In 2001 Lambda Legal filed an amicus curiae brief in the Nebraska Supreme Court in support of JoAnn Brandon, the mother of Brandon Teena, a youth born female, who had been brutally raped and murdered in 1993. The court ruled in Brandon's favor, finding Richardson County Sheriff Charles Laux's "crude and dehumanizing" questioning of Teena after he reported the rape "beyond all possible bounds of decency" and further concluded that "the county did nothing to protect Brandon [Teena] from the threat posed by [John] Lotter and [Marvin] Nissen," who subsequently murdered him. Lambda Legal attorney David S. Buckel called the ruling "a strong message to law enforcement officers to treat victims of violence with respect and not let any personal biases show through."

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Over the years Lambda Legal has addressed an ever-increasing array of issues--some broad in scope, such as fairness in employment and housing, and national immigration policy; others more specific, including anti-gay initiatives in various cities and states, concerns of older gay men and lesbians, and the rights of gay and lesbian partners of victims of the September 11 attacks. In addition to working through the courts, Lambda Legal conducts its educational mission through publications, media statements, and appearances by speakers at professional conferences, in schools, and at community forums.

Lambda Legal opened its first regional office in Los Angeles in 1991. A Midwest office was established in Chicago two years later, followed by two more in Atlanta (1997) and Dallas (2002). From its distinctly modest beginnings, with a few dedicated volunteer lawyers working out of a spare room, Lambda Legal has grown to become the largest glbtq legal advocacy organization in the United States, and one of the most effective.

Lambda Legal's effectiveness is all the more remarkable given its relatively meager resources. According to a recent fiscal report, the organization's "total net assets" is $2,854,029. Although this sum represents a large increase from the resources the organization had to rely upon in its early years, it is small in comparison to the resources of the anti-gay legal organizations that it regularly confronts in increasingly conservative courts.

Although there are frequently social and legal barriers to overcome, adoption is an important way in which lesbian and gay male couples create families.

AIDS law comprises the legal principles contained in the body of statutes, regulations, administrative rulings, and judicial decisions that emerged in response to legal issues presented by the AIDS epidemic.

Anti-discrimination statutes and ordinances have made a real difference in the lives of millions of glbtq individuals.

"Domestic partnership" is the generic term for a variety of forms of legal and institutional recognition of same-sex couples that fall short of same-sex marriage.

The U.S. gay rights movement has made significant progress toward achieving equality for glbtq Americans, and in the process has become more inclusive and diverse, but much remains to be done.

Gay-straight alliances are youth-led, school- or community-based groups designed to assist glbtq students, children from glbtq families, and heterosexual students who want to be allies of their glbtq peers.

Hate Crimes are crimes towards persons or groups motivated by the victim's race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice, adopted in 1950, is the fountainhead of the United States' military's discriminatory policies toward homosexual personnel.

Even though glbtq people have been parents throughout history, recent political movements and advances in fertility technology have given rise to a much more visible and self-identified gay and lesbian parents.

As the aging population has grown, more organizations have emerged that are dedicated to providing much-needed services and information, along with socialization and activism opportunities, to glbtq senior citizens.

Sodomy laws, which provided the legal basis for police harassment of sexual minorities, were conclusively overturned by the United States Supreme Court in 2003, after more than half a century of efforts at reform.

In a little more than thirty years, the number of glbtq student organizations has grown from a handful found at large universities to several thousand spread throughout the country to nearly all college campuses.

Despite some recent progress, people who do not conform to society's gender norms continue to experience discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, marriage and family litigation, medical care, prisons, schools, and hate crimes protection.

Although work remains to be done, the expansion of protection from workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation stands as one of the significant accomplishments of the American lesbian and gay civil rights movement.

Carl Bean, founder of Unity Fellowship Church, gave up a promising entertainment career to pursue his vocation as a clergyman to minister to glbtq Christians of color.

Two of the most significant Supreme Court decisions regarding constitutional liberty for glbtq people are Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) and Lawrence v. Texas (2003).

American activist and academic Charlotte Bunch is a key player in the movement for international human rights for women.

American writer Peter Cameron is renowned for his astute explorations of the shifting, impulsive emotions of his characters and for his elegant, intoxicating dialogue.

New England's leading legal organization dedicated to equal justice for glbtq individuals and families, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) provides litigation, advocacy, and educational work in all areas of glbtq civil rights.

Romer v. Evans (1996) marks the first time in its history that the U. S. Supreme Court recognized lesbians and gay men as worthy and deserving of equal rights.

Twenty-year-old Brandon Teena was brutally murdered on December 31, 1993 on account of gender non-conformity.