LGBTQ+ immigrants and families face unique challenges when navigating the U.S. immigration system. The incoming federal administration has announced plans to remove existing protections and intensify deportation efforts, making it more crucial than ever to understand your rights and be familiar with available resources.
On January 14, 2025, GLAD Law, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Political Asylum/Immigration Representation (PAIR) Project, and Ropes & Gray hosted a discussion about our community’s rights, resources for LGBTQ+ immigrants and asylum seekers, and the immigration system.
This webinar provides legal information, not legal advice, and you should consult with an immigration expert to discuss your specific situation. Immigration law is an area of law that may change rapidly. It is important to seek up-to-date information from a trusted source, such as a reputable immigration attorney or an organization with specialization in immigration law.
Mary Bonauto to Receive Presidential Citizen Medal
Mary Bonauto, Senior Director of Civil Rights and Legal Strategies at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law)is among 20 individuals receiving the Presidential Citizens Medalin a ceremony at the White House this afternoon.
The Presidential Citizens Medal is given out to Americans who “have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.”
“It is an astonishing honor to receive this recognition, and to be in the company of other incredible individuals who have had such a significant impact on the lives of Americans,” said Bonauto. “The Presidential Citizens Medal represents something fundamental: that we each have a role to play in fulfilling our country’s promises of equality, dignity, and freedom. I stand alongside so many courageous individuals who fought for the right to marry, and others across our nation who share a deep desire that all of our community members be treated with fairness and dignity. This recognition today is a testament to the profoundly positive impact marriage equality has had on individuals, families, and communities across our country.”
The White House described Mary’s service and contributions in a statement to the press:
Attorney and activist Mary Bonauto first fought to legalize same-sex marriage in Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine before arguing before the Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, which established marriage equality as the law of the land. Her efforts made millions of families whole and forged a more perfect Union.
“President Biden believes these Americans are bonded by their common decency and commitment to serving others,” the White House said in the statement. “The country is better because of their dedication and sacrifice.”
We are thrilled to see this well-deserved recognition for Mary, and for the positive impact marriage equality has had on individuals, families, and communities across the country.
Tuesday, December 17 8-9:30pm EST / 5-6:30pm PST Registrar
Earlier this fall, two trailblazers of LGBTQ+ advocacy, National Center For Lesbian Rights Legal Director Shannon Minter and GLAD Law Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights Jennifer Levi discussed their decades of experience in the movement to secure equal rights for transgender people, what’s happening across the country now, and what we can take into the work for justice ahead of us.
Join Ricardo Martinez and NCLR Executive Director Imani Rupert-Gordon for a virtual screening of excerpts from this insightful and inspiring conversation, followed by a live discussion with Shannon and Jennifer about the Supreme Court, other pending legal challenges, what we expect with the incoming administration, and more. RSVP today!
GLAD Law Responds to Oral Arguments in U.S. Supreme Court Case EUA v. Skrmetti
In response to today’s oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Estados Unidos v. Skrmetti involving Tennessee’s ban on safe and effective medical care for transgender adolescents, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) Executive Director Ricardo Martinez issued the following statement:
“All families, including families of transgender youth, should have the freedom to make responsible medical decisions to care for their children in consultation with trusted health care providers.
“Tennessee’s ban, and others like it in states around the country, is discriminatory on its face. That fact came through clearly in today’s argument. These laws ban widely available medications, shown to be safe and effective, only to young people who are transgender. Parents of transgender young people deserve to provide their kids with the support and care that research shows helps them live happy, healthy lives. Politicians should not come between families and personal medical decisions.”
GLAD Law is challenging health care bans in Alabama (Boe v. Marshall) and Florida (Doe v. Ladapo), and submitted a amigo do resumo do tribunal to the Supreme Court in EUA v. Skrmetti along with Kentucky families, the ACLU of Kentucky, NCLR, and several other civil rights organizations.
8 Ways to Support GLAD Law’s Work for LGBTQ+ Justice
In today’s political climate of increasing threats to our rights, many of us are asking the same question: What can I do to make a difference?
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) has fought and won against tough odds for nearly 50 years. And we aren’t backing down.
Our commitment to ensuring LGBTQ+ people and our families are recognized, welcomed, and protected throughout our lives has never been stronger – and neither has our resolve to find new ways forward.
But we can’t do it without you.
Ready to make an impact? Here are eight meaningful ways you can join us in the fight for justice.
1. Make a gift
Every dollar makes a difference, and there are a lot of ways to give. Become a monthly donor to make the biggest impact and help GLAD Law meet the challenges ahead!
2. Organize a fundraiser
Help spread the word about GLAD Law’s work and encourage others to donate! Host a fundraising page for a birthday, anniversary, or just because. Start a friendly competition over who can raise the most for LGBTQ+ rights. Saber mais.
3. Help host an event
Host a “friendraiser” event! You provide the event space and we’ll help with the logistics and planning. Or join the Host Committee of a GLAD Law event near you to help make it a success. Reach out for details to events@glad.org.
4. Get your workplace involved
Talk to your employer about sponsoring an event! Ask if your workplace has a matching gift program or start one to double your donation’s impact. Contact giving@glad.org para saber mais.
5. Join the Lawyer Referral Service
Attorneys can sign up to help provide legal counsel on LGBTQ+ issues to the thousands in need who contact GLAD Law each year. Apply to join or share with a lawyer you know!
6. Volunteer
Donate your time! Sign up to volunteer at events or help staff GLAD Law Answers, our legal information hotline.
7. Sign up for updates
Get the latest information about your rights, ways to take action, and updates on GLAD Law’s important work for equality. Inscreva-se hoje, then share GLAD Law with five of your friends!
Thursday, November 14 at 5:30-6:30pm EST / 2:30-3:30pm PST Register for free: Zoom Webinar
Share your questions and join GLAD Law for a conversation about what we expect in the incoming Trump administration and state legislative sessions, what rights, protections, and resources are available now, and how we plan to keep working together to advance justice and keep our communities secure.
Featuring
Ricardo Martinez, Executive Director
Jennifer Levi, Diretora Sênior de Direitos Transgêneros e Queer
Mary Bonauto, Senior Director of Civil Rights and Legal Strategies
A Message from Organizations Committed to Advancing LGBTQIA2S+ Freedom Beyond the 2024 Elections
Our LGBTQIA2S+ community has risen again and again to meet moments that have challenged our rights, our humanity, and our freedom. Today is no different.
Ours is a long history of never backing down from a fight for our rights. United in our strength, during the most difficult of times, we have pushed forward and achieved significant progress across the decades. From the early days of the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis, to the Stonewall Uprising and HIV/AIDS activism, to achieving marriage equality and anti-discrimination protections in the workplace, to the fight for transgender rights, and beyond, we march on.
For every member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community and for those who support us: We’ve got this. We’ve got us. No matter who you are, where you live, or the outcome of yesterday’s election, today we are an LGBTQIA2S+ community united. Together, across races, places, genders, and abilities, we have shown up for each other by organizing, mobilizing, and casting our ballots for the freedom to be ourselves. Our work continues.
Election outcomes at national, state, and local levels will impact our health, our safety, and our rights as LGBTQIA2S+ people and families. Despite anti-LGBTQIA2S+ efforts to divide our communities, and particularly severe attacks against transgender people and LGBTQIA2S+ youth, we have succeeded in moving a few steps closer toward equity and justice for our community. In particular, we celebrate the election of the first openly transgender person to U.S. Congress, Rep. Sarah McBride (Del.), as well as out lawmakers U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson (Texas), and State Rep. Wick Thomas (Mo.), and cementing the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in California, Colorado, and Hawaii.
Across the country, LGBTQIA2S+ organizations and advocates engaged and educated voters, made calls, sent texts, and knocked on doors to ensure every voter had the information necessary to cast a ballot. Every single conversation reflected our commitment to vote for our families, our freedoms, and our futures.
We know that so much more work lies ahead of us. Yet as an LGBTQIA2S+ movement, we will continue to work towards what we always have: a country where all LGBTQIA2S+ people are safe, seen, and accepted for who we truly are, without exception. We are here together, and we will move forward. We’ve got this. We’ve got us.
Shared by:
Defensores da Igualdade Trans
AIDS United
Arkansas Black Gay Men’s Forum Basic Rights Oregon
Statement from Ricardo Martinez, Executive Director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) on the results of the 2024 election:
Many of us are reeling as we process election results that are devastating for so many in our communities and for our country. But here’s what I know: Juntos, somos poderosos e não iremos a lugar nenhum.
As someone who has done this work in Texas, a microcosm of the worst-case scenario many may be imagining right now, I know that strategic resistance leads to a path forward.
The fights to come may be some of the most challenging of our lives. Election results across the country, including in New England, may mean an increase in laws that seek to limit or strip away our fundamental rights and freedoms.
But GLAD Law has fought and won against tough odds for nearly 50 years. When the last Trump administration banned transgender military service members, we fought back immediately – and won. When states have attacked LGBTQ+ youth and families, we’ve met that challenge head-on in the courts.
What comes next will require fighting on every front – from the courts and state legislatures, to countering the disinformation targeting our communities and ensuring LGBTQ+ people and people with HIV have the information they need to protect and exercise their rights.
We won’t back down. Our commitment to ensuring LGBTQ+ people and our families are recognized, welcomed, and protected throughout our lives has never been stronger – and neither has our resolve to find new ways forward.
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders now also known as GLAD Law!
After nearly 50 years of winning precedent-setting legal victories for our community, we are excited to announce a new chapter: GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders will now also be known as GLAD Law, rather than simply GLAD.
We know that using our long-time acronym ‘GLAD’ has occasionally caused confusion with other organizations with similar names. We’re making the switch to Lei GLAD not just to clear up any confusion, but to foreground our legacy of reshaping the legal landscape to advance equality for all. GLAD Law expresses our determination that LGBTQ+ people belong – in our laws, in our Constitution, and in public life.
Our mission isn’t changing. We are as committed as ever to our roots in New England and our national impact fighting discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation, or HIV status.
And in today’s climate of increasing threats to civil liberties, legal advocacy, and education about decisions that impact the LGBTQ+ community are more needed than ever. No matter the challenge, GLAD Law will continue to guard against growing extremism, and we will continue to fight for you.
Looking to the future, we’re eager to continue building on GLAD Law’s legacy by working in the courts, in state legislatures, and through public education to tackle emerging threats to LGBTQ+ rights and using our voice to support policies that advance and protect the rights of our community.
We’re so excited to kick off this new chapter at such a critical time. Thank you for your support and allyship as we move forward in this work – together.
As principais litigantes de direitos civis LGBTQ, Shannon Minter e Jennifer Levi, receberão o Prêmio Spirit of Justice de 2024 em 25 de outubro
O GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders homenageará as advogadas Shannon Minter e Jennifer Levi, que há muito tempo estão na vanguarda do movimento jurídico LGBTQ+ contemporâneo, elaborando estratégias jurídicas para garantir os direitos civis de pessoas transgênero, defendendo com sucesso a igualdade no casamento e a segurança de pais LGBTQ+, estabelecendo proteções para jovens LGBTQ+ e promovendo e defendendo proteções contra a discriminação.
A GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law), com sede na Nova Inglaterra, uma das principais organizações de direitos LGBTQ+ do país, entregará o Prêmio Spirit of Justice de 2024 a Shannon Minter e Jennifer Levi, duas das mais renomadas advogadas de direitos civis LGBTQ+ e especialistas em litígios sobre direitos transgêneros do país. Minter e Levi receberão o prêmio no Jantar de Premiação anual Spirit of Justice, no dia 25 de outubro, em Boston. Os ingressos para o evento estão esgotados.
“À medida que enfrentamos ameaças significativas e crescentes aos direitos fundamentais das pessoas LGBTQ+, mais do que nunca precisamos de defensores corajosos da nossa igualdade e humanidade nas legislaturas estaduais, mobilizando-nos nas suas comunidades e lutando nos tribunais.” disse Ricardo Martinez, Diretor Executivo da GLAD Law. Por meio de seu trabalho jurídico visionário, Shannon Minter e Jennifer Levi conquistaram — e continuam conquistando — vitórias judiciais essenciais que melhoram tangivelmente a vida de pessoas LGBTQ+ e fornecem uma base sobre a qual outros em nosso movimento construíram. Temos muito orgulho de homenagear cada uma delas com o Prêmio Espírito da Justiça deste ano.
Minter é Diretor Jurídico do Centro Nacional para os Direitos Lésbicos (NCLR). Levi é Diretor Sênior de Direitos Transgêneros e Queer da GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. Ao longo de mais de três décadas de carreira jurídica, Minter e Levi contribuíram, individualmente e em parceria, para o desenvolvimento de estratégias jurídicas que moldaram o panorama da jurisprudência sobre direitos LGBTQ+.
Minter e Levi colaboram há muito tempo na vanguarda dos esforços jurídicos para garantir e defender os direitos civis de pessoas transgênero, incluindo vitórias fundamentais para estudantes transgênero, estabelecendo proteções trabalhistas e, em alguns casos, estabelecendo as bases para garantir que pessoas transgênero sejam protegidas por leis que proíbem a discriminação sexual. Eles colideraram a bem-sucedida batalha jurídica contra a proibição de pessoas transgênero no exército, imposta pelo ex-presidente Trump em 2017, e atualmente contestam diversas leis estaduais que proíbem assistência médica para adolescentes transgênero ou restringem o atendimento a adultos transgênero.
Além de seu trabalho pioneiro em prol dos direitos legais de pessoas transgênero em litígios, legislação e políticas públicas, elas também litigaram casos que garantiam a igualdade no casamento para casais do mesmo sexo, estabelecendo proteções para jovens, pais e famílias LGBTQIA+ e aplicando medidas contra a discriminação. Em 1993, Minter iniciou o primeiro Projeto Jovem do país em uma organização jurídica LGBTQIA+, na NCLR. Levi litigou seu primeiro caso de direitos de pessoas transgênero na GLAD Law em 1999 e fundou formalmente o primeiro Projeto de Direitos de Pessoas Transgêneros em uma organização jurídica LGBTQIA+ em 2008.
“Tive a sorte de trabalhar lado a lado com Shannon e Jennifer na luta que elas fizeram para promover os direitos das pessoas transgênero e queer. Nosso movimento não teria chegado tão longe sem as estratégias jurídicas e políticas que elas criaram, individualmente e como colaboradoras”, disse. Chai Feldblum, acadêmico de direito, ativista LGBTQ e ex-comissário da Comissão de Igualdade de Oportunidades de Emprego dos EUA. “Foi o trabalho de litígio e de políticas que Jennifer e Shannon fizeram ao longo dos últimos anos que proporcionou a proteção real para pessoas transgênero e queer.”
O Jantar de Premiação do Spirit of Justice é o principal evento da GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, agora em seu vigésimo quinto ano. Os homenageados anteriores do Spirit of Justice incluem Nadine Smith, Tony Kushner, o Governador Deval Patrick, a Juíza Presidente de Massachusetts, Margaret H. Marshall, o Bispo Gene Robinson, Phill Wilson, o ex-Procurador-Geral Eric Holder, José Antonio Vargas, Chai Feldblum e Kylar Broadus. Os homenageados de 2023 foram os autores do histórico Goodridgev. MA DPH caso que fez de Massachusetts o primeiro estado onde casais do mesmo sexo podiam se casar legalmente, em reconhecimento aos 20º aniversário daquela decisão histórica.
O Jantar de Premiação do Espírito da Justiça de 2024 é copresidido por Jamie Bergeron, Gavin Alexander e Jean-Phillip Brignol. Mais detalhes estão disponíveis em glad.org/events/2024SOJ
Decisões recentes da Suprema Corte levantaram questões urgentes para pessoas LGBTQ+ e pessoas com HIV. Nossa linha de informações jurídicas, GLAD Law Answers, pode ajudar. Entre em contato hoje mesmo.
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