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Moving History Forward

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Moving History Forward MOMENTUM MOVING HISTORY FORWARD LAMBDA LEGAL 2013 ANNUAL REPORT LAMBDA LEGAL IS A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION COMMITTED TO ACHIEVING 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. FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FROM THE BOARD CO-CHAIRS The Supreme Court catapulted marriage forward in 2013—and What a year this has been! As Co-Chairs of Lambda Legal’s Board certainly made history—by invalidating Section 3 of the so-called of Directors, we have witnessed a historic year of progress from Defense of Marriage Act. Married same-sex couples can no longer ringside seats in one of the most strategic and effective civil rights be denied the federal benefits given other married couples, and organizations of our time. public sentiment continues to swing in our favor. Lambda Legal uses a powerful combination of high impact litigation, But it’s been up to Lambda Legal and our colleagues in the LGBT education and public policy work to make change and secure justice civil rights movement to make sure the June decision (in United for members of the LGBTQ community and people living with States v. Windsor) helps accelerate the freedom to marry across the HIV. As we celebrated victory after victory this year, we could see country, where the laws remain a patchwork of successes, appeals those strategies at work as we won marriage equality, defended the and outright bans. Indeed, we’ve been busy: Lambda Legal won rights of LGBTQ youth, secured justice for transgender employees, marriage equality through litigation in New Jersey; led coalition went to court to oppose unfair laws criminalizing people living with efforts to win marriage through legislation in Illinois; and helped HIV and shaped policy with government leaders and advocates state leaders shape the marriage equality law in Hawai’i, Delaware from our nation’s capitol to Arizona and Hawaii. and Minnesota. And we have cases pending in Nevada, Virginia We are proud to contribute our time and resources to the amazing and West Virginia. work of Lambda Legal because we know it is the best investment Marriage is just a part of our work, however. In 2013, Lambda we can make in justice and equality. As we travel to meetings and Legal was involved in approximately 125 legal matters and events around the country, we meet supporters and friends who made great strides for clients and campaigns across the country, share our commitment and who stand up and make it possible. including these: Lambda Legal’s commitment to equality has not wavered over the • High school student Amber Hatcher won permission to past 40 years and our work will not be finished unless and until participate in the national “Day of Silence” after being prohibited we achieve full equality in every state. We are riding a wave of by school officials the year before in her Florida town. momentum that has been decades in the making and Lambda Legal • Cori McCreery, fired from her grocery job for being has led the way for over 40 years. We are grateful for the support of transgender, was awarded $50,000 as part of a settlement members and donors and are continually inspired by the brilliant Lambda Legal secured by filing a discrimination complaint Lambda Legal staff, courageous plaintiffs and dedicated volunteers before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. who all work together to make civil rights history every day. • Julia Frost lost her job teaching English at a California high KAREN K. DIXON AND BRAD SEILING school because she supported her students’ effort to fight CO-CHAIRS, LAMBDA LEGAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS anti-LGBT discrimination, and Lambda Legal took the district to court. • Lambda Legal provided expert advice to the Obama Administration on how the Affordable Care Act might best serve LGBT communities and those with HIV. • Lambda Legal helped transgender senior Robina Asti fight in 2013 for the Social Security benefits she finally received on Valentine’s Day 2014—a sweet victory. It’s been 10 years since we won Lawrence v. Texas, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that set so many things in motion. Really big years like 2003 and 2013 tell us that we are on the right track and better equip us for the important battles of the future. The truth is that equality unites us. With your support, we will deliver that message far and wide and continue making progress on so many different fronts. KEVIN CATHCART EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR “We will not rest until same-sex couples are treated equally not only by the federal government but in every state and community across the nation.” —Jon Davidson, Legal Director, Lambda Legal “We will not rest until same-sex couples are treated equally not only by the federal government but in every state and community across the nation.” —Jon Davidson, Legal Director, Lambda Legal MARRIAGE EQUALITY— A BREAKTHROUGH YEAR The year 2013 was the biggest yet for marriage equality, featuring not just two Supreme Court rulings but a cascade of state-level victories as well, many of them in courtrooms or legislatures where Lambda Legal had been hard at work on this issue for years. The Supreme Court led the way on June 26 by invalidating the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in the landmark case United States vs. Windsor, and also restoring marriage equality to the state of California in Hollingsworth v. Perry. The Windsor decision required the federal government to stop discriminating against married same-sex couples—and soon after the ruling, federal agencies began announcing rules to establish fairness in taxes, immigration and dozens of other federal programs and benefits. The immediate beneficiaries of Windsor were thousands of people like Lambda Legal plaintiff Karen Golinski, a California-based federal court employee who had challenged the constitutionality of DOMA after her employer refused to provide family health coverage for her spouse. While Lambda Legal had already secured family spousal coverage through litigation, shortly after the Windsor ruling, the couple celebrated the victory and dismissal of the case. After Windsor, there was a quick succession of victories in five states. In New Jersey on October 21, Lambda Legal secured a stunning win. After a trial court ruling that the state’s exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage was unconstitutional, and the refusal of the trial court and the state Supreme Court to issue a stay, the state finally ended its efforts to stop same-sex couples from marrying. The New Jersey victory concluded a decade of Lambda Legal marriage equality efforts in the state, including the case Garden State Equality v. Dow on behalf of six couples and the state’s equality group seeking the freedom to marry. Just two weeks later, on November 5, the Illinois House of Representatives passed “The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act,” drafted for legislative leadership primarily by Lambda Legal. Lambda Legal had also argued on behalf of 16 couples in Darby v. Orr that the state’s civil union law bestowed second-class status, and we chaired the statewide coalition that fought for and won this legislative victory. On November 12, the Hawai`i State Legislature passed “The Hawai`i Marriage Equality Act of 2013”—and brought the marriage equality campaign full circle in the state where the modern marriage movement began. It was in Hawai`i where Lambda Legal joined the very first marriage case, back in 1993. Lambda Legal remained partnered with Hawai`i advocates and community leaders across two decades, with cases and policy advocacy, including research and drafting that helped shape the new law. The last days of 2013 were a flurry, with still more marriage news: New Mexico’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the freedom to marry in a case brought by our sister legal organizations, and 1,300 same-sex couples married in Utah before the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay. In 2013, Lambda Legal also continued to fight for marriage equality in Nevada, and brought the fight to two southern states—Virginia and West Virginia. The pace of change is increasing rapidly, and we are moving forward in 2014. We created momentum; we are making history. WA “THE [WINDSOR] DECISION IS NOT AN WA ME STATE BYWA ABSTRACTION FOR THE FAMILIES FORMED BY MT ND ME SAME-SEX COUPLES, INCLUDING OURS, WHOSE MT ND ME VT FINANCIAL, EMOTIONALMT AND PHYSICAL WELL-ND OR MN VT NH STATE IN BEING DEPEND ON THESE BENEFITS.” VT OR ID MN NY NHMA OR —Karen Golinski, a federal court employee denied family health MN NH SD WI coverage for her spouse because of DOMA, until Lambda Legal ID NY MACT RI ID NY SDMA WI MI secured benefits for her through litigation. SD WI WY CT RI 2013 CT RI MI MI WY IA PA NJ WY NE IA PA MD NJ NV PA NJ OH IA NE IL DE CALIFORNIA NE IN MD The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 ruling in Hollingsworth v. NV UT MD OH DE NV CA OH DE IL WV MAP LEGEND Perry restored the freedom to marry in California by finally IL IN CO IN VA putting an endUT to the anti-gay Proposition 8. The Court let UT KS KY WV CA stand an important principle that Lambda Legal and its CA WVCO MO colleagues in the LGBT civil rights movement haveCO been VA VA arguing for years: It is simply unconstitutional to create a KS KY KS MO KY “gay exception” to the principle of equal protection. MO NC THESE NINE STATES WON TN NC MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN 2013 AZ NC OK (although Utah was stayed) NEVADA TN TN SC On October 18, Lambda Legal filed an opening brief in NM AR its appealAZ before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in OK AZ OK THESE THREE STATES HAD the Nevada case known as Sevcik v.
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