Ninth Circuit Decides Not To Release Proposition 8 Trial Tapes

February 2, 2012 San Francisco, CA –

Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision not to unseal the video record of the historic twelve-day public trial in Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now Perry v. Brown).  The Perry case is a federal constitutional challenge to Proposition 8, which stripped gay and lesbian Californians of the fundamental freedom to marry.  

In a landmark August 2010 ruling, Proposition 8 was found unconstitutional by the Federal District Court.

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The Trevor Project Names New Executive Director & CEO

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Jan. 31, 2012

The Trevor Project has announced the selection of its new Executive Director and CEO, Abbe Land, following an extensive nationwide search. Land, a recognized and respected health care professional, brings an impressive history of ensuring care to under-represented populations.

She will begin her tenure in March with The Trevor Project, the nation's leading provider of crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. She succeeds David McFarland who has served in an interim role since April 2011.

Read more: The Trevor Project Names New Executive Director & CEO

Federal Judge Denies Government Motion to Dismiss in Defense of Marriage Act Case

San Francisco, CA, January 26, 2012

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has rejected the federal government’s request to dismiss the constitutional claims of gay and lesbian state workers who, together with their registered domestic partners, are excluded from equal access to California’s Long-Term Care Program.

Judge Claudia Wilken issued the ruling in Dragovich v. CalPERS, a class action lawsuit challenging federal and state laws including the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which regulate state-sponsored long-term care plans. 

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Motion Filed in Defense of Marriage Act Case

Lawyers for Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center and Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP have filed a motion for summary judgment against the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service and the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) on behalf of gay and lesbian state workers, together with their spouses and registered domestic partners, who are denied equal access to California’s long-term care insurance program for public employees and their families.

The motion seeks judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit entitled Dragovich v. CalPERS (Case No. CV 4:10-01564-CW).  The case was originally filed on April 13, 2010.  On July 15, 2011, the court ruled that the case could proceed as a class of excluded gay and lesbian couples.

Read more: Motion Filed in Defense of Marriage Act Case