On September 14, 2021, Equality California, NCLR, and Lambda Legal filed an amicus letter on behalf of a coalition of state, local, and national nonprofit groups urging the California Supreme Court to review Taking Offense v. State of California, an appellate decision invalidating a non-discrimination statute requiring equal treatment of LGBTQ residents of long-term care facilities. Taking Offense involves a challenge to a provision of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Long-Term...
Our Voices
(November 16, 2016, San Francisco, CA)—The National Center for Lesbian Rights responds to President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment of Stephen Bannon, whose news agency has been a vehicle for extreme views about racial and religious minorities, women, and LGBTQ people as his chief White House strategist and senior counselor. Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq.: “Steve Bannon’s appointment as a senior presidential advisor is a betrayal of the American people and of our...
(San Francisco, Nov. 9, 2016)—The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) responds to the 2016 Presidential election results. Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq.: “By a slim margin, this nation has elected a demagogue who trafficked in bigotry, stoked racist hatred and normalized misogyny. The election of Donald Trump as President threatens basic principles of human dignity and justice. Many of our most cherished values—inclusion, honoring difference, embracing equality,...
(San Francisco, CA, June 24, 2016)—To commemorate the one-year anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, Ropes & Gray will make a $100,000 donation to the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Ropes & Gray’s co-counsel in Obergefell. Ropes & Gray’s donation to NCLR has been funded through legal fees awarded to the firm by a federal court in Tennessee as part of the resolution of the case, which also awarded fees to NCLR and other firms...
(Huntsville, AL, January 27, 2016)—The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) will host the next #RuralPride summit in Huntsville, Alabama on February 4. The event, co-hosted by the True Colors Fund, will be held at the Alabama A&M University, Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Building 0870, 4900 Meridian Street North, Huntsville, Alabama, from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. #RuralPride is a partnership between NCLR and USDA that challenges the...
(San Francisco, CA, May 2, 2015)—Tonight, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) honored a retired Navy veteran and NCLR client who is fighting to bring LGBTQ equality to Idaho and the plaintiff couples and legal team in NCLR’s historic Tennessee marriage equality case. Idaho Navy veteran Madelynn “Lee” Taylor, 75, was honored with the Courage Award for her work standing up to the state’s discriminatory laws banning marriage equality and calling attention to the need for...
(San Francisco, CA, April 6, 2015)—The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is proud to announce that it will honor a retired Navy veteran and NCLR client who is fighting to bring LGBTQ equality to Idaho and the plaintiff couples and legal team in NCLR’s historic Tennessee marriage equality case at its 2015 Anniversary Celebration on May 2, 2015 in San Francisco. Idaho Navy veteran Madelynn “Lee” Taylor, 74, will be honored with the Courage Award for her work standing up to the state’s...
A groundbreaking new report released by Services and Advocacy Group for LGBTQ Elders (SAGE) is giving us a better understanding of the needs and concerns of this community. The new report, Out and Visible: The Experiences and Attitudes of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Older Adults, Ages, 45-75, is a uniquely comprehensive qualitative study based on a national survey of more than 1,800 LGBTQ older adults that measures the challenges this community continues to face. The report...
(Washington, D.C., July 16, 2014)—Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a final rule that extends crucial non-discrimination protections to transgender and gender non-conforming participants in many USDA services and programs. The rule amends the existing USDA non-discrimination rule, 7 C.F.R. 15(d), to add “gender identity” as a prohibited basis for discrimination in programs or activities conducted by USDA. The regulation already includes prohibitions against...
(San Francisco, CA, December 20, 2011)—A pioneering new guide released today gives California’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender elders—who are more likely to face discrimination, be low-income, and live in poverty—comprehensive information about their rights and the services that are available to them as they navigate the system of public and social benefits. The guide—called “Navigating the System: A Know-Your-Rights Guide for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Elders in...
