Materials in this series pertain to Bragdon v. Abbott, which was the first court case concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to be heard by the United States Supreme Court, as well as the first case involving HIV to be heard by the court. The case originated in Bangor, Maine in 1994, when dentist Randon Bragdon refused to treat Sidney Abbott at his practice after Abbott disclosed that she was HIV positive. GLAD filed suit on Abbott's behalf in federal district court in Maine in 1995, asserting that Abbott's HIV positive status qualified as a disability, and that Bragdon's refusal of service qualified as discrimination under the ADA. GLAD won this case, known as Abbott v. Bragdon, after which Bragdon's attorneys appealed the decision at the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, where GLAD also won. Bragdon ultimately appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 in Abbott's favor in 1998. Materials documenting the case include correspondence, news clippings, memos, background research materials, notes, depositions, briefs, summary judgements, court decisions, and reports.
This accession documents three major projects GLAD worked on from 2000 to 2007. Cote-Whitacre, et al v. Department of Public Health ruled on recognition of same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts by other states. The case files include pleadings, case documents, related research, and amicus curiae briefs. These cover all stages of Cote-Whitacre, et al and its related case, also filed by GLAD, Johnstone, et al v. Thomas O'Reilly. Nancy Walsh's claim to the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 for her domestic partner, Carol Flyzik, includes documentation pertaining to their domestic partnership; Flyzik's personal records; correspondence with GLAD, the law firm Kreindler and Kreindler, and the families of Walsh and Flyzik; applications to the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001; and court documents. There are also drafts and newspaper clippings relating to H. 0847, the Vermont state bill that created civil unions for same-sex couples. Finally, there are publicity materials for different GLAD fundraising events from 1984 to 2016, including fliers and posters.
The series consists of records documenting GLAD's administration. It is divided into four sections: Board of Directors; Executive Director; Finance; and Office Administration. The board records consist primarily of minutes, committee records and "packets" which contain documents provided to the board summarizing the work of GLAD's various committees and departments. The packets provide an overview of various administrative, legal, financial, outreach and organizational matters before GLAD at any given moment. Executive Director files contain correspondence, topical files, notes, memoranda, articles, and reports. The early records of the executive director contain documentation and information that would later (circa 1990) be filed under Development and Public Affairs Education.