(Lexington, KY, July 23, 2015)—The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) will host the next #RuralPride summit in Lexington, Kentucky on August 12. The day-long event, co-hosted by the True Colors Fund and the Pride Community Services Organization (PCSO) will be held at PCSO’s office, 389 Waller Avenue, Suite 100, Lexington, Kentucky, from 1:00 PM to 4:45PM. #RuralPride is a series of summits being organized across the country to elevate the...
Our Voices
Every journey starts with one step. In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a case brought by a same-sex couple, challenging Wisconsin’s refusal to issue them a marriage license. For the next three years, other couples brought similar lawsuits seeking the freedom to marry, and all of them failed. It was not until 1993, almost 20 years later, that momentum for marriage equality began to build. Throughout the years it took repeated attempts by resolute individuals and couples to stand up...
(Nashville, TN, March 11, 2015)—The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will host the next #RuralPride summit in Nashville, Tennessee on March 19. The event, co-hosted by True Colors Fund and the Oasis Center focuses on addressing the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people living in rural communities across the country. The event will take place at the Oasis Center, 1704 Charlotte Avenue, Room 200, Nashville, TN 37203...
(Mobile, AL, March 6, 2015)—A group of leading national civil rights organizations today filed a motion requesting a federal district court to expand a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s ban on same-sex marriage and to order all county probate judges in the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The joint motion was filed by the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Southern...
Couple Asks Federal Appeals Court to Allow Same-Sex Couples to Marry Beginning February 9 (Mobile, AL—Jan. 30, 2015) Today, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) asked a federal appeals court to permit same-sex couples in Alabama to begin obtaining marriage licenses when an existing federal court stay expires on February 9. NCLR filed the request on behalf of a Mobile couple who were denied a marriage license and subsequently obtained an order from a federal district court prohibiting...
(Baton Rouge, LA, January 15, 2015)—The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will host the next #RuralPride summit in Baton Rouge, LA on Friday, January 23rd. The event, co-hosted by PFLAG and the True Colors Fund, focuses on addressing the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people living in rural communities across the country. USDA Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Dr. Joe Leonard will be giving remarks during the...
Recently, a colleague at a legal aid organization told me about a client who came in for help because he had quit his job. It wasn’t until the attorney gave the client an overview of their legal programs, including their LGBTQ work, that the client opened up and said he had quit because he was being harassed at work for being gay. Without this kind of information, they would have never had a case. This story reinforced what we, at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, had known—that even a...
(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...
(Washington D.C., May 30, 2014)—On June 6, 2014, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will hold the first in a series of summits focusing on the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people living in rural communities across the country. The event, co-hosted by the LGBTQ Law Center and the True Colors Fund, will take place in Greensboro, NC at North Carolina A&T University. This event launches the start of the...
Later this week, I’m traveling to my home state of Texas, inspired in part by a report detailing the harsh realities facing Latinas in the Lower Rio Grande Valley: Nuestra Voz, Nuestra Salud Nuestro Texas: The Fight for Women’s Reproductive Health in the Rio Grande Valley. Written by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, the report details the shocking human rights abuses suffered daily by women in the Rio Grande Valley. From...
