Lambda Legal

The logo for Lambda Legal

### Purpose

To protect LGBTQIA+ legal and civil rights, as well as those of anyone living with HIV, especially via impact litigation, education, and public policy work.

**Lambda Legal** is a nonprofit legal organization with a focus on helping with legal cases related to LGBTQIA+ civil rights, as well as the rights of people who live with HIV. In particular, some of their areas of focus include assisting the LGBTQIA+ community with marriage rights, child welfare, expanded protections for people living with HIV, healthcare, workplace discrimination, and senior rights.

## History

The organization was founded in 1973 in New York. It was founded by Bill Thom, who started by defending his own organization against a panel of New York judges. Those judges had rejected Lambda Legal's application as a nonprofit organization due to believing that the organization's mission was "neither benevolent nor charitable." Today, it has grown to the point where there are regional offices in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Washington D.C., and Chicago.

Lambda Legal has worked on several important legal cases since its founding. One major example was in 1983, where they won the first HIV and AIDS discrimination case. The result of this case ensured that discrimination against people with HIV would be ruled illegal. This also included establishing privacy rights for people with HIV, such as the right to make sure their test results and medical records are kept confidential.

Another major case for the group was in 2015, where they were co-counsel on one of the cases that were part of the collective *Obergefell v. Hodges* case. This case led to the U.S. Supreme Count to rule that denying the freedom to marry for same-sex couples violates the U.S. Constitution, thus invalidating any state amendments and statutes which barred same-sex couples from getting married.

Other important cases include defending LGBTQIA+ people and people with HIV from housing discrimination, citizenship protections for babies raised by same-sex couples, and a federal lawsuit against Florida's anti-transgender healthcare ruling, which denied coverage for gender-affirming care via Medicaid.

## Trivia

* Lambda Legal launched its own podcast in 2022, where the organizations' lawyers are interviewed to discuss some of their important cases and how they affect LGBTQIA+ rights.
* Lambda Legal has its own employee union.

## Resources

* Lambda Legal website
* Lambda Unites, Lambda Legal's employee union

## References

1. ↑ "Lambda Legal". lambdalegal.org. (Archived on August 19, 2022).
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. - GuideStar Profile". guidestar.org. Candid. (Archived on April 21, 2022).
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Lambda Legal History". lambdalegal.org. Lambda Legal. (Archived on August 12, 2022).
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Lambda Legal - Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI)". pili.org. Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI). (Archived on October 16, 2021).
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Cases". lambdalegal.org. Lambda Legal. (Archived on November 21, 2022).
6. ↑ "Obergefell v. Hodges / Henry v. Hodges". lambdalegal.org. Lambda Legal. (Archived on November 7, 2022).
7. ↑ "Natalie Chin from Lambda Legal Talks About LGBT & HIV Housing Discrimination" (2012-11-18) [Video]. lgbtagingcenter.org. SAGE Advocacy & Services for LGBTQ+ Elders. (Archived on June 29, 2022).
8. ↑ Ring, Trudy: "State Dept. Quits Fight Over Citizenship of Same-Sex Couples' Kids" (2020-10-27). advocate.com. The Advocate. (Archived on April 25, 2022).
9. ↑ Greene, Jenna: "Pro Bono Hero: How Morgan Lewis partner Manning helped win citizenship for babies of same-sex couples" (2021-05-27). reuters.com. Reuters. (Archived on April 21, 2022).
10. ↑ "Lambda Legal Launches New Podcast" (01-07-2022). eriegaynews.com. Erie Gay News. (Archived on July 9, 2022).
11. ↑ "Lambda Unites, Lambda Legal's Employee Union". lambdaunites.org. (Archived on March 29, 2022).