Tag: proposition 8

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NAPABA SUPPORTS MARRIAGE EQUALITY AS U.S. SUPREME COURT HEARS ORAL ARGUMENTS IN SAME-SEX MARRIAGE CASES

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

1612 K Street NW, Suite 1400
Washington, DC 20006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2013

Contact: Azizah Ahmad
(202) 775-9555

NAPABA SUPPORTS MARRIAGE EQUALITY AS U.S. SUPREME COURT
HEARS ORAL ARGUMENTS IN SAME-SEX MARRIAGE CASES

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the first of two oral arguments regarding the constitutionality of same-sex marriage. The first case is Hollingsworth v. Perry, a challenge to California’s Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in the state. Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in United States v. Windsor, which challenges the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA was signed into law in 1996 and denies same-sex couples access to federal protections such as Social Security benefits, veterans’ benefits, health insurance, and retirement savings benefits. The decisions in both cases will likely be announced in June.

“We strongly support marriage equality and encourage the Court to uphold equal protection for same-sex couples,” said Wendy Shiba, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “Anti-miscegenation laws, which denied Asian Pacific Americans the right to marry freely, have a shameful history in our country. Americans of all races, sex, color, creed, or sexual orientation should have the right to marry the person they love and be treated equally under the law.”

NAPABA has long supported marriage e quality. In 2008, NAPABA and six of its affiliates were among the 60 local, state, and national Asian Pacific American organizations that filed amicus briefs supporting equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in California. NAPABA has also joined amicus briefs in lower court proceedings in the Perry and Windsor cases. This year, NAPABA joined amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of marriage equality in Hollingsworth v. Perry and Windsor v. United States.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and 63 local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal service and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes professional development of people of color in the legal profession.

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Making Constitutional Change: The Past, Present and Future Role of Perry v. Brown

The N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change and NYU OUTLaw invite you to attend our upcoming symposium, Making Constitutional Change: the Past, Present, and Future Role of Perry v. Brown. The symposium will focus closely on this landmark Ninth Circuit case– holding California’s Proposition 8 in violation of the U.S. Constitution– and gathers many of its key players, including the lead Perry litigators themselves.

On Friday, October 5, at 9:00 a.m., MSNBC host Rachel Maddow will interview Perry litigators David Boies (LL.M. ‘67) and Theodore B. Olson. After, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., three panels will address Perry’s effect on the larger LGBTQ-rights movement, its effect on other marriage-equality litigation strategies, and how, in an ideal world, Perry should be decided if it goes to the Supreme Court. Panelists include Matt Coles, Erwin Chemerinsky, David Cruz ’94, Jon W. Davidson, William Eskridge, Jr., Roberta A. Kaplan, Melissa Murray, Jennifer C. Pizer ’88, Reva Siegel, Paul M. Smith, Therese Stewart, Andrea J. Ritchie, Adam Umhoefer, Evan Wolfson, and Kenji Yoshino, Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU School of Law.

Five and a half CLE credits are available for those attending all of the events on Friday, October 5.

We will also be hosting a staged reading of the American Foundation for Equal Rights and Broadway Impact’s 8, a play by Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black the night before, on Thursday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m. The play draws verbatim on Perry’s trial transcript and supplemental interviews. Will Pomerantz, of Epic Theater Ensemble, is directing and producing our show. The 90-minute reading will be followed by a discussion with Perry lay witness Ryan Kendall, Executive Director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights Adam Umhoefer, Executive Director of Epic Theater Ensemble Ron Russell, and the performers. Vice Dean Randy A. Hertz will moderate a conversation about how stories change minds. The panelists will also take questions from the audience. 

All events are free and open to the public and will be held at NYU School of Law in Vanderbilt Hall, located at 40 Washington Square South, New York, New York.

If you have not yet registered and would like to attend any of these events, please register at http://nyulaw.imodules.com/makingconstitutionalchange.

Click here to visit the N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change’s website for more information, including CLE materials and a full schedule, or copy and paste the link below.

http://www.socialchangenyu.com/symposium

Cordially,
Mateya Kelley
Symposium Editor
N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change

Geoffrey Wertime
Co-Chair
NYU OUTLaw

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NYU Symposium on Perry v. Brown

The N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change and NYU OUTLaw invite you to attend our upcoming symposium, Making Constitutional Change: the Past, Present, and Future Role of Perry v. Brown. The symposium will focus closely on this landmark Ninth Circuit case– holding California’s Proposition 8 in violation of the U.S. Constitution– and gathers many of its key players, including the lead Perry litigators themselves.

On Friday, October 5, at 9:00 a.m., MSNBC host Rachel Maddow will interview Perry litigators David Boies (LL.M. ‘67) and Theodore B. Olson. After, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., three panels will address Perry’s effect on the larger LGBTQ-rights movement, its effect on other marriage-equality litigation strategies, and how, in an ideal world, Perry should be decided if it goes to the Supreme Court. Panelists include Matt Coles, Erwin Chemerinsky, David Cruz ’94, Jon W. Davidson, William Eskridge, Jr., Roberta A. Kaplan, Melissa Murray, Jennifer C. Pizer ’88, Reva Siegel, Paul M. Smith, Therese Stewart, Andrea J. Ritchie, Adam Umhoefer, Evan Wolfson, and Kenji Yoshino, Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU School of Law.

Five and a half CLE credits are available for those attending all of the events on Friday, October 5.

We will also be hosting a staged reading of the American Foundation for Equal Rights and Broadway Impact’s 8, a play by Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black the night before, on Thursday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m. The play draws verbatim on Perry’s trial transcript and supplemental interviews. Will Pomerantz, of Epic Theater Ensemble, is directing and producing our show. The 90-minute reading will be followed by a discussion with Perry lay witness Ryan Kendall, Executive Director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights Adam Umhoefer, Executive Director of Epic Theater Ensemble Ron Russell, and the performers. Vice Dean Randy A. Hertz will moderate a conversation about how stories change minds. The panelists will also take questions from the audience. 

All events are free and open to the public and will be at NYU School of Law, in Vanderbilt Hall, at 40 Washington Square South, New York, New York.

To attend any of these events, please register at http://nyulaw.imodules.com/makingconstitutionalchange.

Please click here to view the flyer and schedule of the event.

Cordially,
Mateya Kelley
Symposium Editor
N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change

Geoffrey Wertime
Co-Chair
NYU OUTLaw