In recent years, litigation affecting the LGBT community—from challenges to California’s Proposition 8 to lawsuits over the federal Defense of Marriage Act and others—is wending its way toward the U.S. Supreme Court. We’ve seen that, as with all issues that progressives care about, issues affecting LGBT rights often end up in court. Much is at stake in court for issues progressives have fought for for so long, and courts are where Americans go to vindicate their most cherished constitutional rights. Put simply: courts matter.
Please join Legal Progress—the legal policy program at the Center for American Progress—and LGBT Progress for the next installment in CAP’s series, "Why Courts Matter"—a discussion of what’s at stake in the courts for the LGBT community, and of the implications of Lawrence v. Texas on today’s legal challenges involving LGBT Americans.
Introduction:
Andrew Blotky, Director, Legal Progress, Center for American Progress
Featured panelists:
Paul Smith, Supreme Court Litigator; Partner, Jenner & Block; lead attorney in Lawrence v. Texas
Praveen Fernandes, Director of Federal Affairs and Diversity Initiatives, Justice at Stake
Maya Rupert, Federal Policy Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights
Moderator:
Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor, Slate.com; Contributing Editor, Newsweek; author of New Yorker article, "Extreme Makeover: The Story Behind Lawrence v. Texas"