Kate Kendell To End 22 Year Tenure As Executive Director Of National Center For Lesbian Rights

Kate Kendell

After a 22-year tenure with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, lesbian activist Kate Kendell has announced she will step down as head of the San Francisco-based LGBTQ advocacy group.

From The Washington Blade:

Kendell said in a statement her decades on the job at the now leading LGBT organization “has widened my vistas and laid open my heart.”

“I am honored to have held this position and privileged to have experienced the countless moments of joy and awe that have forever changed our lives as LGBTQ individuals,” Kendell said. “I’ve been at the center of enormous NCLR victories, four at the U.S. Supreme Court, including the freedom to marry, a fight that seemed impossible to many when I became executive director 22 years ago. I feel enormous gratitude to have been a part of the NCLR legacy and part of the history of the fight — still on-going — for justice for all LGBTQ people.”

Kendell's efforts over more than two decades can be seen across a wide swath of the LGBTQ landscape.

From the beginnings of same-sex marriage with then-Mayor Gavin Newsome of San Francisco to the California Supreme Court ruling for marriage equality; banning "ex-gay" therapy to fighting Donald Trump's ban on transgender soldiers; and lots of LGBTQ legislation around the country.

Kendell's colleagues in LGBTQ advocacy have nothing but praise for her decades of work:

.@KateKendell is one of the most tireless and fearless advocates I have ever met. She has led @NCLRights to new heights and made a difference in the lives of millions. She will be dearly missed, but I can’t wait to see what she does next. https://t.co/MD9dwtesX9

— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) March 15, 2018

Under @KateKendell’s leadership, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (@NCLRights) has reached new heights, working to secure national marriage equality and defend the rights of #LGBTQ people before the U.S. Supreme Court. https://t.co/1I27LWSSUf

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) March 15, 2018

What a legacy @KateKendell leaves behind at @NCLRights. A voice of conscience and calm in the #LGBTQ movement, and a strategic mastermind responsible for so much progress. She is one of the most gifted, wise, & kind leaders I've had the honor to work with. https://t.co/3plYo9peed

— Tony Varona (@TonyVarona) March 15, 2018

Equality Florida & NCLR To FL County Clerks: Follow The Law And Issue Marriage Licenses

Equality Florida and the National Center for Lesbian Rights today issued a joint memo to all 67 Florida county clerks regarding the expiration of Judge Hinkle's ruling on marriage equality which is set to expire January 5th.

This is the memo's Conclusion:

Florida county court clerks should follow Judge Hinkle’s ruling and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples beginning January 6, 2015. The advice provided to the Clerks Association in legal memoranda from a private law firm is incorrect in key respects, including in failing to acknowledge that:

(1) a federal court order is binding not only on the parties to the case, but also on all “persons who are in active concert or participation with” any of the parties;

(2) non-party government officials may choose to comply with a federal district court ruling that a law is unconstitutional, even when they are not technically bound by the ruling;

(3) an unconstitutional law is void and unenforceable; and

(4) county clerks who follow Judge Hinkle’s ruling could not be held criminally liable for doing so because they would not have the required specific criminal intent.

I smile as I had just hit "Post" on what is point number one here :)

The memo includes the fact that even IF Judge Hinkle's order was binding only to Washington County (which it's not), other clerks would still be free to follow his order because ruling the law unconstitutional provides "controlling precedent" that they are permitted to do so.

Full memo here.

(via press release from Equality Florida)