Lambda Legal Fashion Show at SAKS!

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Internships with Lambda Legal!
Current mood: energetic

Lambda Legal's Education and Public Affairs Department is seeking college and high school students for Fall 2008 semester internships in our New York City national headquarters. This is an exciting opportunity for students to gain hands-on outreach and/or communications experience at a national nonprofit organization specializing in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV civil rights law.

Qualifications: A familiarity with issues that are important to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and people with HIV is not necessary but will strengthen an application. Interns should be detail-oriented, well-organized, comfortable working independently and as part of a team, willing to do a significant amount of clerical/ administrative work, and have some experience with Microsoft Office.

Two Communications Interns and Two Outreach Interns— Duties may include some of the following:

• Research media outlets and organizations and contacts for input into database
• Upkeep of media clipping files
• Research various topics for use in news releases, outreach materials or other informational pieces
• Assembling media packets
• Helping to coordinate events
• Participating in public education and community outreach
• Helping to distribute publications
• Phoning Lambda Legal members, activists and organizations
• Transcribing taped interviews
• Proofreading and light copy editing
• Data entry
• Some writing for Lambda Legal's print and online publications
• Some interviewing and reporting for print and online communications
• Light HTML
• Copying and filing; and other administrative tasks

Lambda Legal provides a pleasant, collegial environment for students interested in law, LGBT issues, civil rights, organizing and/or nonprofit workplaces. Interns must be able to work 16 to 24 hours a week between 9:30 and 5:30, Monday through Friday at Lambda Legal's office, located at 120 Wall Street.

Funding: As this is a nonpaying position, applicants are strongly encouraged to seek out and apply for grants from their school or other sources.

Application Procedure: Applicants should send a resume and cover letter to Shayna Pinckney at spinckney@lambdalegal.org by August 31, but you are encouraged to apply early to ensure full and timely consideration. You may also apply after this time, but we will only process post-deadline applications as needed.  The cover letter should include the applicants' hours of availability for the semester and the phone numbers and titles of two references. More information can be found at http://www.lambdalegal.org.

People of color and people with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply. Lambda Legal is an equal opportunity employer.

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Action of the Week: Stay Informed!
Current mood: focused
Category: News and Politics

Here's your Lambda Legal action of the week. Find the complete list of 35 actions on our website. Tackle one of these actions every week and you'll be an activist for equality in no time!

Stay informed. Read the LGBT press, monitor websites like 365gay.com and sign up for Lambda Legal's e-Newsletter.

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Action of the Week: Know These Terms!
Current mood: active
Category: active Life

Here's your Lambda Legal action of the week. Find the complete list of 35 actions on our website. Tackle one of these actions every week and you'll be an activist for equality in no time!

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"What gay people seek is equality..."
Current mood: optimistic
Category: News and Politics

A comment on "Should Marriage for Same-Sex Couples be Legal?":

"What gay people seek is equality. If a heterosexual relationship can be formalized by the state in marriage and thereby attract certain privileges, then the same should be true of homosexual relationships. If not, then inequality exists…"

Read the whole comment and share your own opinion at our marriage debate on OpposingViews.com.

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Action of the Week: Host a Lambda Legal House Party!
Current mood: excited
Category: Parties and Nightlife

Here's your Lambda Legal action of the week. Find the complete list of 35 actions on our website. Tackle one of these actions every week and you'll be an activist for equality in no time!

Host a house party to spread the word. By hosting a Lambda Legal house party, you are supporting our shared mission by spreading the word about the ongoing fight for the full equality of LGBT people and those with HIV and supporting the work Lambda Legal does.

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Actions for Equality: Action of the Week
Current mood: energetic
Category: Life

Lambda Legal is making the case for equality in the courts and out in the streets. But we can't do it alone. In honor of our 35^th anniversary, Lambda Legal has made a list of 35 actions you can take for equality. We'll post your action of the week here, and you can find the complete list on our website. Tackle one of these actions every week and you'll be an activist for equality in no time!

So here it is, your action of the week for 7/17/08:

Share your Pride pictures on Flickr or Picasa. Then link your account to pictures of other Pride events around the country. Show your pride by joining our Flickr group!

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Marriage in California!
Current mood: jubilant
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

From Senior Counsel Jenny Pizer

Dear Lambda Legal supporters,

It's really here. We've imagined it, hoped for it, worked for it and encouraged each other along the way. Now here it is, and it's hard not to cry. It's wonderful. 

Doreena and I met in law school and have been together for nearly 24 years. This morning we stood on the public lawn outside a city building in West Hollywood Park waiting for our marriage license. And we weren't the only ones. George Takei (Sulu from Star Trek) and his soon-to-be husband Brad Altman were first on line. Hundreds of couples — an ebullient group wearing finery of all kinds — lined up outside where there were festive white tents, balloons, cupcakes and flowers everywhere. The air sparkled with excited happiness.

It feels like a new day here. People are breathing more freely and sharing a joyous sense of hopeful possibilities.

For the first time, lesbian and gay people in California are fully equal under law. Our promises of love and mutual commitment for a lifetime will have the same legal protection and dignity as those of other loving couples. I don't know when I've felt such gratitude and joy.

As one of the lawyers on the team (including Lambda Legal, lead counsel NCLR, the ACLU and others) that toiled four long years to win this basic freedom, I have been savoring and celebrating the California Supreme Court's momentous ruling for weeks. The Chief Justice's eloquent decision is a testament to fairness and opportunity for all Californians.

This victory also confirms the effectiveness of Lambda Legal's step-by-step legal strategy. We build from one issue, and one precedent, to the next, creating continuity that connects our past to our future, and binds us all more closely into the strong, diverse and capable society we are. Lesbians and gay men have always been part of this society. This history-shaping court decision simply acknowledges that we are here, and affirms that California's Constitution embraces every person in our great state. 

Expansion of equality and inclusion makes California better — and ultimately will make America better. But we still have a lot of work to do to get there, and today you can do two things to help:

• As you've probably heard, our opponents (most from out of state) have launched an aggressive campaign to change California's Constitution through an antigay ballot measure designed to force the state to treat gay people differently from everyone else. The freedom to marry is about fairness, and that is what gay and lesbian couples have been asking for — nothing more, nothing less. To learn more about how you can help defeat this ballot measure, visit Equality for All. 

• Support Lambda Legal. Make a "wedding gift," whether you're getting married, know a couple or just want to support our work. Go to www.lambdalegal.org/wedding to show your support. If you're getting married, pass on this link to have gifts made in your honor.

One thing is clear: our opponents will stop at nothing to try to pull us backward. But in spite of what they say, no one loses when a high court discharges its highest duty in the thoughtful, authoritative way the California Supreme Court has done.

I could not be prouder of the work we all did together in the California marriage litigation. I could not be prouder of our communities, doing so much to change public understanding of why this basic freedom matters for everyone. What I witnessed today in the bright Los Angeles sunshine, as joyous couples celebrated love and opportunity in the simple act of getting a marriage license, filled my heart. And as a member of the Lambda Legal family, you helped make this thrilling day possible.

With deep gratitude,

Jenny Pizer

Senior Counsel

Lambda Legal

P.S. Check out our collection of marriage photos on our Flickr page!

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Celebrate Lawrence v. Texas with “Overruled!”
Current mood: productive
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

On June 26, Lambda Legal marks the fifth anniversary of Lawrence v. Texas, our landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory that struck down all remaining state sodomy laws and launched a new era in the LGBT rights movement. To commemorate this historic event, we are releasing a short documentary: "Overruled!" Find out how you can join many others as they host screenings across the country. And be sure to catch the online world premiere on June 26! Check out the movie and order your copy of Lambda Legal's "Overruled!" today!

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Do You Want to be Famous on You Tube? Give us a Song
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Blogging

Calling all musicians!

Want to get an inspirational message out there, but find yourself beating the same drum? Lambda Legal, the largest and oldest national legal organization dedicated to achieving civil rights for the LGBT and HIV communities, wants you!

This year we are hosting our biggest anti-workplace discrimination rally yet. Already thousands of Americans have signed the pledge [link to http://ga4.org/campaign/clockin], and we want thousands more to sign before our national Clock In Pledge-a-Thon for Workplace Equality on May 15. We've got victory on our minds and music in our hearts. There's only one problem. We don't have a theme song!

Want to give a unique gift to the fight against workplace discrimination? Help us educate the public, our allies and our communities about the harassment and discrimination LGBT people and people with HIV can face at work. Donate your very own inspirational, motivational and upbeat jam for us to put to our 2008 Clock In video on YouTube and you've got your name in the credits!

Double your exposure.

Send us your "I signed the pledge!" photo with your video to isigned[AT]lambdalegal[DOT]org, and we'll post it to our Flickr Clock In group. Carson Kressley (Queer Eye) and Christian Siriano (Project Runway) did it. What are you waiting for?

Together we can crush workplace discrimination!

For more about Lambda Legal, visit www.lambdalegal.org. For more about the 2008 Clock In Pledge-a-Thon for Workplace Equality, visit http://www.lambdalegal.org/take-action/campaigns/clock-in-for-equality/. And don't forget to join us on MySpace! [link to http://www.myspace.com/lambdalegal]

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