambda Legal filed a Human Relations Discrimination Complaint (HRDC) with the City of Dallas under its "Unlawful Discriminatory Practices" ordinance which prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
LGBTQ Legal Rights Organizations Move to Protect California's Trans-Inclusive Incarceration Policy
(May 9, 2022, Fresno, CA) - Today, Lambda Legal, the Transgender Law Center (TLC), and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit filed by anti-transgender activists against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) challenging SB132, the groundbreaking law protecting transgender people incarcerated in the state of California. The three organizations, along with pro-bono co-counsel O'Melveny & Myers, represent the Transgender Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project (TGI Justice Project) and four individual plaintiffs currently incarcerated in California prisons.
May, 2022
BREAKING: Federal Court Strikes Down Pentagon's Discriminatory Restrictions on Military Service of People Living with HIV as Arbitrary and Unconstitutional
(Alexandria, Virginia -- April 7, 2022) - Yesterday, a federal district court handed down of the strongest judicial rulings in over two decades for people living with HIV, ordering the Department of Defense (DOD)-the world's largest employer-to stop discriminating against people living with HIV and to allow them to deploy and commission as officers in the U.S. military. The groundbreaking ruling represents a landmark moment in the fight to advance the rights of people living with HIV and reflects the reality that HIV is a chronic, treatable condition, not a reason to discriminate. The ruling comes in two cases Harrison v. Austin and Roe & Voe v. Austin, which were combined for purposes of discovery and argument - for which Lambda Legal is co-counsel with Scott Schoettes, Esq., Peter Perkowsky, Esq., Winston & Strawn LLP, and Greenberg Traurig LLP.
Civil Rights Groups to Challenge Alabama Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - April 7, 2022 - The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Alabama, Lambda Legal, Transgender Law Center, and Cooley LLP announced today plans to file a legal challenge to proposed legislation in Alabama that would criminalize medical professionals who provide gender-affirming care to transgender adolescents with up to 10 years in prison.
Families Sue Alabama Over Felony Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Adolescents
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - April 11, 2022 - Two Alabama families filed a lawsuit in federal court today challenging a recently passed law that criminalizes medical professionals who provide care to transgender adolescents with up to 10 years in prison. The families say being denied medically necessary care will be devastating for the mental and physical health of their adolescent children. The lawsuit alleges that the new Alabama law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
April, 2022
Lambda Legal and ACLU ask Texas Appeals Court for New Order Blocking the State from Investigating Families of Transgender Youth
AUSTIN, Texas - March 17, 2022 - Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and ACLU of Texas today asked the Texas Third Court of Appeals for an emergency order to ensure that the statewide temporary injunction granted Friday remains in effect during the appeal - and prevents the State of Texas from continuing to implement its new directive that targets and endangers transgender youth.
Lambda Legal and ACLU Blast Texas AG's Continued Attack on Families of Transgender Youth
AUSTIN, Texas - March 12, 2022- Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) today condemned Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for continuing his unrelenting attack on transgender Texas youth and the families and medical professionals who love and care for them.
Lambda Legal Applauds Biden Administration Actions in Support of Transgender and Nonbinary People
WASHINGTON, DC - March 31, 2022 - Today, on Transgender Day of Visibility, the Biden-Harris administration announced several actions to address barriers that prevent transgender people from accessing critical government services, support the mental health of transgender children, and improve the visibility of transgender people in federally collected data. Notably, one of the actions announced today is that, on April 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of State will update passport applications to include an option for an "X" gender marker. In October of last year, as a result of Lambda Legal's groundbreaking Zzyym v. Blinkinlawsuit, Dana Zzyym, an intersex and nonbinary U.S. Navy veteran, secured an accurate passport from the U.S. Department of State that did not force them to identify as male or female and became the first U.S. citizen to receive an official U.S. passport with an "X" sex/gender marker. That option will finally be available to all intersex, transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming U.S. citizens.
Lambda Legal Blasts Florida Governor DeSantis After Signing "Don't Say Gay" Bill
TALLAHASSEE - March 28, 2022 - Today, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law the controversial Senate Bill 1834, known as the "Don't Say Gay or Trans" bill. The law, which is broad and vague, bans discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grades or where "not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students," effectively erasing LGBTQ+ students, families, and LGBTQ+ history. The law will also force teachers and other school administrators to "out" LGBTQ+ young people to their parents or guardians, potentially putting them at risk of harm. The law goes into effect on July 1, 2022.
Lambda Legal Condemns New Laws Targeting Transgender Arizonans
PHOENIX - Following Arizona Governor Doug Ducey's decision to sign into law two bills that deny transgender youth access to life-saving medical care and prohibit their participation in sports consistent with their gender identity, Tucson-based Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Kell Olson issued the following statement: "Governor Ducey framed this decision as 'common sense.' It's anything but. These bills will make life harder for transgender kids across Arizona who should have the opportunity to grow up feeling loved and respected for who they are. The Governor offered platitudes about treating transgender people with 'dignity, respect, and kindness,' while signing legislation that ignores the very real concerns of the transgender youth who came to the legislature to share their stories and the horrific impact these new laws will have on their lives and mental health. That's not treating people with 'dignity, respect, or kindness.' It's just plain wrong."
Lambda Legal Condemns Passage of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" Bill
TALLAHASSEE - March 8, 2022 - The Florida state legislature today passed Senate Bill 1834House Bill 1557s, known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, broad and vague legislation that would ban discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grades or were "not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students," effectively erasing LGBTQ+ students, families, and LGBTQ history. The bill would also force teachers and other school administrators to "out" LGBTQ+ young people to their parents or guardians, potentially putting them at risk of harm. Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the bill into law, which will then go into effect on July 1, 2022.
Lambda Legal Sounds Alarm Over Discriminatory Child Welfare Bill in Arizona
PHOENIX - April 1, 2022 - Yesterday, the Arizona House passed Senate Bill 1399, already approved by the Senate, that would allow government-funded child welfare agencies to turn away prospective foster parents if their personal and religious beliefs don't match with theirs. The bill is now headed to Governor Greg Ducey. Lambda Legal joined LGBTQ+, child welfare, and religious organizations and leaders in urging Governor Ducey to veto the bill.
Lambda Legal Sues Oklahoma Over Its Anti-Trans Birth Certificate Policy
(Tulsa, OK, March 14, 2022) -Today, Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit challenging Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's executive order prohibiting transgender people born in Oklahoma from correcting the gender marker on their birth certificates to match their gender identity.
March, 2022
Lambda Legal to 11th Circuit: Affirm Decision That Ordered Florida School to Provide Equal Restroom Access to Transgender Student
(ATLANTA, GA February 22, 2022) - Lambda Legal today urged the full panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to affirm a lower court ruling that required a Jacksonville, Florida-area school district to allow a male transgender student, Andrew Adams, to use the restroom that matches his gender.
February, 2022
As Biden Vows to Nominate a Black Woman to Supreme Court, New Data Provides Snapshot of Biden's First-Year Efforts to Diversify Federal Judiciary
WASHINGTON, D.C.- February 1, 2022 - As President Biden reiterates his pledge to nominate a Black woman to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a new report released today by Lambda Legal paints a fuller picture of Biden's first-year record to diversify the federal judiciary - finding that despite making historic appointments to the federal bench, the president fell short in appointing LGBTQ+ nominees. The report credits President Biden for confirming more judges in his first year than any president since Reagan - three-fourths of whom are women and nearly two-thirds of whom are people of color - but asserts that the Biden administration fell short with respect to improving LGBTQ+ representation in the federal judiciary, with only five nominated judges that openly identify as LGBTQ+ (or 6% of total nominations).
Lambda Legal Applauds Federal Bureau of Prisons for Revising Manual for Incarcerated Transgender People
(WASHINGTON, DC -- January 25, 2022) -- Lambda Legal today applauded the federal Bureau of Prisons for its revisions to the "Transgender Offender Manual," improving policies relating to the housing and treatment of transgender people in federal custody.
Lambda Legal to Work to Resolve EEOC Complaint on Behalf of Terminated Employee
(Dallas, TX, January 14, 2022) - Lambda Legal has filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society, Inc. on behalf of a former employee who was fired after they and other Dallas Arboretum employees began including their pronouns in their email signatures and wearing pins using their pronouns. Lambda Legal has also filed a Human Relations Discrimination Complaint with the City of Dallas under its "Unlawful Discriminatory Practices" ordinance which prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
Lambda Legal: Biden Delivered Results for LGBTQ+ and HIV Communities in First Year, But Critical Work Remains
Washington, D.C. January 20, 2022 - Lambda Legal released a new comprehensive report today that assesses the Biden-Harris administration's first year with respect to its impact on the LGBTQ+ community and everyone living with HIV. While the report identifies significant achievements, such as quickly rescinding the transgender military ban and correctly interpreting federal nondiscrimination laws as protecting LGBTQ+ people, much more work is needed, as many promises remain unfulfilled one year into the Biden presidency.
LGBTQ and Women's Rights Organizations Urge Eighth Circuit to Affirm District Court Ruling Blocking Arkansas's Trans Health Care Ban
(New York, January 19, 2022) - Today, Lambda Legal and the National Women's Law Center (NWLC) submitted a friend-of-the-court brief asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth District to affirm a U.S. District Court ruling blocking implementation of Arkansas's trans health care ban. The ban was passed over Gov. Asa Hutchinson's veto in April 2021. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit - Brandt v. Rutledge - in May to block implementation of the plan, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas ruled in the ACLU's favor shortly before the law was to take effect. Arkansas has since appealed that ruling to the Eighth Circuit.
Oregon Court of Appeals Rules, Again, Against Anti-LGBT Portland-Area Bakery
(Salem, OR - January 26, 2022) - The Oregon Court of Appeals today upheld a 2015 ruling by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) that the owners of Gresham-based Sweetcakes By Melissa violated the state's nondiscrimination statutes when they refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple based on their religious freedom. The court had initially affirmed the BOLI ruling, but the U.S. Supreme Court vacated that ruling in June 2019 and directed the Oregon appeals court to reconsider its decision in light of the Supreme Court's 2018 ruling in favor of a Colorado baker in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
Texas Enacts Transgender Youth Sports Ban
(Dallas, TX, January 18, 2022) - Texas House Bill 25, the anti-trans youth law, that bans transgender student athletes from playing on K-12 school sports teams that align with their gender identities, goes into effect today. HB 25 is one of the dozens of bills attacking transgender youth that swept through multiple state legislatures in 2021.
Victory! U.S. Supreme Court Rejects North Carolina State Health Plan's Effort to Shield Itself from Health Care Discrimination Lawsuits
(WASHINGTON, DC -- January 18, 2022) - Today, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the North Carolina State Health Plan's petition asking the Court to review a lower court ruling that the plan, a state entity, could be sued for denying comprehensive gender-affirming health care coverage to transgender state employees or their transgender dependents. Lambda Legal and the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) are suing the health plan, the North Carolina State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees, for its blanket exclusion of coverage for gender-affirming health care services.
November, 2021
Civil Rights Advocates Bring Federal Court Challenge to Tennessee Law Banning Trans Students in School Sports
(Nashville, TN, November 4, 2021) - Today, Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Tennessee filed a lawsuit challenging a Tennessee law excluding transgender youth from participating in school sports.
Lambda Legal Applauds Confirmation of First Openly Lesbian Judge to Federal Appeals Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 1, 2021 - Today, the Senate voted 51-45 to confirm Beth Robinson to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Robinson, who was previously an associate judge on the Vermont Supreme Court, is the first openly lesbian woman to serve on an U.S. court of appeals.
Victory! Lambda Legal Secures Social Security Survivor's Benefits for Same-Sex Partners
(November 1, 2021) - Today, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Social Security Administration (SSA) dismissed their Ninth Circuit appeals of two nationwide class actions won by Lambda Legal in favor of surviving same-sex spouses and partners denied equal access to social security survivor's benefits. This development affects individuals who were unable to meet the requirement for survivor's benefits that they be married for a minimum of nine months because of discriminatory marriage laws. Last year, federal district courts in Arizona and Washington struck down these individuals' exclusion from benefits as unconstitutional in response to Lambda Legal lawsuits.
October, 2021
Lambda Legal Seeks to Add Two Additional Transgender Plaintiffs to its Challenge to West Virginia's Unlawful Ban On Health Care Coverage
(Charleston,WV - September 23, 2021) Today, Lambda Legal filed a motion seeking leave to add two additional plaintiffs-a Medicaid participant and a public employee-to its federal class-action lawsuit challenging West Virginia's blanket exclusion of health care coverage for transgender people in West Virginia's Medicaid and state employee health plans.
September, 2021
Lambda Legal Sues Virginia Department of Corrections on Behalf of Incarcerated Transgender Man Denied Medically Necessary Health Care
(CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - August 25, 2021) -- Today, Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit against the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) on behalf of a transgender man incarcerated at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women (FCCW) who has been denied medically necessary and gender-affirming care, one of the first lawsuits in the country filed on behalf of an incarcerated transgender man.
VICTORY! Fourth Circuit Rules North Carolina Can Be Sued for Violating the Affordable Care Act Over Discriminatory Anti-Transgender State Employee Health Care P
(ATLANTA, GA - September 1, 2021) - Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a district court ruling determining that the North Carolina State Health Plan for Teachers and Employees, a state entity, could be sued under the nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act for denying comprehensive gender-affirming health care coverage.
August, 2021
VICTORY! Alaska Removes Medicaid Ban on Transition-Related Health Care
(Anchorage, AK, June 28, 2021) - The State of Alaska has finalized Alaska Medicaid regulations to ensure medically necessary coverage for transgender Alaska Medicaid recipients. The confirmation comes six months after Lambda Legal and the Northern Justice Project reached a settlement with the State of Alaska in the class-action lawsuit brought in March 2019, on behalf of transgender Alaskans who were denied Medicaid coverage for their medically necessary transition-related health care.
July, 2021
Lambda Legal Applauds Department of Education Announcement Clarifying Title IX Protections for LGBTQ Students
(Washington, DC - June 16, 2021) - Today, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Notice of Interpretation clarifying that Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity offered by a recipient of federal funds, protects students from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and made clear it would enforce students' rights.
Lambda Legal Applauds Passage of Gender Recognition Act
(NEW YORK - NY, June 10) - Today, the New York State Assembly passed the Gender Recognition Act (GRA), which had passed the New York State Senate on Tuesday. The bill now moves to the desk of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is expected to sign it into law. Ethan Rice, Senior Attorney with the Fair Courts Project at Lambda Legal, released the following statement: "Lambda Legal applauds the passage of the Gender Recognition Act (GRA), an important and long-awaited bill we have strongly supported for years. We helped to draft an initial version of this bill, that updates the protocols around correcting identity documents for transgender and nonbinary New Yorkers in order to help them navigate life without having to fear or risk discrimination and harassment. This long-awaited bill would remove the publication requirement for name changes, allow for a self-attestation system for DMV-issued IDs, including drivers' licenses, allow for gender-neutral X markers on state-issued IDs, and codify into law several recent legal wins by Lambda Legal and others such as allowing for self-attestation and X gender markers on NY State birth certificates, permitting corrections to the gender marker on minors' birth certificates, and permitting parents to correct the parent's name and gender on their child's birth certificate, among other important updates. We encourage Governor Cuomo to quickly sign this bill when it comes to his desk to ensure all transgender, nonbinary and gender non-conforming New Yorkers have access to correct documentation."
June, 2021
ACLU and Lambda Legal Plan to File Lawsuit if Texas Legislature Bans Medical Care for Transgender Youth
AUSTIN, Texas- May 11, 2021 - The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, and Lambda Legal announced today a plan to sue the state of Texas if the legislature and Gov. Abbott approve a bill to ban essential, life-saving medical care for transgender youth. Late Monday night, the House Calendars Committee scheduled HB 1399 to be debated before the Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday.
ACLU, Lambda Legal Respond to Failure of Alabama Bill Criminalizing Health Care for Trans Youth
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - May 18, 2021 - The Alabama Legislature concluded its regular session for 2021 last night without advancing Senate Bill 10, which would have criminalized health care for transgender youth. Late last month, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Alabama, and Lambda Legal had vowed to challenge the law if the bill had been passed and signed by Governor Kay Ivey.
Coalition Advances Lawsuit Over Trump-Era Rollback of Critical Data Collection Requirements to Protect Vulnerable Populations in Foster Care System
San Francisco, C.A. - May 18, 2021 - Yesterday, the California Tribal Families Coalition, the Yurok Tribe, the Cherokee Nation, Facing Foster Care in Alaska, Ark of Freedom Alliance, the Ruth Ellis Center, and True Colors, Inc. pressed forward with their lawsuit challenging a Trump-era rollback of important child welfare data collection requirements. The plaintiffs are represented by Democracy Forward, Lambda Legal, and the Michigan State University College of Law's Indian Law Clinic.
Lambda Legal and ACLU of Ohio Issue Materials to Educate Public on Ohio Department of Health's New Procedures for Trans Ohioans to Correct Birth Certificates
(Columbus, OH) - To comply with a December 2020 court order in Ray v. McCloud, a case brought by Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Ohio, ACLU and Thompson Hine LLP, the Ohio Department of Health established new procedures that allow transgender people to correct the gender or "sex" marker on Ohio birth certificates.
Lambda Legal Applauds State Department Policy Change to Recognize Citizenship at Birth of Marital Children of Same-Sex Couples Born Abroad
(WASHINGTON, DC - May 18) Today, the U.S. Department of State's announced that it will be updating its policies under Section 301 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), to start recognizing the U.S. citizenship of children born abroad to parents, at least one of whom is a U.S. citizen and who are married to each other at the time of the birth. This change that will positively impact married same-sex parents and their children follows two court decisions last year in lawsuits brought by Lambda Legal and Immigration Equality that resulted in courts finding the then-existing policy of refusing to recognize the citizenship of children born abroad to married same-sex couples to be unlawful.
Victory! Challenge to West Virginia's Ban on Health Care Coverage for Transgender West Virginians Will Get its Day in Court
(WEST VIRGINIA - May 20, 2021) -- Yesterday, a federal district court judge denied the State of West Virginia's request to dismiss a lawsuit by Lambda Legal, Nichols Kaster, and The Employment Law Center, challenging West Virginia's ban on gender-confirming care in West Virginia's Medicaid and state employee health plans. The ruling, by Judge Robert Chambers of the District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, ensures that Lambda Legal's lawsuit filed on behalf of Christopher Fain, Zachary Martell, and Brian McNemar against the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WV Medicaid) and West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) will proceed on the merits. In response, Lambda Legal attorney and Tyron Garner Memorial Law Fellow Avatara Smith-Carrington released the following statement: "This decision is a great step forward for our plaintiffs. No one should be denied coverage for health care simply because they are transgender. We are very pleased that Judge Chambers found that Lambda Legal's challenge to the state's categorical denial of gender-confirming care to transgender Medicaid and PEIA participants deserves to be heard on the merits. The state's denial of health care inflicts severe harms on transgender West Virginians, and we are grateful our clients will get their day in court."
April, 2021
Lambda Legal Condemns South Dakota and Mississippi Laws Targeting Trans Youth
(Washington, D.C. - March 11, 2021) - Today, Governor Tate Reeves of Mississippi signed into law SB 2536, a bill banning transgender youth from participating in sports alongside their peers, and Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota is expected to do the same with House Bill 1217. These two bills are the first among a barrage of state-level legislation specifically targeting transgender youth. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem also signed Senate Bill 124 yesterday, which purports to grant a broad license to discriminate against LGBTQ people and others, and to defy public health and other public safety laws, under the pretext of religion.
March, 2021
Foster Youth and LGBTQ Advocacy Groups Celebrate Biden Administration's Agreement to Halt Discriminatory HHS Rule Change In Response to Legal Challenge
New York, N.Y. - February 10, 2021 - In response to a lawsuit filed by a foster youth and alumni group as well as LGBTQ service and advocacy organizations, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has agreed to a court order that immediately stayed the effective date of a discriminatory Trump-era rule. If it were to go into effect, that rule would have eliminated essential protections preventing service providers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, and other characteristics when providing HHS grant-funded services.
January, 2021
Lambda Legal and Immigration Equality Challenge Trump Administration's "Death to Asylum" Rule
(San Francisco, CA, December 21, 2020) - Today, Lambda Legal, Immigration Equality, and co-counsel Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, filed a federal lawsuit, Immigration Equality v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, challenging the Trump administration's recently published "death to asylum" rule, which makes sweeping, essentially fatal changes to the United States asylum system.
Lambda Legal and Immigration Equality to Challenge Cruel New Asylum Ban in Court
(Washington, D.C., December 10, 2020) - Today, Trump's Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice announced they will soon publish a new rule that eviscerates the United States asylum system. The ban will make it virtually impossible for LGBTQ people and those living with HIV who fled persecution in their countries of origin to secure asylum in the U.S. Likewise, it almost entirely bans women who make gender-based claims and victims of non-state violence from obtaining asylum.
Lambda Legal Files Brief in Support of Transgender Employee Fighting Hobby Lobby
(Chicago, IL, December 22, 2020) - Today, Lambda Legal filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Second District Appellate Court of Illinois in support of Meggan Sommerville, a transgender woman, in her almost decade-long fight with her employer, Hobby Lobby, to gain access to the women's facilities at work, facilities that match her gender identity. The brief, filed on behalf of Lambda Legal and Equality Illinois, provides background information to the court about gender identity and Illinois law that acknowledges and affirms that a person's sex is determined by gender identity, as well as state and federal law that supports transgender people having equal access to facilities that are consistent with their sex.
December, 2020
Lambda Legal Sues on Behalf of Teen Over Trans Exclusion in Health Benefits
(Tacoma, WA, November 23, 2020) - Today, Lambda Legal and Sirianni Youtz Spoonemore Hamburger PLLC filed a federal lawsuit challenging Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois's ("BCBSIL") administration of a blanket exclusion of gender-affirming care in an employer-provided health insurance plan provided by Catholic Health Initiatives Franciscan. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington in Tacoma on behalf of a 15-year-old transgender boy, "C.P.," and his parents, and argues the exclusion is in direct violation of the nondiscrimination provisions under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.
West Virginia Medicaid Participants and State Employees File Lawsuit to Challenge Unlawful Ban on Transgender Health Care Coverage
(West Virginia - November 12, 2020) A federal lawsuit challenging West Virginia's blanket exclusions of coverage for gender-confirming care in West Virginia's Medicaid and state employee health insurance plans was filed today. The class-action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on behalf of Christopher Fain, a Medicaid participant; and Zachary Martell and Brian McNemar, a dependent and state employee, respectively. The suit was filed by Lambda Legal, Nichols Kaster, PLLP, and the Employment Law Center, PLLC.
November, 2020
Lambda Legal Responds to Confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court
(Washington, D.C., October 26, 2020) - This evening, with a 52-48 vote, the Senate confirmed Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court. In response, Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings issued the following statement: "This is a dark day for our justice system and American democracy. The Supreme Court of the United States, the court of last resort for justice in our country, should not be up for a power grab, but that is exactly what happened today. Amy Coney Barrett deeply alarmed us during her confirmation hearings when she refused to say whether she believed cases that are the backbone of the legal rights of LGBTQ people-such as Lambda Legal's landmark case, Lawrence v. Texas, which decriminalized same-sex intimacy, and Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage-were correctly decided. We fear that all the progress we have made in recent years is now at risk.
Lambda Legal Urges Senate Judiciary Committee to Oppose Confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett
(Washington, D.C., October 9, 2020) - Today, Lambda Legal sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee urging the members to oppose Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump's nominee to fill the seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the United States Supreme Court. The rushed confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin on Monday, October 12, while voting for the next president and one-third of the senate is already underway.
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Nomination of Anti-LGBTQ Judge, Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court
(Washington, D.C., October 22, 2020) - Today, pressing ahead in flagrant disregard of longstanding rules and procedures, Senate Republicans voted unanimously to advance the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court. Senate Democrats on the committee walked out from the vote in protest and were counted as absent. The nomination, which Senate Republicans are jamming through at breakneck speed, now moves on to a full Senate floor vote. Judge Barrett could be confirmed as soon as Monday, October 26. In response, Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings issued the following statement:
Victory! U.S. citizenship of children of married same-sex couples is secure after U.S. Department of State folds following mounting court losses
(RICHMOND, VA AND ATLANTA, GA -- October 27, 2020) - On Monday, two key legal victories on behalf of married same-sex couples and their children became final after the U.S. State Department withdrew its appeal in Kiviti v. Pompeo and decided not to appeal the district court's decision in Mize-Gregg v. Pompeo. In both cases, federal district courts found the U.S. Department of State's refusal to recognize the U.S. citizenship of the children born abroad to two married same-sex, U.S. citizen couples to be unlawful.
October, 2020
Lambda Legal Blasts Trump's SCOTUS Shortlist Filled with Anti-LGBT and Extremist Judges
(Washington, DC, Sept. 9, 2020) - Today, just weeks ahead of the presidential election, President Donald Trump released a new shortlist of potential Supreme Court nominees that is teeming with anti-LGBT extremists and dangerous ideologues. Sharon McGowan, Legal Director and Chief Strategy Officer at Lambda Legal released the following statement:
Lambda Legal Mourns Passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
(Washington, D.C. September 18, 2020) - The U.S. Supreme Court today announced the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings issued the following statement: "Today, the United States lost an irreplaceable giant. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made history as both an advocate and a Justice, striking down barriers not only for women but also for LGBTQ people and for others who for too long have been denied equal justice under the law.
Lambda Legal Responds to Looming Threat to Marriage Equality at Supreme Court
(Washington, D.C., October 5, 2020) - Today, in a statement in Davis v. Ermold, authored by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and joined by Justice Samuel Alito, the Justices indicated a desire to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the case granting marriage equality to LGBTQ people. The Obergefell decision was a close win and is vulnerable following the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In response, Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings issued the following statement: "The nightmare of a hostile Supreme Court majority is already here. The confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett haven't even started yet and Justices Thomas and Alito are already creating a laundry list of cases they want to overturn. And unsurprisingly, marriage equality is first on the chopping block. Confirming Judge Barrett would be the final puzzle piece they need in order to make it happe
Lambda Legal Urges a Delay in Nomination and Consideration of Ginsburg Replacement
Following a precedent set by current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in 2016-when he refused to consider the nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court nearly eight months before the 2016 election-Lambda Legal demands tonight that the seat held by the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg not be filled until after a new Senate and possibly a new President is seated in January 2021.
Victory! Two HIV-Positive Former Military Cadets to Have Their Day in Court
(Baltimore, MD, September 3, 2020) - Yesterday, a federal district court denied a request by the Trump administration to dismiss a lawsuit brought by two former U.S. military cadets challenging the administration's discriminatory policies targeting servicemembers living with HIV. The ruling, out of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, came in the case of Deese & Doe v. Esper, filed by Lambda Legal and Modern Military Association of America (MMAA) with pro bono co-counsel Winston & Strawn.
September, 2020
Coalition of Indian Tribes, Foster Youth Group, and LGBTQ+ Youth Orgs File Suit to Protect Kids in Foster Care From Trump Administration's Statistical Erasure
Washington, D.C. - August 27, 2020 - Today, two federally recognized Indian tribes, a California-based coalition of tribes, a foster youth and foster care alumni group, and three organizations that work with LGBTQ+ and two-spirit youth in foster care sued the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).
Federal Trial Court Issues Injunction Against Anti-LGBTQ Provisions of HHS' Health Care Discrimination Rule
(New York, NY, August 17, 2020) - Today, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued an injunction in Walker v. Azar, one of the various challenges to the Trump administration's health care discrimination rule, which is scheduled to go into effect Tuesday, August 18, 2020.
U.S. State Department Appeals Federal Court's Decision Recognizing Child of Same-Sex Couple's Citizenship from Birth
Richmond, VA - August 17, 2020 - On Friday, the U.S. State Department appealed the June 17th decision of a Maryland federal district court that recognized the birthright citizenship of Kessem Kiviti, the child of married U.S. citizens, Roee and Adiel Kiviti. By appealing the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the government continues to refuse to recognize the validity of Roee and Adiel's marriage and continues to defend its discriminatory policy, which conditions the recognition of birthright citizenship on a biological link to a U.S. citizen parent.
Victory! Court Rules State Department Violated Law in Denying Passport to Married Same-Sex Couple's Daughter
(ATLANTA, GA -- August 27, 2020) - A federal court in Georgia today ordered the Trump Administration to recognize the U.S. citizenship since birth of Simone Mize-Gregg, the two-year-old daughter of a married same-sex couple, and to issue her a U.S. passport. The U.S. State Department had refused to recognize Simone as a U.S. citizen, even though both of her parents, Derek Mize and Jonathan Gregg, are U.S. citizens and children born abroad to heterosexual married U.S. citizens are automatically considered U.S. citizens themselves.
Victory! Federal Court Rules Florida School Must Treat Transgender Students Equally Including Access to Restrooms
(ATLANTA - August 7, 2020) Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling that required a suburban Jacksonville, Florida, school district to treat transgender student Drew Adams equally by allowing equal access to the restroom that matches his gender. Drew Adams' case was the country's first trial involving a transgender student's equal access to restrooms.
August, 2020
Lambda Legal Sues New York State For Its Refusal To Allow Nonbinary Gender Markers on Driver's Licenses
(NEW YORK, NY -- July 28, 2020) -- Today Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit on behalf of Sander Saba, a nonbinary transgender New York resident who is seeking an accurate New York driver's license that reflects their nonbinary gender identity. The lawsuit challenges New York State's discriminatory policy that categorically prohibits nonbinary people from obtaining an accurate driver's license that reflects their gender identity, instead forcing them to choose either "male" or "female." Saba, a 25-year-old New York University Law School graduate, is seeking an accurate driver's license with an "X" marker.
June, 2020
Lambda Legal Mourns Passing of Pioneer HIV Activist and Icon Larry Kramer
(NEW YORK - NY -- May 27, 2020) -- Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings, today issued this statement following the passing of pioneering HIV activist and LGBT civil rights icon Larry Kramer
May, 2020
Victory! Louisiana Sheriff's Office Agrees to Pay $90,000 to Sheriff's Deputy Candidate Denied Offer Due to His HIV Status
(New York, NY - April 21, 2020) -- Lambda Legal today announced it has reached a settlement with the Iberia Parish Sheriff Office on behalf of William "Liam" Pierce, a former police officer who was denied a job as a sheriff's deputy when he noted as part of a medical evaluation that he is living with HIV.
April, 2020
LGBTQ Advocacy Groups Sue Trump's HHS for Refusing to Enforce Anti-Discrimination Rules, Leaving Community Especially Vulnerable Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
New York, NY - March 19, 2020 - Today, three organizations serving vulnerable populations - Family Equality, True Colors United, and SAGE - sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for its unlawful November 2019 announcement that it would stop enforcing anti-discrimination protections against federal grantees that deny services to, or otherwise discriminate against, individuals. The administration's unlawful action endangers already vulnerable populations, especially as the country confronts the coronavirus pandemic. Today's lawsuit was filed by Democracy Forward and Lambda Legal.
New Blood Donation Policy A Step In the Right Direction But Falls Short
April 2, 2020 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced new guidelines for blood donations that change the current one-year deferral for donations from men who have sex with men (MSM) to a three-month deferral.. While a step in the right direction, the new guidance falls short of what many recognize as the optimal policy for enhancing the safety of the blood supply while ensuring it does not discriminate against gay, bisexual and transgender people-a policy based on the conduct of the potential donor rather than the donor's sexual orientation or gender identity.
Victory! North Carolina's Transgender Employees and Family Members to Have Their Day in Court
(New York, NY, March 11, 2020) - A U.S. District Court judge today denied North Carolina state officials' request to dismiss a lawsuit filed last March challenging North Carolina's blanket exclusion of medically necessary transition-related health care from the state's employee health plan. In the lawsuit, Lambda Legal and Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) represent several current and former state employees and their children who were denied coverage under the plan.
February, 2020
Children Born Abroad to Married U.S. Same-Sex Parents Are U.S. Citizens, Lambda Legal Tells Courts
(New York, NY -- January 17, 2020) Lambda Legal, Immigration Equality and pro bono counsel Morgan Lewis this week urged federal district courts in Georgia and Maryland to compel the U.S. State Department to recognize the U.S. citizenship of two children born abroad to married same-sex couples who are themselves U.S. citizens. Children born abroad to married different-sex parents who are U.S. citizens are routinely recognized as U.S. citizens, but the State Department is deliberately miss-applying federal statutes to deny similar treatment to the marital children of same-sex couples.
Lambda Legal and ACLU Urge Federal Court in Ohio to Strike Down Anti-Transgender Birth Certificate Policy
(Columbus, OH, January 16, 2019) - Today, Lambda Legal, the ACLU and ACLU of Ohio filed a motion for summary judgment in the Southern District of Ohio, asking the Court to strike down the state's policy prohibiting transgender people from correcting the gender marker on their birth certificates. The policy is discriminatory and violates the plaintiffs' constitutional rights to privacy, free speech, and equal protection.
Lambda Legal Sues New York State Over Policy Prohibiting Birth Certificate Corrections for Transgender Minors
(NEW YORK, NY -- January 7, 2020) Today Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit challenging New York State's policy categorically prohibiting transgender minors from correcting the sex designation on their birth certificates - a critically important document for transgender people seeking to navigate through life with accurate government documents.
Lambda Legal Urges Tennessee State Senate to Pull Discriminatory Child Welfare Bill SB 1304
(NEW YORK, NY - January 14, 2020) --The Tennessee State Senate is poised to vote today Tuesday on Tennessee SB 1304, a license-to-discriminate bill that allows taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies to reject foster or adoptive parents based upon the agency's religious beliefs.
Lambda Legal Urges Tenth Circuit to Uphold Ruling in Favor of Intersex Vet Seeking Accurate Passport
(DENVER, January 22, 2020) - Lambda Legal today appeared before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to urge the court to uphold a district court ruling that the State Department cannot rely on its male-or-female-only gender policy to withhold a U.S. passport from Dana Zzyym, a U.S. Navy veteran who is intersex and nonbinary, and does not identify as male or female.
January, 2020
Lambda Legal Asks Illinois to Issue Accurate Birth Certificate that Affirms Gender Identities of Transgender Parents
(Chicago, IL, December 17, 2019) - Yesterday, Myles Brady Davis and Precious Brady-Davis announced the arrival of their child, who was born earlier this month. Myles, who carried and gave birth to their baby and identifies as transmasculine, and Precious, his wife who is a transgender woman, have requested that the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) issue an accurate birth certificate that does not misgender them and either describes them both as "co-parents," or alternatively lists Myles in the field reserved for "Father/Co-Parent" and Precious as "Mother/Co-Parent."
Lambda Legal to Eleventh Circuit: Schools Must Provide Transgender Students Equal Restroom Access
(ATLANTA - December 5, 2019) - Today, Lambda Legal asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to affirm a lower court ruling holding that a suburban Jacksonville, Florida, school district must treat transgender student Drew Adams equally by allowing him to use the restroom that matches his gender identity.
Lambda Legal: SAFE SEX Workers Study Act Critical to the Health and Safety of Sex Workers
(WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2019) -- Today, on the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) along with Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) in the House of Representatives, and Senator Warren (D-MA) in the Senate have introduced the SAFE SEX Workers Study Act, a critically important measure that will require an assessment of impacts on the health and safety of people who trade sex when they lose access to internet platforms. Lambda Legal released the following statement from Staff Attorney Puneet Cheema:
Lambda Legal: Trump Administration's Assault On the Courts and LGBTQ Protections Intensifies
(New York, December 20, 2019) - Today, Lambda Legal released the third edition of its annual report of judicial nominees revealing the alarming extent to which the Trump-Pence administration, with the help of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has filled the federal judiciary with an unprecedented number of unqualified, extremist judges whose records reveal deep hostility for the rights of LGBT people, women, immigrants, and other vulnerable populations.
Lambda Legal: Van Dyke's Confirmation An Affront to LGBT Community
(Washington, DC, December 11, 2019) - Today, Sasha Buchert, Senior Attorney at Lambda Legal, issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate confirmed Lawrence VanDyke for a lifetime position to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit:
December, 2019
Lambda Legal to Court: Don't Allow Social Security to Extend the Harms of Invalidated Marriage Bans
(Tacoma, WA, Nov. 21, 2019) - Lambda Legal today asked a federal court to end the U.S. Social Security Administration's (SSA) categorical refusal to provide spousal survivor's benefits to a 64-year-old lesbian whose partner of 27 years died before same-sex couples in the State of Washington were able to marry. Lambda Legal also asked the court to end this discrimination against all similarly situated same-sex surviving partners who were barred from marriage, arguing that SSA's exclusion of same-sex couples from survivor's benefits for which they paid based on their inability to marry is unconstitutional.
November, 2019
Civil Rights Groups and the County of Santa Clara Urge Court to Block Denial of Care Rule
SAN FRANCISCO - October 30, 2019 - Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Lambda Legal, and the County of Santa Clara today argued before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that the Trump administration's Denial of Care Rule should be ruled unlawful and blocked from going into effect. The organizations, along with pro bono counsel Mayer Brown LLP, are representing myriad health care providers and medical professionals, as co-plaintiffs with the County, in the lawsuit County of Santa Clara v. HHS
Lambda Legal Decries Execution of South Dakota Gay Man Sentenced to Die by Jury Tainted with Antigay Bias
(Souix Falls, SD, November 5, 2019) - Last night, Charles Rhines, a South Dakota gay man, was put to death by lethal injection after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final motion that would have allowed Rhines to bring new evidence to the Court showing that antigay bias may have motivated the jury to sentence him to death. Recently, it was discovered that jurors suggested that sentencing Mr. Rhines to life in prison with other men would be "sending him where he wants to go."
October, 2019
Lambda Legal and MMAA Urge 4th Circuit to Uphold Court Order Preventing Discharge of HIV-Positive Airmen, in Lawsuit against Pentagon
(Richmond, VA, September 18, 2019) - Today, lawyers for two active-duty Airmen who are living with HIV urged a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to uphold a preliminary injunction granted in February that prevents the Trump Administration from continuing with discharge proceedings against members of the U.S. Air Force living with HIV. Today's argument came in Roe & Voe v. Shanahan, the lawsuit filed last December on behalf of two Airmen, identified pseudonymously, by Lambda Legal, the Modern Military Association of America (MMAA, formerly OutServe-SLDN) and pro bono partner Winston & Strawn LLP.
Same-Sex Maryland Couple Sues U.S. State Department for Treating Their Six-Month-Old Daughter as Born out of Wedlock
BALTIMORE, MD - September 12, 2019 -Today, Immigration Equality, Lambda Legal, and pro bono counsel Morgan Lewis filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Maryland against the U.S. Department of State for refusing to recognize the citizenship of Kessem Kiviti, the daughter of married U.S. citizens Roee and Adiel Kiviti. The State Department's policy treats the children of U.S. citizens in same-sex marriages as "born out of wedlock," unconstitutionally stripping their children of citizenship.
VICTORY! Transgender Ohioans to Get Their Day in Court in Lawsuit Against the State
(Columbus, OH, September 12, 2019) - A U.S. District Court judge today ruled that the lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU Ohio on behalf of four transgender plaintiffs seeking accurate birth certificates from the state of Ohio can proceed. The court denied the state's motion to have the lawsuit dismissed, thereby ensuring the four transgender plaintiffs in the case will have their day in court and the state of Ohio will be required to defend its discriminatory policy, which forces transgender people to live with incorrect, mismatched documentation that exposes them to harassment and abuse.
September, 2019
Lambda Legal to HHS: Health Care Discrimination Against LGBT People is Illegal
(Washington, D.C., August 14, 2019) - Yesterday, Lambda Legal submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services objecting to a proposed rule change that seeks to roll back the protections under the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) nondiscrimination provision (also known as Section 1557) that prohibit discrimination in health care on the basis of sex. The proposed rule seeks to carve-out LGBT people from the ACA's nondiscrimination protections, inviting health care workers, doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies that receive federal funding to refuse to provide or cover health care services critical to the health and wellbeing of LGBT people and people living with HIV. But this attempt to roll back protections through an agency rule change cannot change the law itself.
August, 2019
Military Experts, Medical Associations and HIV Advocates Oppose Trump DOD's Discharge Policy for HIV-Positive Airmen
(New York, NY -- July 26, 2019) - Military leaders, medical associations, public health groups, and HIV advocates joined three friend-of-the court briefs filed yesterday in support of a federal lawsuitchallenging the Pentagon's discriminatory policies, which prevent service members living with HIV from deploying to most locations outside the United States. These deployment restrictions recently resulted in decisions to discharge a number of Airmen. The briefs being filed today in Roe and Voe v Shanahan before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit urge the court to uphold a preliminary injunction preventing the Air Force from discharging service members with HIV.
June, 2019
Lambda Legal, Americans United and Center for Reproductive Rights Sue Trump Administration to Block Denial of Care Rule
(May 28, 2019) - Today, Lambda Legal, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit challenging the "Denial of Care" Rule issued earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In the lawsuit (County of Santa Clara vs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in coordination with Santa Clara County, the organizations are representing Trust Women Seattle, Hartford GYN, Whitman-Walker Health, Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, Los Angeles LGBT Center, Center on Halsted, Mazzoni Center, GLMA, Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists, Medical Students for Choice and various physicians. Mayer Brown, LLP is serving as pro bono counsel.
May, 2019
VICTORY! Arizona Repeals Anti-LGBTQ Curriculum Law After Filing of Lawsuit
(Phoenix, AZ, April 12, 2019) – Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey today signed into law an amendment that repeals the state's anti-LGBTQ curriculum law that barred LGBTQ students from receiving medically accurate, age-appropriate information about non-heterosexual people in their health education classes. The amendment removes language that had prohibited instruction in HIV/AIDS curriculum that "[p]romotes a homosexual life-style," "[p]ortrays homosexuality as a positive alternative life-style," or "[s]uggests that some methods of sex are safe methods of homosexual sex."
February, 2019
Supreme Court Declines Transgender Military Ban Cases but Permits Enforcement of Ban for Now
(Washington, DC, January 22, 2019) – The U.S. Supreme Court today denied petitions from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asking that the Court review preliminary federal district court rulings that have kept the Trump administration from implementing its discriminatory plan to prevent transgender people from serving openly in the U.S. Armed Services.
November, 2018
Patchwork of Employment Protections Leaves LGBT Employees at Risk
(New York, NY, October 30, 2018)-Last week, The New York Times reported that the Trump Administration is preparing to redefine the term "sex" for the purposes of several federal agencies. This redefinition is out of step with science, medicine and the law-and it is intended to not only to eliminate protections for transgender and intersex people, but to stop recognizing transgender and intersex people all together. This latest proposal also creates more barriers to combating discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals; while the Department of Justice previously would and did sue state/local government entities for anti-transgender discrimination, that will not be the case with this administration
August, 2018
Lambda Legal & OutServe-SLDN Ask Court to Stop Pentagon from Discharging HIV-Positive Service Members
(Alexandria, VA. July 19, 2018) – Today, Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN, along with pro bono counsel from Winston & Strawn LLP, asked a federal court to halt implementation of a new Department of Defense policy resulting in the discharge of service members living with HIV. The motion for a preliminary injunction filed in Harrison v. Mattis-a case challenging the military's discriminatory policies governing the enlistment, deployment, and promotion of service members living with HIV-follows multiple calls from other service members that plaintiffs' attorneys received after his case was filed in May. These service members are being denied significant career advancement opportunities or threatened with discharge due to President Trump's new "Deploy or Get Out!" policy. Left unaddressed, hundreds of service members who are otherwise fit for duty, including named-plaintiff Sgt. Nick Harrison, will be discharged from the military, suffer irrevocable harm to their careers, and lose critical health care and other benefits.
April, 2018
ACLU and Lambda Legal File Lawsuit to Challenge Ohio's Discriminatory Birth Certificate Policy
COLUMBUS, Ohio - March 29, 2018 - The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, the ACLU, and Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit today challenging Ohio's refusal to correct the gender marker on birth certificates for transgender individuals for any reason at any time.
January, 2018
Lambda Legal Condemns Senate for Confirming Unqualified, Anti-LGBT Judicial Nominee to a Lifetime Appointment on the Fed
Washington, DC - December 12, 2017 – Today, the United States Senate handed Leonard Steven Grasz a lifetime appointment to the federal bench on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, despite being one of only four nominees since 1989 to receive a unanimously unqualified rating by the non-partisan American Bar Association. Lambda Legal led a group of 28 national, state and local LGBT organizations in opposing his nomination, citing his controversial views in support of conversion therapy, his opposition to legal protections for LGBT Americans, and his view that marriage equality is a "threat," among other extremist, anti-LGBT positions he has promoted throughout his career.
Lambda Legal Slams U.S. Senate for Continued Degradation of the Federal Judiciary This Week
Washington, DC - December 13, 2017 – Today, the United States Senate confirmed Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In addition, the Senate Judiciary Committee today held a hearing on the nomination of Matthew Kacsmaryk to the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Texas. Lambda Legal recently organized a letter with 34 other national, state, and local LGBT groups opposing Willett's nomination in addition to the nomination of Matthew Kacsmaryk, stating that "these dangerous nominees will increase the likelihood that LGBT people living in these states will continue to experience discrimination with no meaningful access to justice in their lifetime." Willett is one of three anti-LGBT nominees that will likely be confirmed by the Senate this week. L. Steven Grasz was confirmed to the Eighth Circuit on Tuesday, and the full chamber is expected to vote on the nomination of James Ho to the Fifth Circuit tomorrow.
Lambda Legal to Senate Judiciary Committee: Stop Advancing Trump's Dangerous Judicial Nominees on the Backs of LGBT Amer
Washington, DC - December 7, 2017 – Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee continued their relentless push to stack the federal courts with Donald Trump's anti-LGBT nominees by advancing several nominations to the Senate floor along a party line vote, including the nominations of Leonard Steven Grasz to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Don Willett to the Fifth Circuit, and Mark Norris to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, all of whom Lambda Legal has opposed. The Judiciary Committee also advanced the nomination of James Ho to the Fifth Circuit. Lambda Legal sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary yesterday about its concerns over his nomination as well, citing his record which "suggests that he would be a consistent vote against the civil and human rights of LGBT Americans should he be confirmed." The full letter can be found here.
Lambda Legal to Senate: Indecent, Extremist, Anti-LGBT Nominees Have No Place on the Federal Bench
Washington, DC - December 13, 2017 – Following the confirmation of unqualified Leonard Steven Grasz to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit last night, the United States Senate is preparing to put two more of Donald Trump's extreme, anti-LGBT judicial nominees on the federal bench this week, beginning with of Don Willett to the Fifth Circuit today and James Ho to the same court tomorrow. Yesterday, Lambda Legal brought together 34 other national, state, and local LGBT groups to oppose the nomination of Willett in a letter to the full Senate chamber, citing their "grave doubts concerning his ability to impartially interpret the law and serious concerns about his strict approach to judicial review of economic regulations that would impact LGBT workers and all workers." Lambda Legal has also expressed grave concerns about the ability of James Ho to give a fair hearing to LGBT Americans in light of his history of advocating against their right to equal protection of their relationships and families under the law.
Lambda Legal: Senate Takes Two Steps Backwards with Dangerous Judicial Confirmations While Rest of the Nation Takes Gian
Washington, DC - December 14, 2017 – This week, the United States Senate confirmed three nominees to the federal bench with proven and extensive anti-LGBT records: Leonard Steven Grasz to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit who was confirmed on Tuesday, Don Willett to the Fifth Circuit who was confirmed on Wednesday, and James Ho to the Fifth Circuit who was confirmed today, Thursday. The Senate Judiciary Committee also progressed with the nomination of anti-LGBT crusader Matthew Kacsmaryk to the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Texas at a hearing on Wednesday, and is expected to vote soon on the nomination of fellow anti-LGBT crusader Kyle Duncan for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Lambda Legal, along with dozens of LGBT groups and civil rights organizations, has opposed Grasz's, Willett's, Kacsmaryk's and Duncan's nominations. Lambda also expressed grave concerns about the nomination of James Ho to the Fifth Circuit, and his ability to give a fair hearing to LGBT Americans in light of his history of advocating against their right to equal protection of their relationships and families under the law.
Nearly One-Third of Trump's Judicial Nominees Have Anti-LGBT Records, Lambda Legal Reveals in New Analysis
Washington, DC - December 20, 2017 – Nearly one-third of President Donald Trump's federal judicial nominees have anti-LGBT records, Lambda Legal revealed today in a new analysis documenting the record speed with which President Trump is reshaping the courts, creating a judicial landscape that is growing increasingly hostile toward LGBT people. The brief analysis provides a snapshot of Trump's impact on the courts at the end of his first year in office, underscoring the breakneck pace with which Trump is filling judicial vacancies: in his first year alone, the analysis indicates President Trump has secured confirmations for 12 circuit court judges (which is more than the combined number of circuit court judges confirmed by Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton during their first year in office) as well as 6 district court judges and a Supreme Court justice. The record speed with which President Trump is reshaping the courts, coupled with the staggeringly high number of judges with anti-LGBT records whom he has nominated for lifetime appointments, is triggering a growing and vast judicial crisis for LGBT people, with sweeping consequences that will last decades after Trump is gone.
Victory! Court Orders U.S. Military to Immediately Halt Ban of Transgender Troops
(SEATTLE, December 11, 2017) – Today, a federal court in Seattle ordered an immediate halt to the Trump Administration's discriminatory plan to ban transgender people from serving openly in the U.S. Armed Services. The ruling came in the lawsuit brought by Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN challenging the ban and prevents the ban from being implemented while the case proceeds.
December, 2017
Lambda Legal Brings Together 28 Other LGBT Organizations to Oppose Nominations of L. Steven Grasz and Mark Norris
Washington, DC - November 30, 2017 – Lambda Legal and 28 other national, state, and local LGBT organizations sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee ahead of a vote today urging them to oppose the nominations of Leonard Steven Grasz to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and Mark Norris to the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, stressing that their records "demonstrate that their appointments to the bench would cause grave harm to the LGBT community, as well as many other communities who rely on the federal judiciary to administer fair and impartial justice."
Lambda Legal Brings Together 40 Other LGBT Orgs to Oppose Nomination of Gregory Katsas to Powerful D.C. Circuit
Washington, DC - November 20, 2017 – Today, Lambda Legal and 40 other national, state, and local LGBT organizations sent a letter to the United States Senate urging members to oppose the confirmation of Gregory Katsas to the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, citing his central role in the anti-civil rights efforts of the Donald Trump administration, including "morphing the trans military ban from tweet to policy," as well as his record outside the administration of "litigation seeking to dismantle legal protections for LGBT people," all of which together make it impossible for him to be viewed as a fair and impartial judge.
Lambda Legal Condemns U.S. Senate for Handing Architect of Trump Administration's Anti-LGBT Agenda Lifetime Appointment
Washington, DC - November 28, 2017 – The United States Senate this evening confirmed Gregory Katsas – the legal architect of many of Donald Trump's anti-LGBT efforts – to the powerful U.S. Federal Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Lambda Legal strongly condemned the Senate GOP leadership and those Senators who confirmed Katsas for this lifetime position on the federal bench, and noted that this evening's vote marks the beginning of a year-end surge by the GOP leadership and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee to jam through a series of similarly dangerous nominees to other federal courts.
Lambda Legal Condemns U.S. Senate's Effort to Jam through Controversial Judicial Nominees
Washington, DC - October 31, 2017 – The U.S. Senate moved ahead today with an effort to force through four controversial judicial nominees to lifetime appointments to federal courts of appeals. This afternoon, the Senate confirmed the first of these nominees, Amy Coney Barrett, for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and is now pushing ahead with the nomination of Joan Larsen for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Lambda Legal on the Front Lines This Week Opposing Trump's Extremely Dangerous Nominees to the Federal Bench
Washington, DC - November 14, 2017 – This week, Lambda Legal will be out front in its continued opposition to President Donald Trump's nominations for lifetime appointments on the federal bench. Lambda Legal's Director of Strategy, Sharon McGowan, will kick off the week of activities by speaking at a rally outside of the Capitol opposing the nomination of Jeff Mateer, a nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, whose hateful, anti-LGBT and anti-civil rights record notably includes his reference to transgender children as part of "Satan's plan."
Lambda Legal to U.S. Senate: Architect of Administration's Anti-LGBT Agenda Has No Place on Powerful DC Circuit Court
Washington, DC - November 27, 2017 – Lambda Legal today urged the United States Senate to reject the nomination of Deputy White House Counsel Gregory Katsas to the powerful U.S. Federal Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. A vote on Katsas' nomination is expected this evening.
Lambda Legal: America Deserves Better – Rather Than Attacking ABA, Senators Should Reject Unqualified Judicial Nominee
Washington, DC - November 15, 2017 – At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today, the American Bar Association defended its unanimous rating of "Not Qualified" on Leonard Steven Grasz's nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Prior to the Trump Administration, the ABA only issued two ratings that were unanimously not qualified since 1989, and those two nominees were not confirmed. Two of Trump's nominees have already received this non-partisan rating, including Grasz, while 49 of his 53 nominees have received a qualified or well qualified rating from the Association. Lambda Legal has opposed Grasz's nomination and demanded that his nomination be blocked.
Lambda Legal: Chairman Grassley & Senate Judiciary GOP Bulldoze Judicial Nominations Process to Stack Federal Courts
Washington, DC - November 29, 2017 – Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on two judicial nominees for lifetime appointments to the federal bench: Kyle Duncan for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and David Stras for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The hearing took place as a result of Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley breaking with precedent to override the “blue slip" process, which traditionally gives the Senators from each nominee's home state the opportunity to weigh in on the nomination and prevent them from moving forward by refusing to return the blue slip. Senator Franken (D-MN) refused to turn in his blue slip for David Stras, and Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) turned in a negative blue slip for Kyle Duncan.
Lambda Legal: Don Willett Does Not Reflect the "Best of Texas"
Washington, DC - November 15, 2017 – Today, Lambda Legal continued standing up against Donald Trump's long line of dangerous nominees to the federal bench, specifically around a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this morning on the nomination of Don Willett to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. This hearing comes on the heels of a letter sent to the entire committee yesterday, organized by Lambda Legal with 26 other national, state, and local LGBT groups to oppose Willett's nomination, citing his extreme anti-LGBT agenda and track record. In the letter, the groups also oppose to two other nominees to lifetime appointments on the federal bench: Stuart Kyle Duncan to the Fifth Circuit and Matthew Kacsmaryk to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Lambda Legal: Rush by Sen. McConnell to Jam Through Anti-LGBT Judicial Nominees Threatens to Choke Justice Across the Co
Washington, DC - November 1, 2017 – The United States Senate this week continues to run roughshod over the judicial nomination process, forcing through confirmations of two controversial anti-LGBT nominees – Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Joan Larsen to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit – and lining up two more – Allison H. Eid to the Tenth Circuit, and, later this week, Stephanos Bibas to the Third Circuit.
Lambda Legal: Senate Judiciary Must Set New Hearing for Federal Bench Nominees Brett Talley and Thomas Farr
Washington, DC - November 17, 2017 – Today, Lambda Legal joined the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund in calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold additional hearings on two district court nominees: Brett Talley, nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, and Thomas Farr, nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Talley, who was already deemed "not qualified" to become a federal judge by the American Bar Association, has since made news for failing to disclose directly relevant information to the Committee. Farr appears to have misled the chamber about his role in a campaign to intimidate black voters, according to media reports. Both nominees should require new hearings on their nominations to lifetime appointments on the federal bench.
Lambda Legal: Senate Judiciary Republicans Moving Forward With Gregory Katsas' Nomination to Federal Bench
Washington, DC - November 9, 2017 – Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to move forward with the nomination of Gregory Katsas to the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which is often described as the second most powerful court in the country behind the U.S. Supreme Court. Gregory Katsas is currently the Deputy White House Counsel for the Trump Administration – which has routinely attacked the LGBT community, all people living with HIV, and overall civil rights in this country. Lambda Legal today brought together 20 additional national, state, and local LGBT groups urging members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to stop this nomination. The nomination will now go to the full United States Senate for confirmation.
Lambda Legal: Senate Republicans Sprint Forward This Week to Stack Federal Courts with Toxic Judges
Washington, DC - November 2, 2017 – Senator Mitch McConnell continued his push to deliver to President Trump four highly controversial, anti-civil rights, and anti-LGBT judicial nominees to federal courts of appeals. Casting aside even the appearance of careful deliberation, the Senate today confirmed the remaining two nominees placed on the agenda for this week – Allison H. Eid to the U.S. Court of Appeals to the Tenth Circuit and Stephanos Bibas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
November, 2017
ACLU and Lambda Legal Announce Proposed Settlement With North Carolina in Lawsuit Challenging Anti-LGBT Law
RALEIGH, N.C. - October 18, 2017 - Transgender people in North Carolina will not be barred from using public restrooms and other facilities that match their gender identity under a consent decree proposed today by Gov. Roy Cooper, Attorney General Josh Stein, the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, and LGBT North Carolinians who are challenging state anti-LGBT laws H.B. 2 and H.B. 142 in a federal lawsuit. The judge in the case must agree to the terms of the proposed consent decree before it takes effect.
Lambda Legal Leads 35 LGBT Groups Demanding President Trump Withdraw Jeff Mateer's Nomination to Federal Bench
Washington, DC - October 16, 2017 – Today, Lambda Legal and 35 other national, state, and local LGBT advocacy groups sent a letter to members of the United States Senate strongly urging them to demand that President Trump immediately withdraw his nomination of Jeff Mateer to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, declaring that "his brazen contempt for LGBT people renders him wholly unfit for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench."
Lambda Legal Leads More Than 60 LGBT Rights Orgs in Fight Against Nomination of Eric Dreiband to Run DOJ’s Civil Right
Washington, DC - October 4, 2017 – Today, Lambda Legal and more than 60 national, state, and local LGBT groups from across the country urged the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the nomination of Eric S. Dreiband to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the Dept. of Justice
Lambda Legal: Senators Criticize Sessions for Urging Courts to Immunize Discrimination Against LGBT People
Washington, DC - October 18, 2017 – Today, Lambda Legal blasted Attorney General Jeff Sessions' testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Senators challenged Sessions' efforts to roll back the civil rights of the most vulnerable Americans, including a number of policies, statements, and actions directly targeting LGBT people, women, people of color, religious minorities, and immigrants. Sessions' testimony comes just weeks after a series of high-profile attacks by DOJ against LGBT people, including its efforts to convince courts that federal laws prohibiting sex discrimination do not cover claims of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, its support of anti-LGBT groups' efforts to shield businesses that want to deny service to LGBT people from the application of state and local non-discrimination laws (as outlined in a brief filed with the Supreme Court in September), and its directive to federal agencies to create broad licenses to discriminate on the basis of religion.
October, 2017
28 LGBT Groups Oppose Confirmation of Stephen S. Schwartz
Washington, DC - September 6, 2017 – Today, Lambda Legal and 27 other LGBT groups strongly opposed the confirmation of Stephen S. Schwartz to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, given this court's "tremendous importance to the LGBT community over the years, including most notably issues affecting LGBT people in the military," and Schwartz's record in undermining the rights of LGBT people. In a letter organized by Lambda Legal and sent to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee – who are expected to consider Schwartz's nomination at a markup on Thursday – LGBT groups said that Mr. Schwarz is unqualified for this position not only for his record, but also because of his lack of experience and his failure to meet the expectations set by the American Bar Association.
Discriminatory Ban Already Harming Transgender Troops and the U.S. Military, Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN Tell Court
(SEATTLE, September 14, 2017) – Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN yesterday asked a federal court to halt immediately all steps taken to implement the Trump Administration's discriminatory plan to ban transgender individuals from serving openly in the U.S. Armed Services.
Lambda Legal & Almost 50 Other LGBT Orgs Letter to DOJ Opposing Dreiband Nomination
Washington, DC - September 5, 2017 – Today, Lambda Legal and 46 other national, state, and local LGBT groups from across the country strongly opposed the confirmation of Eric S. Dreiband to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the Dept. of Justice, citing his "overwhelmingly anti-civil rights record" and his efforts to "diminish the rights of LGBT people and other vulnerable communities." In a letter organized by Lambda Legal and sent to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee – who are expected to hear testimony from Dreiband at a confirmation hearing on Wednesday morning – LGBT groups said that in light of the moral crisis facing the nation in the wake of Charlottesville, Dreiband's record of opposing civil rights "strongly suggests that he will continue to promote the anti-civil rights agenda of this administration, rather than exercise the kind of leadership and willingness to defend civil rights that is needed … now more than ever."
Lambda Legal Applauds Rep. Ellison's Resolution Calling for Better Policies To Protect Transgender Americans
Washington, DC - September 28, 2017 – Lambda Legal today applauded U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison for introducing a House Resolution that calls for increased attention to the violence and discrimination faced by transgender women of color and the creation of better policies and practices to protect transgender Americans.
Lambda Legal Blasts Trump Judicial Nominee Jeff Mateer Following News Reports of Vicious Attacks on Transgender Children
Washington, DC - September 20, 2017 – Lambda Legal issued the below statement today about President Donald Trump's nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Jeff Mateer, who is coming under fire as news reports today are surfacing past remarks that reveal a record of extreme hostility toward the LGBT community, including Mateer's referring to transgender children as part of "Satan's plan," comparing same-sex marriage to bestiality, his endorsement of the controversial and widely-condemned practice of conversion therapy, and his extensive record of putting religious beliefs above the rule of law.
Lambda Legal Doubles Down on Opposition to Confirmation of Stephen S. Schwartz to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Washington, DC - September 13, 2017 – Last week, Lambda Legal and 27 other LGBT groups urged opposition to the nomination of Stephen S. Schwartz to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, whose nomination is slated for consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee at a markup hearing tomorrow morning. In the letter, organized and led by Lambda Legal, advocates argued that the Court of Federal Appeals has been of "tremendous importance to the LGBT community over the years, including most notably issues affecting LGBT people in the military," and also citing Schwartz's record in undermining the rights of LGBT people. The LGBT groups also said that Mr. Schwarz is unqualified for this position not only for his record, but also because of his lack of experience and his failure to meet the expectations set by the American Bar Association.
September, 2017
Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN Sue President Trump to Reverse Transgender Military Service Ban
(SEATTLE, August 28, 2017) – Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN today filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Trump administration's ban on military service by transgender individuals. The lawsuit-brought in response to President Trump's formal issuance of directions to military authorities late Friday-was filed on behalf of two individuals who seek to join the military; one current service member who seeks appointment as an officer; the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBT advocacy organization; and Gender Justice League, a gender and sexuality civil and human rights organization, headquartered in Seattle.
August, 2017
ACLU and Lambda Legal Challenge Fake Repeal of North Carolina's Discriminatory HB 2
RALEIGH - July 21, 2017– Today, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina, and Lambda Legal announced they have taken steps to expand the federal lawsuit challenging North Carolina's sweeping anti-LGBT law HB 2 to include a challenge to its discriminatory replacement, HB 142, which left many of the harms caused by HB 2 in place. The advocacy groups also added two LGBT North Carolinians to the case.
Lambda Legal Blasts Trump and the DOJ Over Plans to Undermine and Sabotage Affirmative Action Policies
Washington, DC - August 2, 2017 – Today, Lambda Legal CEO Rachel B. Tiven blasted the Trump administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions over new reports revealing plans to undermine and attack affirmative action policies. A report from The New York Times this week affirmed the effort will dedicate resources from the DOJ's Civil Rights Division toward investigating and suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants. The effort continues adding to a laundry list of civil rights offenses by the Trump administration, the most recent of which came last week when the administration levied a series of assaults on LGBT rights and policies.
Lambda Legal Brings Together LGBT Groups Urging the Senate to Oppose the Confirmations of John Bush and Damien Schiff
Washington, DC - July 17, 2017 – Today, Lambda Legal and 26 other national LGBT groups urged the Senate to oppose the confirmations of John K. Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and Damien Schiff to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, citing public statements and writings from both nominees and their repeated demonstration of "contempt for the rights of LGBT Americans, people living with HIV, women, and other vulnerable populations." In a letter sent https://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/us_20170717_lgbt-groups-opposition-letter to the full Senate – just days after Bush and Schiff were approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on party-line votes – LGBT groups opposed to the confirmations cite not only homophobic epithets and other anti-LGBT and misogynistic remarks made by nominees in their public speeches and writings, but also records that clearly illustrate their "views on civil rights issues are fundamentally at odds with the notion that LGBT people are entitled to equality, liberty, justice and dignity under the law."
Lambda Legal Condemns Confirmation of John K. Bush to Federal Bench
Washington, DC - July 20, 2017 – Today, the United States Senate confirmed John Kenneth Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in a 51 to 47 vote, along party lines. Bush's writings and statements throughout his career in regards to fundamental rights have illustrated contempt for the rights of LGBT Americans, women, and all people living with HIV. As noted by numerous Senators who spoke out in opposition to this nomination, Bush's offensive public statements and anonymous blog posts were rife with homophobic and misogynistic language unlike anything in recent memory. By passing along "birther" conspiracy theories about President Obama and comparing abortion to slavery, John Bush represents a new low in terms of Congressional rubber-stamping of the extremist agenda of the Trump/Pence administration.
Lambda Legal: Today US Senate Committee Did More Harm While House Democratic Leaders Introduced Do No Harm Act
Washington, DC - July 13, 2017 – Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee (in a 11-9 vote along party lines), voted in favor of the nominations of John Bush and Damien Schiff for positions on the federal bench. Bush, who has been nominated for the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and Schiff, nominated for the US Court of Federal Claims, have virulent anti-civil rights records replete with anti-LGBT, misogynistic and racist rhetoric. Lambda Legal and 15 other national LGBT groups opposed their nominations, and will now take their message to the full Senate, which will vote on these nominees in the coming weeks.
July, 2017
Lambda Legal Joins with 15 National LGBT Groups to Oppose the Confirmations of John K. Bush and Damien Schiff
Washington, DC - June 12, 2017 – Today, Lambda Legal and 15 other national LGBT groups urged opposition to the confirmations of John K. Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and Damien Schiff to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, citing public statements and writings from both nominees and their repeated demonstration of "contempt for LGBT Americans, people living with HIV, women, and other vulnerable populations." In a letter sent to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee – who are expected to hear testimony from both nominees at a confirmation hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning – LGBT groups opposed to the confirmations cite not only homophobic epithets and other anti-LGBT and misogynistic remarks made by nominees in their public speeches and writings but also records that clearly illustrate their "views on civil rights issues are fundamentally at odds with the notion that LGBT people are entitled to equality, liberty, justice and dignity under the law."
April, 2017
ACLU and Lambda Legal Condemn 'Fake' Repeal of HB 2
RALEIGH, N.C. - March 30, 2017 - The North Carolina General Assembly today passed a bill that does not repeal the discriminatory HB 2 law. Instead, it keeps in place the most harmful parts of the law.
March, 2017
Senator Wiener and Assemblymember Gloria Announce Bill to Modernize Discriminatory HIV Criminalization Laws
San Francisco - February 6, 2017 – Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) introduced a bill to modernize laws that criminalize and stigmatize people living with HIV. Assemblymember David Chiu is also a co-author of the bill. SB 239 would amend California's HIV criminalization laws, enacted in the 1980s and '90s at a time of fear and ignorance about HIV and its transmission, to make them consistent with laws involving other serious communicable diseases. The bill is cosponsored by the ACLU of California, APLA Health, Black AIDS Institute, Equality California, Lambda Legal and Positive Women's Network - USA. The organizations are part of Californians for HIV Criminalization Reform (CHCR), a broad coalition of people living with HIV, HIV and health service providers, civil rights organizations and public health professionals dedicated to ending the criminalization of HIV in California. San Francisco Supervisor Jeff Sheehy also attended the announcement.
January, 2017
ACLU and Lambda Legal Condemn North Carolina Lawmakers' Failure to Repeal H.B. 2
RALEIGH - Decmber 21, 2016 –The North Carolina legislature today convened for a special session where it failed to pass a bill repealing H.B. 2, the state's sweeping anti-LGBT law.
November, 2016
ACLU, Lambda Legal File Brief to Protect All Transgender People Harmed by Discriminatory H.B. 2
RICHMOND, Va. - October 19, 2016 - In a lawsuit challenging the North Carolina law banning transgender people from using restrooms that correspond to their gender identity, LGBT rights groups yesterday asked a federal appeals court to broaden a preliminary injunction in order to protect all transgender people in the state from discrimination.
October, 2016
ACLU and Lambda Legal Statement on H.B. 2 Developments
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - September 18, 2016– The ACLU and Lambda Legal today called on Governor Pat McCrory and North Carolina legislative leaders to repeal H.B. 2, the state law that bans many transgender people from appropriate restrooms and prohibits local municipalities from extending nondiscrimination protections to LGBT people. The two organizations issued the following statement in response to Gov. McCrory's and legislative leaders' demand that the City of Charlotte repeal its LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance as a precondition for the legislature considering the repeal of H.B. 2.
September, 2016
ACLU, Lambda Legal Seek Greater Relief for Transgender North Carolinians Harmed by H.B. 2
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - August 29, 2016 – LGBT rights groups challenging North Carolina's House Bill 2, the state law that bans many transgender people from restrooms that match their gender, today announced they will appeal part of a Friday district court ruling in order to seek broader relief for all transgender people in North Carolina before the case heads to a full trial.
District Court Hears Challenge to Federal Guidance Protecting Transgender Students and Employees
(FORT WORTH, Texas - August 12, 2016) – Five leading national civil and LGBT rights organizations urged the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to reject an effort to block the Obama administration's interpretations of several federal laws pending trial in Texas v. United States, including federal guidance advising public school districts across the country that the federal Departments of Justice and Education believe that transgender students should be allowed to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identity. Texas and 12 other states or governors or agencies of those states argued in court today for a preliminary injunction enjoining these federal agencies' interpretations from having any effect while the lawsuit proceeds.
District Court Issues Injunction Against Guidance Protecting Transgender Students
FORT WORTH, Texas - August 22, 2016 – A U.S. District Court judge today issued a preliminary injunction against the federal government's guidance to public school districts regarding their legal responsibility to allow transgender students to use the same restrooms as other students. The ruling came in the multi-state lawsuit, Texas v. United States.
North Carolina Blocked From Enforcing Anti-Transgender Law Against Plaintiffs While Lawsuit Proceeds
RALEIGH, N.C. - August 26, 2016 - A federal court today granted a request to stop the University of North Carolina from enforcing H.B. 2, the state law that bans many transgender people from restrooms that match their gender identity, against three transgender individuals who are challenging the law in court. In granting the preliminary injunction, the court found that the challengers are likely to succeed in their argument that the law violates Title IX.
August, 2016
Federal Court Hears Argument for Transgender Clients in Lawsuit Against North Carolina's Anti-LGBT Law
RALEIGH, N.C. - August 1, 2016 - A federal court today heard oral argument on a motion seeking an immediate halt to provisions of North Carolina's House Bill 2, the law that mandates discrimination against transgender people in single-sex facilities, among other things.
July, 2016
ACLU and Lambda Legal Condemn Failure to Repeal North Carolina's Anti-LGBT H.B. 2
RALEIGH - June 28, 2016 - Today, after draft legislation with proposed changes to the sweeping anti-LGBT measure, North Carolina House Bill 2, was released, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina, and Lambda Legal—who are challenging House Bill 2 in federal court on behalf of six LGBT North Carolinians and members of the ACLU of North Carolina—released the following statement "These proposed changes are no fix. After rushing to enact H.B. 2 in a span of hours, this is the second attempt—the first was the governor's executive order—to clean up the extreme and discriminatory mess of H.B. 2. The only real solution is the full repeal of the law.
North Carolina Asks Court to Keep Anti-Transgender Provisions of HB2 in Effect
RALEIGH, N.C. - June 10, 2016 - In court documents filed yesterday, North Carolina and the University of North Carolina system argued that the state’s law banning transgender people from public restrooms matching their gender identity should remain in effect while a legal challenge proceeds in federal court. The law, House Bill 2, also removes legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and others.
June, 2016
ACLU and Lambda Legal Ask Court to Block Enforcement of North Carolina's Anti-Transgender Law
RALEIGH, N.C. - May 16, 2016 - The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina, and Lambda Legal today asked a federal court to order an immediate halt to enforcement of a North Carolina law that targets transgender people for discrimination in single-sex facilities.
ACLU and Lambda Legal Support DOJ Lawsuit Against NCa Anti-LGBT Bill
RALEIGH, N.C. - May 9, 2016 - The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against North Carolina and Gov. Pat McCrory challenging House Bill 2, a law that removes local legal protections for LGBT people and prohibits transgender people from using public facilities that correspond to their gender identity.
Lambda Legal and Transgender Law Center Petition VA to Provide Surgery for Transgender Veterans
(Washington, D.C., May 10, 2016) –Late yesterday, Lambda Legal and Transgender Law Center, with co-counsel WilmerHale, petitioned with the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to change the rule that categorically excludes transition-related surgery for transgender veterans. The petition was filed on behalf of two individual veterans, Dee Fulcher and Gio Silva, and a group representing transgender veterans, the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA).
May, 2016
Fourth Circuit Rules to Protect Virginia Transgender High School Student Under Title IX
(Richmond, VA, April 19, 2016) —Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that Gloucester County student Gavin Grimm can proceed with his claims in court to challenge the school board's discriminatory restroom policy of separating transgender students from their peers.
Three More Plaintiffs Join Lawsuit Against NC's Discriminatory Anti-LGBT Law
RALEIGH, N.C. - April 21, 2016 -The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of North Carolina, joined by counsel from the law firm of Jenner & Block, announced today that they have added three new plaintiffs - a transgender student and a married lesbian couple - to the federal lawsuit challenging North Carolina's sweeping anti-LGBT law, HB 2.
U.S. Justice Department: North Carolina's HB2 Violates Civil Rights Act
RALEIGH - May 4, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Justice today notified North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory that HB 2, the sweeping anti-LGBT law that prevents transgender students, employees, and visitors from using restrooms that correspond to their gender identity, has placed the state in violation of Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act, Title IX, and the Violence Against Women Act.
April, 2016
Advocacy Groups File Federal Lawsuit Challenging NC's Sweeping Anti-LGBT Law
RALEIGH - March 28, 2016 - Today, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina, Lambda Legal, and Equality North Carolina filed a lawsuit challenging North Carolina's sweeping anti-LGBT law, HB 2. The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina against North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, Attorney General Roy Cooper, and the University of North Carolina, is on behalf of two transgender North Carolinians, Joaquín Carcaño, a UNC-Chapel Hill employee, and Payton McGarry, a UNC-Greensboro student, and Angela Gilmore, a lesbian and North Carolina Central University law professor.
Equality Advocates Respond to Attorney General's Announcement on HB 2
RALEIGH - March 29, 2016 – North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said today that his office "will not defend the constitutionality of the discrimination in House Bill 2, " the sweeping anti-LGBT law the North Carolina General Assembly passed and Governor Pat McCrory signed last week.
March, 2016
LGBT Groups Denounce TSA Rule Codifying Body Scanners
Washington, D.C. - March 3, 2016 – The National Center for Transgender Equality, Lambda Legal, and the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBT & HIV Project, denounce the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)'s decision to codify its use of full body scanners in a final rule. Ordered to review the program by a federal appeals court five years ago, TSA said yesterday that it will make no changes in airport security and denied there is any impact on travelers' privacy.
February, 2016
Lambda Legal Resolves Lawsuit on Behalf of American Military Partner Association for VA Benefits for Same-Sex Spouses
WASHINGTON - January 20, 2016 - Today, Lambda Legal and the American Military Partner Association (AMPA) announced that they are concluding litigation against the US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) following the VA's changes to its policies on benefits ending discrimination against veterans and their same-sex spouses. The new policies are consistent with the June 2015 US Supreme Court decision in Obergefell that struck down marriage discrimination.
March, 2015
Animus on Display - Why Arkansas SB 202 Deserves a Veto
Little Rock, Ark. - February 21, 2015 – In response to the passage of SB 202 by the Arkansas legislature, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Arkansas, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Lambda Legal, and National Center for Lesbian Rights issued the following statement to Governor Asa Hutchinson:
December, 2014
ACLU and Lambda Legal ask Supreme Court to Review Ohio Marriage Cases
CINCINNATI - November 14, 2014 – Today, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio, Lambda Legal and private firm Gerhardstein & Branch filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ aberrant ruling upholding discriminatory bans on marriage rights for same-sex couples in Ohio and three other states.
Lambda Legal
Founded in 1973, Lambda Legal is the oldest and largest national legal organization whose mission is to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV; through impact litigation, education and public policy work. As a nonprofit organization, we do not charge our clients for legal representation or advocacy, and we receive no government funding. We depend on contributions from supporters around the country.
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