By Roberta Achtenberg and The Honorable Donna Hitchens–
Forty-two years ago, with the support of Equal Rights Advocates, we founded the Lesbian Rights Project to secure the parenting rights of lesbian mothers who were losing custody of their kids as they came out. This effort soon expanded to include advocacy for the rights of all LGBT people. The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) grew out of a commitment and passion for justice for LGBT people and our families.
Since 1977, NCLR has been advancing LGBTQ equality and intersectional feminism. NCLR has brought landmark court cases that secured parenting and adoption rights for LGBTQ families and protections for LGBTQ youth. NCLR represented same-sex couples in the California marriage case before the California State Supreme Court and was a key part of the team of attorneys that secured the freedom to marry in the 2015 Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges.
Over the last 40 years, NCLR has expanded the organization’s team and toolset to include a combination of litigation, legislation, policy and public education to address a range of issues facing the LGBTQ community, including immigration, employment, healthcare, housing, parenting, incarceration, sports and barriers faced by transgender youth.
Each year, NCLR shapes the legal landscape for all LGBT people and families across the nation through its precedent-setting litigation, legislation, policy, and public education. For more than four decades, NCLR has led historic cases, and it is still blazing trails in pursuit of justice, fairness and legal protections for all LGBT people.
For more information on the founding of NCLR: http://www.nclrights.org/about-us/mission-history/founders-bio/
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