1977—Lesbian Rights Project founded (re-named National Center for Lesbian Rights in 1989)
1980—NCLR wins landmark victory in California for Denise Kreps, denied a job as County Sheriff because of her sexual orientation
1981—NCLR brings groundbreaking case on behalf of a woman discharged from the National Guard solely for being a lesbian
1985—NCLR represents two gay men in one of the first cases in the country to seek equal health benefits for same-sex partners
1986—NCLR represents Annie Affleck and Rebecca Smith as they become one of the first same-sex couples to jointly adopt in the U.S.
1987—NCLR wins one of the first second-parent adoption cases in the country and begins promoting second-parent adoption as a legal strategy for protecting same-sex parent families
1988—NCLR wins one of the nation’s first court custody battles for a parent with AIDS on behalf of Artie Wallace, a gay dad whose son was kidnapped by his ex-wife
1993—NCLR is the first national LGBT legal organization to launch a groundbreaking advocacy program on behalf of LGBT youth
1994—NCLR dramatically expands its advocacy on behalf of LGBT immigrants with the launch of its Immigration Project, becoming the first national LGBT legal organization to do so
1996—NCLR represents a lesbian mother in Florida in a precedent-setting case holding that courts must not base custody decisions on stereotypes about lesbian and gay parents
1999—NCLR is the first LGBT legal organization to launch a permanent Elder Law Project as the first wave of baby boomers become senior citizens
2000—In a powerful decision that adopts many of the arguments put forward by NCLR in an amicus brief, the Ninth Circuit awards asylum to a gay man from Mexico and holds that sexual orientation is an immutable characteristic
2001—NCLR becomes the first national LGBT legal organization to launch a Transgender Law Project
2001—NCLR is the first national LGBT organization to tackle the rampant homophobia and transphobia in sports with the launch of its Sports Project
2001—NCLR wins a landmark wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Sharon Smith against the owners of two vicious dogs who killed Sharon’s life partner, Diane Alexis Whipple
2002—NCLR wins a victory on behalf of a lesbian mother in Mississippi who lost custody of her child to her former husband who had physically abused and padlocked her in their home
2002—NCLR represents Michael Kantaras, a transgender dad in Florida, in a landmark custody and divorce case televised on Court TV
2003—NCLR litigates and wins the first school harassment case to involve both lesbian and gay students who were subjected to years of anti-lesbian and anti-gay harassment
2005—NCLR wins the first round of the California marriage battle when the San Francisco Superior Court rules that excluding same-sex couples from the right to marry violates the California Constitution
2006—NCLR successfully defends the marriage of a Cherokee lesbian couple before the Cherokee Supreme Court
2006—NCLR launches the Family Protection Project to improve access to family law services for low-income, same-sex parent families, with a focus on serving families of color
2007—In the first lawsuit to shine a public spotlight on pervasive homophobia in women’s sports, NCLR represents Jennifer Harris, a former college basketball star, in a discrimination case against Penn State and former coach Rene Portland
2007—NCLR represents a gay couple in a landmark victory against an Internet adoption business that discriminates against same-sex couples and single parents
2007—NCLR and California Rural Legal Assistance launch another first-of-its-kind project, Proyecto Poderoso/Project Powerful, to improve legal services for low-income LGBT farm workers and people in rural California
2008—NCLR is lead counsel in the historic case in which the California Supreme Court rules the state can no longer exclude same-sex couples from marriage, including holding that LGBT people are entitled to the highest level of constitutional protection, the first time any high court has ever done so
2008—The day after passage of California’s Proposition 8, NCLR files a legal challenge with the California Supreme Court
2009—NCLR wins a case that establishes that Florida must give full faith and credit to all adoptions, including second-parent adoptions, granted to same-sex couples by other states
2009—NCLR’s Legal Director Shannon Minter testifies in the first-ever congressional hearing on gender identity discrimination
2010—NCLR represents Clay Greene, an elderly man forcefully removed from the Northern California home he shared with his long-time partner after he was hospitalized, eventually settling the case for $600,000
2010—NCLR wins U.S. Supreme Court case upholding the right of colleges and universities to enforce non-discrimination policies that protect LGBT students
2011—NCLR client Vanessa Adams settles with Federal Bureau of Prisons, establishing major changes in transgender medical policy for those in federal facilities
2011—NCLR prevents state officials from separating and denying health care rights to an elderly lesbian couple in rural Florida
2011—NCLR successfully settles a federal case on behalf of two lesbian high school seniors in Minnesota, enabling them to walk together in “royalty court” procession
2011—NCLR wins 20 asylum cases on behalf of LGBT people facing unspeakable discrimination, harassment, and violence in their countries of origin
2011—NCLR drafts comments on behalf of over 30 organizations successfully persuading the Department of Housing and Urban Development to include LGBT people and families in their housing benefits and programs
2011—NCLR convinces Department of Health and Human Services to prohibit anti-LGBT discrimination in the new state healthcare exchanges
2012—NCLR’s 35th anniversary
2012—NCLR drafts and helps pass California’s Senate Bill 1172, the first law in the country to protect LGBTQ youth from the dangers of conversion therapy
2012 – NCLR wins a case in New Mexico establishing that unmarried non-biological mothers can be recognized as parents under New Mexico’s parentage statutes
2013—NCLR works with New Jersey leaders to pass the second bill of its kind in the country protecting LGBT youth from conversion therapy
2013—NCLR wins New Mexico marriage equality case; files marriage cases in Tennessee and Idaho; and begins representing plaintiffs in Utah
2013—Along with members of NCLR’s National Family Law Advisory Council, NCLR staff helps draft legislation in Delaware and Nevada allowing all intended parents, including unmarried parents and intended single parents to conceive through surrogacy
2014—NCLR launches its #BornPerfect campaign to end conversion therapy nationwide by 2019
2014—NCLR drafts and helps pass California’s Senate Bill 274, the first comprehensive statute in the country explicitly allowing children to have more than two legally recognized parents in limited circumstances
2014—U.S. Supreme declines review of NCLR Utah marriage case, resulting in marriages beginning in the state and several other states within days of decision
2014—Washington, D.C., is the third jurisdiction in the country to protect LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy; #BornPerfect leaders testify before the UN
2015—NCLR represents marriage plaintiffs in Alabama, Idaho, Florida, Tennessee, Wyoming, South Dakota, and North Dakota
2015—#BornPerfect helps pass laws protecting LGBTQ youth from conversion in two more states, Oregon and Illinois
2015—U.S. Supreme Court grants review of NCLR’s Tennessee marriage case, along with cases from three other states
2015—History is made when the U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of marriage equality nationwide after hearing NCLR’s Tennessee marriage case and cases from three other states
2015—NCLR launches the #Equality4Families campaign to raise awareness about the need to update family laws across the country to fully protect LGBT parents and their children
2016—U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reverses an Alabama Supreme Court decision refusing to recognize our client, a lesbian mother, and her prior adoption of her three children in Georgia
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