Friday December 30, 2005 SGN.org |
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Volume 33 Issue 52 |
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Wednesday, Jan 07, 2009
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Maine outlaws discrimination against LGBT people |
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| Maine outlaws discrimination against LGBT people | |
| "From now on, LGBT Mainers will be on a level playing field
every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, go to school,
or seek a loan," said Lee Swislow, GLAD's executive director.
History is made as Maine joins the other New England states by outlawing discrimination against LGBT people. On November 8, Maine's voters affirmed the anti-discrimination law that was passed by the legislature in March, and the law goes into effect today. "From now on, LGBT Mainers will be on a level playing field every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, go to school, or seek a loan," said Lee Swislow, Executive Director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD). "GLAD worked very hard with our partners in Maine to make this day a reality. Now we stand ready to see that Mainers know about their new rights and that the law is implemented and enforced." GLAD has updated its publication "Maine: An Overview of Legal Issues for Gay Men, Lesbians Bisexuals and Transgender People" to reflect the new law, as well as other changes in Maine law. It is now available at www.glad.org and is also being distributed throughout Maine. GLAD is recruiting additional Maine-based attorneys to the agency's Lawyer Referral Service, and promoting the hotline via LGBT, social service, and legal organizations in the state. "We want to reach both people who may face discrimination as well as those holding the keys to a new job or housing and make sure they know that sexual orientation cannot not be part of the equation any longer," said Mary Bonauto, GLAD's Civil Rights Project Director and a Maine resident. "Anyone who runs into problems or is looking for help on creating new policies should call GLAD's legal information hotline for assistance." GLAD's New England Legal Information Hotline can be reached Monday-Friday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at (800) 455-GLAD (4523). GLAD has litigated numerous cases in Maine on a variety of issues, including 2004's Pulsifer v. Portland. In that case, GLAD successfully represented the city of Portland against an attack on the city's domestic partnership registry by ten-taxpayers. Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders is New England's leading legal rights organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression. A GLAD press release |
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International Readers |
 
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