2012 Election: LGBT Victories

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With several critical victories last night, the 2012 election has been a historic one for the LGBT community. In Maine, Maryland and Washington, voters took to the polls and approved the legalization of same-sex marriage--making this the first time that same-sex marriage has ever been approved by a popular vote. In Minnesota, an amendment to the MN constitution which would have defined marriage as being between a man and a woman was rejected--making Minnesota the first state in which such an amendment was defeated. In Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin defeated former Governor Tommy Thompson in the state's senate race, making Baldwin the first openly gay senator in U.S. history. Finally, according to the Victory Fund, at least 118 gay and lesbian candidates managed to win state and local races last night, making this election cycle a decisive victory for the LGBT community and its supporters.

Federal Court rules that trans inmates cannot be denied hormone therapy

WNEC Law alumnus Dru Levasseur is quoted in The Advocate's article by Michelle Garcia:

"A federal court ruled on Wednesday that transgender prisoners serving time must be allowed to continue hormone treatments in Wisconsin prisons.
The Wisconsin legislature passed a law, effective January 2006, which barred prison doctors from administering or prescribing hormone treatment or gender reassignment surgery for transgender people while in state custody.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin's ruling on Wednesday would not grant all inmates access to hormones or surgery, but now doctors can decide whether transgender inmates can receive care, as opposed to a blanket law.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal filed a challenge to the law on behalf of transgender prisoners, shortly after it went into effect. Dru Levasseur, Lambda Legal's Transgender Rights Attorney, hailed the decision.

"The court understood that medical treatment is critical for transgender people and that medical decisions should be made by doctors—not legislators," Levasseur said in a press release. "The state cannot decide to withhold treatment from people because they disapprove of their gender identity or medical needs—it’s unconstitutional." "