Making History, Changing Lives
GLAD's History:
Fighting for the rights of LGBT and HIV+ people
Twelve landmark cases
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EVENT
Spirit of Justice Award DinnerOctober 21, 2011 | Learn more > >
1979GLAD defends a man arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for posting publicity for a Gay Pride rally
1980GLAD wins the right of RI high school senior Aaron Fricke to attend prom with his boyfriend
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1981GLAD publishes the First Edition of the "National Lesbian and Gay Attorney's Referral Directory"
1982GLAD produces and distributes a wallet "Rights Card" for use if a person is arrested
1983GLAD successfully defends the constitutionality of the proposed MA "gay rights" bill
1984GLAD creates the AIDS Law Project to protect the legal rights of people with HIV
1984GLAD begins work with the national Sodomy Law Project
1986GLAD wins one of the first honorable discharges for a U.S. service member targeted for being gay or lesbian
1987GLAD files suit on behalf of two men who were harassed and assaulted in Provincetown, MA
1988GLAD works with community members to fight for sensible HIV testing policies
1988GLAD represents a man in a dispute with his deceased partner's parents over possession of his partner's ashes
1989GLAD defeats attempts to overturn the MA Gay & Lesbian Civil Rights Act
1989GLAD expands work to support domestic partner benefit programs
1990GLAD sues Provincetown schools over discrimination against a gay high school teacher
1991GLAD sues a Boston bar that ejected couples for holding a "kiss-in"
1991GLAD fights ME anti-gay initiatives
1992GLAD co-authors the first domestic partner ordinance in MA
1993GLAD wins a second-parent adoption case in MA highest court, setting a precedent for gay and lesbian couples
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1994GLAD wins the right of a NH non-biological mother to sue for visitation with the son she jointly raised
1995GLAD's founder becomes the first openly gay man to argue a case in U.S. Supreme Court, defending gay marchers in Boston's St. Patrick's Day Parade
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1996GLAD wins a censorship battle with the MA school district over a photo exhibit on lesbian and gay families
1997GLAD files "Freedom to Marry" case in VT with VT co-counsel
1998GLAD appears in U.S. Supreme Court arguing that people with HIV are protected from discrimination
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1999GLAD and its Vermont co-counsel win a ruling entitling lesbian and gay couples to benefits and protections equal to marriage
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2000GLAD wins the right of a transgender 8th grader to wear any clothing allowed to any other male or female student
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2000GLAD sues to bar the Boy Scouts from a CT state employee fund-raising campaign, based on their anti-gay policies
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2000GLAD represents a transgender person who was told when applying for a loan to change to appear more masculine
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2001GLAD files "Freedom to Marry" case in MA on behalf of seven same-sex couples
2001GLAD fights to get an insurance company to cover a liver transplant for an HIV+ woman
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2001GLAD officially adds "gender identity and expression" to its mission statement
2002GLAD wins equal membership rates for all families at a Connecticut municipal pool
a>2003GLAD wins a historic victory when the MA Supreme Judicial Court rules that gay and lesbian couples have the right to marry
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2004GLAD files suit to end marriage discrimination in CT
2004GLAD wins compensation from the federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund for a woman who lost her lesbian partner on Flight 11
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2005GLAD files suit to force MassHealth to pay for a 16-year old HIV+ girl's medically-necessary surgery
2005GLAD works on passage of a key ME anti-discrimination law
2006GLAD settles a lawsuit on behalf of a transgender woman unjustly fired by a NH college
2006GLAD wins a VT Supreme Court ruling affirming visitation rights for a woman whose former civil union spouse moved their child out of state
2006GLAD wins the right of RI same-sex couples to marry in MA
2007GLAD wins the right of same-sex couples in ME to jointly adopt children
2007GLAD represents a transgender woman fighting in U.S. Tax Court for the right to deduct medical expenses related to sex reassignment
2009GLAD continues to fight for and win Equal Justice Under Law. See our docket for inforamtion on current cases
