Tag

State legislation

Press Release

NCLR Applauds Maryland Marriage Equality Vote

Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (Annapolis, MD, February 23, 2012)—Today, the Maryland Senate voted 25 to 22 to recognize full marriage rights for same-sex couples. The Maryland House of Delegates approved the measure last Friday by a vote of 72 to 67. Gov. Martin O’Malley, the bill’s sponsor, has already committed to signing the bill into law. Maryland will become the 11th jurisdiction in the country in which same-sex couples can marry when the law goes into effect on...

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Press Release

NCLR Responds to Washington Gov. Signing Marriage Rights Law

Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, February 13, 2012)—Today, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a bill that makes the state the tenth jurisdiction in the country in which same-sex couples can marry. Washington joins six other states, Washington D.C., and two tribal nations that no longer discriminate against same-sex couples in marriage. The law goes into effect June 7, 2012. Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq.: “We are a...

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Press Release

NCLR Responds to New Jersey Marriage Equality Vote

Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, February 16, 2012)—Today, the New Jersey State Assembly passed a bill establishing full marriage rights for same-sex couples. The New Jersey State Senate passed a companion bill on February 13, 2012. If Gov. Chris Christie signs the bill into law, New Jersey will become the 11th jurisdiction in the country in which same-sex couples can marry. If the bill is signed, New Jersey will join seven other states, Washington...

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Press Release

NCLR Applauds Appeals Court Decision in Federal Challenge to Proposition 8

Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, February 7, 2012)—Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the August 2010 decision of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco striking down Proposition 8, the 2008 measure that stripped same-sex couples of the right to marry in California. The Court affirmed the ruling of former Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker that Prop 8 discriminates against same-sex couples in violation of the Equal Protection...

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NCLR Responds to Ninth Circuit Decision Blocking Release of the Historic Prop 8 Trial Video and Overturning District Court Order

Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, February 2, 2012)—Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the public release of the video of the historic trial to overturn Proposition 8, the 2008 measure that stripped same-sex couples of the right to marry in California. The court overturned a federal district court decision ordering the release of the video. Since suffering a devastating loss at the 2010 trial, Prop 8 supporters have tried to block the...

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Plaintiffs in Howe v. Haslam Respond to Ruling

(Nashville, TN, January 30, 2012)—On January 25, 2012, Chancellor Carol L. McCoy of the Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville issued a preliminary order in Howe v. Haslam. Howe is the highly publicized case challenging the Tennessee Legislature’s enactment of HB 600, which overturned a Metro non-discrimination ordinance by prohibiting municipalities and counties, including local school districts, from enacting local laws or school policies that protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and...

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NCLR Responds to Proposition 8 Case Hearing

Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, December 8, 2011)—Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument about whether the courts should publicly release the video of the historic trial to overturn Proposition 8, the measure that stripped same-sex couples of the right to marry in California. The court also heard oral argument on Prop 8 supporters’ outrageous request to throw out the court decision striking down the initiative. Since suffering...

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Press Release

NCLR Responds to California Supreme Court Ruling in Proposition 8 Case

Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, November 17, 2011)—Today, the California Supreme Court issued a decision holding that California law empowers the sponsors of Proposition 8 to appeal the federal district court’s decision in Perry v. Brown finding Prop 8 unconstitutional, even though the state’s Attorney General and Governor both agree that the district court decision striking down Prop 8 should not be appealed. Perry v. Brown is the federal challenge to...

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LGBTQ Equality Groups Urge Ninth Circuit to Reject Attack on Prop 8 Trial Judge

(San Francisco, CA, November 8, 2011)—Today, a coalition of groups advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a U.S. District Court decision that rejected a move to vacate the historic August 2010 ruling that invalidated Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that stripped the freedom to marry from same-sex couples in California. The National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal,...

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Federal Bureau of Prisons Makes Major Change in Transgender Medical Policy

(San Francisco, CA, September 30, 2011)—A settlement was announced today in the case of Vanessa Adams, a Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) inmate at FMC Butner in North Carolina, who has gender identity disorder (GID). Adams sued BOP in order to receive appropriate treatment for her GID. Adam’s challenge to BOP’s treatment of transgender prisoners has resulted in BOP ending its so-called “freeze frame” policy in which treatment for any person with GID is kept frozen at the level provided at the...

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