Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin

Tammy has devoted her life to fighting for Wisconsin families. A forward-looking leader, Tammy voted against going to war in Iraq, and is pushing to end the war in Afghanistan that has gone on far too long. She was also one of the few members of Congress to vote against repealing the Glass-Stegall Act, which would have prevented Wall Street and the big banks from making the kinds of risky investments that led to our financial collapse. She’s also worked hard to protect basic workplace rights.

In 1999, Tammy became the first woman elected to Congress from Wisconsin and also the first openly gay challenger elected to Congress. Since then, Tammy has been an outspoken advocate for universal health care, reducing dependence on foreign energy, and protecting Wisconsin’s environment. Tammy has also been a national leader on civil rights and equality issues, including LGBT equality.

Tammy Baldwin was born in Madison, Wisconsin and was first inspired to pursue a life of public service while middle school. After college she interned in the office of then Governor Tony Earl, where she worked on his initiative on pay equity for women. After receiving her law degree and her service on the Madison Common Council and Dane County Board of Supervisors, Tammy was elected in 1993 to represent Wisconsinites of the 78th Assembly District in the state Capitol. She became the youngest woman in the Wisconsin Legislature at the time and was also named chair of the Assembly Committee on Elections, Constitutional Law and Corrections.

Tammy is now running for the U.S. Senate to fight for jobs and stand up for middle class families, workers and small businesses.

Judge Karen Atala

In 2003, Judge Karen Atala lost custody of her three daughters, when, during a divorce hearing, the Supreme Court of Chile stripped her of her rights as a mother solely due to her sexuality. An eight year court battle ensued, during which time Ms. Atala co-founded Las Otras Familias the first Chilean organization focused on families formed by lesbians, aimed to show the reality and the legal insecurity experienced by lesbians every day in Chile. For almost ten years, spurred on by the injustice of the court’s ruling, Ms. Atala has bravely shared her story at forums and seminars, breaking down myths and stereotypes about gay people and their families. She is currently a member of the Iguales Foundation Advisory Board, an organization that seeks to establish non-discrimination, equal marriage and gender identity law. In addition, Ms. Atala is in the process of forming Alterito, an NGO that will serve as legal observer on matters of LGBT human rights in Chile.

In August of 2011, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights heard Ms. Atala's case against the State of Chile. Ms. Atala’s incredible fight for justice resulted in a historic ruling in February of 2012 which confirms it is a violation of international human rights law to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity. This ruling marks the first time the Inter-American Court has recognized the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. IGLHRC congratulates Ms. Atala for her victory and the impact she has had. With your help, we hope to see the protections outlined in this ruling resonate throughout the Americas and around the world.

Photo courtesy of Kena Lorenzini.

---

En el año 2003, la jueza Karen Atala perdió custodia de sus tres hijas, luego de que la Suprema Corte de Chile determinara que, tras su divorcio, la jueza no era apta para ejercer sus derechos de madre, únicamente por motivo de su sexualidad. A esta decisión siguió una batalla legal de 8 años, durante la cual Karen Atala cofundó Las Otras Familias, la primera organización chilena especializada en familias formadas por mujeres lesbianas, con el propósito de mostrar la realidad y la inseguridad legal que estas familias experimentan cada día en Chile. Por casi diez años, motivada por la injusticia de la decisión de la Corte Suprema, la jueza Atala ha compartido su historia valientemente en foros y seminarios, destruyendo mitos y estereotipos sobre las personas homosexuales y sus familias. Actualmente es miembro del consejo consultivo de la fundación =Iguales, una organización que busca establecer leyes a favor del matrimonio igualitario, del respeto a la identidad de género y medidas contra la discriminación. Sumado a esto, Karen Atala está en proceso de formar Alterito, una ONG que servirá como observador legal en derechos humanos LGBT en Chile.

En agosto del 2011, la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos escuchó el caso de Karen Atala contra el Estado de Chile. Su increíble lucha por la justicia resultó en un fallo histórico en febrero del 2012 que confirma que discriminar por orientación sexual y/o identidad de género es una violación a la legislación internacional en derechos humanos. Con esta decisión la Corte Interamericana reconoció por primera vez los derechos humanos de lesbianas, homosexuales, bisexuales e individuos transgénero. IGLHRC felicita a Karen Atala por su victoria y el impacto que ha tenido. Con su ayuda, esperamos ver resonar las protecciones que fueron bosquejadas en el fallo a través del continente americano y alrededor del mundo.

Foto cortesía de Kena Lorenzini

Maulik Pancholy

Maulik Pancholy currently plays Neal on NBC's hit comedy Whitney. He is also known for playing Jonathan on the Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award winning NBC series 30 Rock, and Sanjay on the award winning Showtime series Weeds. Pancholy recently played opposite Lisa Kudrow on another Showtime series, Web Therapy. Additional television credits include recurring roles on The Comeback and Tracey Takes On, as well as guest starring roles on Running Wilde, The Sopranos and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Pancholy is currently the voice of Baljeet on the Emmy Award winning animated series Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel, and will begin recording the voice of Sanjay on the upcoming Nickelodeon animated series Sanjay & Craig later this summer.

Pancholy has appeared in numerous films including: 27 Dresses, Friends with Money, Hitch, Raspberry Magic, Love Ranch, See You in September, Tug, Good Sharma, Love N’ Dancing, Park, Quarter Life Crisis, and The Auteur Theory.

Off-Broadway, Pancholy was seen in The Culture Project’s critically acclaimed production of Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom, as well in the New Group’s production of Aunt Dan & Lemon. He also starred in the lead role in India Awaiting. The New York Times hailed his performance as “charismatic…sexy and funny.” He also appeared as Romeo in the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival production of Romeo & Juliet.

In 2009, he shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with the cast of 30 Rock. He shared the SAG Award nomination for this same category three additional times – in 2007 with the cast of Weeds and in 2008 and 2011 with the cast of 30 Rock. He holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Acting from the Yale School of Drama and a B.S. in Theatre from Northwestern University.

Speaker, NYC City Council, Christine C. Quinn

As the first openly gay Speaker of the City Council, Quinn has worked extensively on issues of justice and equality. She has emerged as a leading voice in the fight for marriage equality in New York State, and has made fighting hate crimes a particular emphasis.

Ms. Quinn was elected Speaker in 2006, and since that time has worked tirelessly to find innovative and fiscally responsible ways to spark job creation, to develop affordable housing, to better our schools, and to protect our environment. Among her many achievements, Ms. Quinn coordinated a public/private partnership to expand free HIV testing for tens of thousands of public hospital patients.

As the former director of the Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, Ms. Quinn worked closely with the NYPD against hate crimes before she began serving Manhattan’s lower west side in the City Council.

Professor Suzanne B. Goldberg

Professor Suzanne B. Goldberg founded and directs the Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic and co-directs the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School. Her work through the Clinic is making an impact on LGBT, intersex, and women’s rights efforts from the local to the global, including in Karen Atala’s case, where her clinic filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of more 60 global experts in sexual orientation, gender, and family law.

Formerly, Professor Goldberg was a member of the Rutgers-Newark Law School faculty, where she directed the Women’s Rights Litigation Clinic at Rutgers-Newark Law School. Throughout the 1990s, Professor Goldberg was a leading lawyer with Lambda Legal, where she served as counsel in many cases, including two that eventually became cornerstone gay rights victories before the US Supreme Court – one striking down Texas’s infamous "homosexual conduct" law and the other rejecting Colorado's anti-gay constitutional amendment. She is also a co-founder and former Board chair of Immigration Equality.