(Washington, D.C., July 15, 2010)—A coalition of organizations and leaders from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT), immigrants’ rights, civil rights and faith communities issued the following statement today as Members of Congress gathered on Capitol Hill to call for passage of immigration reform legislation that ends discrimination against LGBTQ binational families: Today, key Congressional leaders joined forces on Capitol Hill to call on their colleagues to support passage of...
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Federal policy
Court rejects claim by anti-gay groups that disclosure laws violate the First Amendment (Washington, D.C, June 24, 2010)—Today, in an 8-1 decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the United States Supreme Court decisively rejected a First Amendment challenge to a Washington statute requiring public disclosure of the names of individuals who sign petitions to place referendums or initiatives on state ballots. The case arose when anti-gay groups sued to block disclosure of the names of...
A statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (Washington, DC, May 27, 2010) —Today the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to act to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT), the discriminatory policy that bans lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members from openly serving in the military. The House and the Senate Armed Services Committee approved an amendment to be included in the Department of Defense appropriations bill. Rep. Patrick Murphy...
Addition of Federal Policy Attorney Position Extends Organization’s National Reach (San Francisco, CA, May 3, 2010) — Today, the National Center for Lesbian Rights announced that it is adding a newly created position, federal policy attorney, to its national legal team. NCLR’s new attorney, Maya R. Rupert, will be based in the Eastern Regional Office in Washington, D.C. where she will focus efforts on federal and state levels to end discrimination and to ensure equality under the law. “This is...
(Washington, DC, April 28, 2010) —Today, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Doe v Reed, in which anti-gay groups present the false claim that they have been subjected to “systematic intimidation” by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Anti-gay groups that placed a measure on the ballot to keep Washington State’s comprehensive domestic partnership law from going into effect are seeking to prevent the state of Washington from disclosing the names of voters who...
(Washington, DC, April 1, 2010) —In a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court today, the nation’s leading LGBTQ legal organizations, Lambda Legal, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) – together with the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force – joined the State of Washington and others in defending open government laws requiring public disclosure of the names of voters who sign...
A Statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell (San Francisco, CA, January 28, 2010) — Last night, in his first State of the Union address, President Barack Obama promised to work with Congress to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the discriminatory policy banning gays, lesbians, and bisexuals from serving openly in the military. The National Center for Lesbian Rights issued the following statement. A statement from Kate Kendell, Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights:...
A Statement from Executive Director Kate Kendell (San Francisco, California, October 30, 2009) — The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) praised President Obama’s announcement today that a final rule repealing the ban on entry to the United States by people with HIV will be published on Monday, November 2. The repeal will take effect in early January, 2010. Statement from Kate Kendell, Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights: “The ban on entry by HIV-positive...
(San Francisco, CA, September 2, 2009)— Today the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) issued a statement in support of the California state bar associations and Unite Here Local 30 protest of the California State Bar Association’s decision to hold its upcoming Annual Meeting at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Diego. A statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. “The National Center for Lesbian Rights strongly supports the efforts of the Bay Area Lawyers for...
Pakistani national Javaid Iqbal was arrested in New York as part of a post-September 11 dragnet by federal officials that targeted Arab men, among others. The U.S. detained Iqbal, subjecting him to beatings, frequent invasive body searches, and other forms of mistreatment, and often confiscated his Koran and forbade his participation in Friday prayers. NCLR has a strong interest in ensuring that all persons receive the protections of the basic civil liberties guaranteed by the U.S....