The Tyron Garner Memorial Scholarship honors the legacy of Tyron Garner. Tyron was represented by Lambda Legal* in the landmark 2003 U.S. Supreme Court case of Lawrence v. Texas, which effectively struck down the sodomy laws in all 13 states in which they still remained, thereby decriminalizing consensual adult same-sex sexual relationships and abolishing the legal stigma that was used to marginalize LGBTQ+ people in all areas of their lives. While Tyron was not an attorney, the impact of his life and bravery along with the impact of Lambda Legal’s groundbreaking case have shaped access to the legal profession for LGBTQ+ people for the last 20 years, and improving all LGBTQ+ people’s treatment within our nation’s legal systems. The Bar is proud to honor Tyron as we emerge from the 20th anniversary celebration year of the Lawrence case.

2024 Winner

Andrew Brennen is a proud Kentuckian who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and furthered his education at Harvard University with a Master of Education in Education Policy & Management. He is a first-year law student at Columbia University and an NAACP LDF Marshall Motley Scholar. At Columbia, Andrew is President of the Columbia Public Interest Community Student Board, a member of the Education Law & Policy Executive Board, and a member of the Gender & Sexuality Moot Court Team. During his 1L summer, Andrew is interning at the Kentucky ACLU, working on civil rights litigation and police misconduct investigations, juvenile justice, and education equity.

*The Bar also wishes to recognize Lambda Legal’s Tyron Garner Memorial Fellowship for African-American LGBT Civil Rights, established in 2015 to encourage and mentor recent law graduates dedicated to LGBT issues within African-American communities to become engaged in civil rights work on behalf of LGBT individuals and people living with HIV.