An annual law school event held Friday was meant to update the
community about developments in sexual orientation law over the
past year, but much of the talk focused on one ruling issued last
week.
Even before the first speaker came up to the podium, the
chattering of the crowd centered on a single issue ““ a
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision on Wednesday, deeming
the prohibition of same-sex marriage illegal under the
state’s constitution.
Norman Abrams, interim dean and professor at the UCLA School of
Law, introduced the event hosted by the Charles R. Williams
Project, a think tank that studies and aims to increase legal
awareness of sexual orientation law and privacy rights.
Abrams gave his support to the project on behalf of the law
school, and could not refrain from commenting on the Massachusetts
ruling, which was the first of its kind in the nation.
“It’s been a very busy year, and actually it’s
been a very busy week,” Abrams said.
The highlight of the update was a speech by Ninth Circuit
Appeals Court Judge Stephen Reinhardt, in which suggestions on how
to continue the fight for gay rights were dispensed, along with his
thoughts on the Massachusetts ruling.
The effects of the ruling have yet to be determined, even as gay
rights advocates around the country are celebrating.
Reinhardt warned that the ruling is far from a victory for gay
rights supporters.
He said the ruling could generate a public opinion backlash that
could hurt the gay rights movement in the long term, and the issue
could become pivotal in the 2004 presidential election.
In his State of the Union Address and in recent statements,
President Bush has made it clear he disapproves of same-sex
marriage. The debate which stems from the Massachusetts case
promises to be a decisive issue for many Americans trying to choose
a candidate, Reinhardt said.
“Symbolic issues based on morality play a large role in
elections “ he said.
In his speech, Reinhardt also talked about the importance of
public opinion in instituting social change.
Citing the black civil rights and the women’s rights
movements as precedents for the gay rights movement, Reinhardt said
both lawyers and activists can bring about change.
“In the past, civil rights lawyers kept their eyes on the
ultimate prize ““ social transformation,” Reinhardt
said.
Reinhardt ended his speech with a galvanizing comment, asking
the audience to fight for equality, but also to remember to choose
their legal battles wisely.
If the public is not ready for social change, victories in court
““ like the Massachusetts case ““ may prove to be
detrimental and short-lived, Reinhardt said.
The audience, a majority of whom were lawyers from the Los
Angeles community, listened to three panel discussions after
Reinhardt’s speech.
The event’s panel discussions were meant to teach the
audience the intricacies of sexual orientation laws made in the
past year and the implications of those laws, said Brad Sears,
director of the Williams Project.
One of the panels discussed the pivotal case of Lawrence and
Garner v. Texas, an influential ruling which struck down existing
Texas anti-sodomy laws and increased privacy rights.
Modifications to laws pertaining to sexual orientation often
have bearing on privacy rights in general, Sears said.
Other panels included topics such as the rights of same-sex
couples, and the issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender youth.
The event featured panelists including Matt Coles, director of
the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Lesbian and Gay
Rights Project, and Geoffrey Kors, executive director of Equality
California, an organization that promotes LGBT rights in
California.