Legal experts plan to gather today for a daylong conference at UCLA’s Williams Institute to announce the creation of a new chair focusing on sexual-orientation law and policy, the first of its kind in the nation.
The Williams Institute is a think tank housed within the UCLA School of Law that aims to support legal research on issues that affect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Friday’s conference is the institute’s 6th Annual Update on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy.
Brad Sears, executive director of the Williams Institute, said the new chair will almost certainly be held by a UCLA professor and should be filled within the next few months.
“(The chair) is a great signal that this is a legitimate field of study,” he said.
The chair was funded by philanthropists John McDonald and Rob Wright, who donated over $1 million to the institute.
McDonald said in a statement that he endowed the chair because he believes the Williams Institute leads the way in research and education about sexual orientation and law.
“Our contribution will help turn societal wrongs into civil and human rights,” McDonald said in the statement.
In addition to the announcement of the chair, the conference will feature various legal experts discussing advances in sexual-orientation law and policy.
Sears said panelists at the event include foreign politicians such as Boris O. Dittrich, a former member of the Netherlands Parliament. In addition, Washington State Supreme Court Justices Susan Owens and Barbara Madsen and representatives from Freedom to Marry, a same-sex marriage advocacy group, are scheduled to attend, an event press release said.
“The Williams Institute is doing a huge service by presenting the latest research and thinking on how ending marriage discrimination helps families and hurts no one,” said Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, who plans to attend the conference.
Wolfson added that since same-sex marriage has been highly publicized, it is a good time to make a case for marriage equality.
Jeremy Boulat, a fourth-year art history student, expressed interest in the legal expertise of the participants.
“A strong discussion about same-sex marriage involving people with a legal background is important, since many students discuss the issue from an uninformed viewpoint,” Boulat said.
Sears said that he hopes attendees will leave with a “fresh take” on same-sex marriage, adding that it has been implemented in parts of Europe for 17 years without detrimental effects.