Lambda Legal South Central Regional Office

Lambda Legal is the nation's largest and oldest organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. Our strategy combines groundbreaking work in the courts with innovative education and public policy work to change the hearts and minds of the public — and to teach people how to make sure that LGBTQ+ civil rights are respected. We tackle a range of issues including marriage, relationships and parenting; employment discrimination; HIV; health care; transgender rights; youth issues; and the battle for fair courts. We see our efforts as an integral part of the continuing struggle for civil rights in America. For 50 years, Lambda Legal has worked to address the highest priority needs for members of the LGBTQ+ community and those living with HIV. As we push forward into 2022 and beyond, Lambda Legal will continue to serve as a firewall against the escalating attacks on the LGBTQ+ community and people living with HIV, and continue to chart the course to a world where our identities and relationships are respected, protected, and celebrated. We will continue to do so through:

Impact Litigation designed to expand protections and defend the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and people living with HIV

Education Programs to expand awareness and build coalitions of support for our communities

Public Policy Advocacy to challenge anti-LGBTQ+ bias and create new protections in our legal system

Notable Work in Texas:

1. 2003 - Lawrence v. Texas, where we persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn all remaining state sodomy laws in the U.S, thereby enabling LGBTQ+ people the opportunity to more fully participate in society because they were no longer branded as criminals.
2. Respondedto Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s directive in February 2022 declaring that medically necessary, scientifically proven healthcare for transgender adolescents approved by every major medical and mental health association to be “child abuse” and directing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate the provision of this often lifesaving health care for transgender adolescents as child abuse, Lambda filed two lawsuits. In late March 2024, we learned that the Court of Appeals sided with us, upholding the temporary injunctions granted on behalf of the families prohibiting the state from engaging in further investigations until trial.
3. On January 30, 2024, we again asked the Court to affirm a lower court’s temporary injunction blocking enforcement of Senate Bill 14, which went into effect September 1, 2023. The bill bans necessary and life-saving medical care in Texas for the treatment of gender dysphoria for transgender adolescents, and also requires the Texas Medical Board to revoke the medical licenses of physicians who provide this standard of care treatment to their transgender patients. We argued Senate Bill 14 violates the Texas Constitution by depriving parents of their fundamental right to make medical decisions for their children, discriminates against transgender youth on the basis of sex and transgender status, and violates medical professionals’ right to practice their profession.
4. On June 10, 2024, Lambda Legal and other legal advocates defended the rights of transgender Texans and their families to live with dignity and respect. We urged the court to significantly limit the Texas Attorney General’s Office’s demands that PFLAG National turn over information and documents in addition to permanently prohibiting the Office from accessing member-identifying information and private communications through the demands. Our collective effort on June 10th aims to ensure that this threat is permanently stopped. We remain hopeful that the court will once again recognize the severe implications of the Attorney General’s demands on PFLAG National and its Texas members. We will continue to provide updates as we await the court's decision.