| Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders |
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|---|---|
| Formation | 1978 |
| Purpose/focus | LGBT rights |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts (USA) |
| Region served | New England[1] |
| Website | www.glad.org |
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is a non-profit legal rights organization in the United States. The organization was founded in 1978, and works toward ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression.
GLAD is based in Boston, Massachusetts, and serves the entire New England area of the United States. Services it provides include litigation, advocacy, and educational work in all areas of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) civil rights and the rights of people living with HIV. The organization also operates a telephone hotline and website.
In 2003, GLAD received national attention for its work in winning marriage rights for same-sex couples in Massachusetts. It successfully argued before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples was a violation of the state constitution.
Beginning in March 2009, GLAD has filed Federal Court challenges to Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act that prevents the federal government from providing certain federal rights and benefits and assigning certain responsibilities to individuals in same-sex marriages,[2] including Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, Massachusetts v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, and Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management.
On June 30, 2011, EqualityMaine and GLAD announced plans to place a voter initiative in support of same-sex marriage on Maine's November 2012 ballot.[3]
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