GAYLAW Lecture Series: Lawyers' Lives Out of Control: STRESS MANAGEMENT

Join us on June 18, 2009 at Baker & McKenzie LLP to hear guest lecturer Bradley Lake, LICSW discuss managing professional stress.

815 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
6:00 - 7:30 pm
Nearest Metro: Farragut North (Red) and Farragut West(Orange/Blue)

Statement of GAYLAW on the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage Rights

Washington — GAYLAW, the bar association for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) attorneys in the nation’s capital, today issued a statement on the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics’ opinion rejecting a referendum on marriage rights. The Board found that the referendum would improperly put a fundamental human right to a vote.

“This decision was the right one, both legally and ethically,” said GAYLAW co-president Kristin Muenzen. “Our society recognizes that certain rights are inalienable, and not subject to a popular vote.” The referendum would have asked voters to reject the D.C. Council’s recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states, effectively stripping certain couples of the rights and responsibilities of marriage that they were afforded by virtue of entering into valid marriage elsewhere. The Board found this scenario to be in contravention of the D.C. Human Rights Act, which specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Proponents of the referendum have filed a civil suit asking Judge Judith E. Retchin to overturn the Board’s ruling, but according to GAYLAW co-president Allen Orr, the suit has little chance of success. “The Board’s decision is firmly grounded in the law,” said Orr. “The District is simply not allowed to authorize discrimination against any minority population.”Muenzen and Orr noted that GAYLAW is committed to seeing the D.C. Council’s decision upheld.

Founded in 1990, GAYLAW is an independent, non-partisan bar association serving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lawyers, law students and legal professionals in the national capital area. An affiliate of the National LGBT Bar Association, GAYLAW works to advance the interests of the LGBT community, to be their voice within the legal community, and to improve their professional lives. http://www.gaylaw.org/.
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 18, 2009

CONTACT: Glen Ackerman (202) 309-0219 glen.ackerman@ackerman-legal.com.