Panel to speak on gay rights

The fourth-annual Update on Sexual Orientation Law and Public
Policy is taking place today at the UCLA School of Law.

Three panels of speakers will address issues pertaining to legal
protections for same-sex couples.

The Charles R. Williams Project on Sexual Orientation and Public
Policy is an independent and non-partisan think tank at the UCLA
Law School.

Brad Sears, the executive director of the Williams Project, said
the public policy reports produced by the think tank are used by
state legislatures or in support of briefs filed on gay rights
issues.

UCLA is the only law school in the country to have a think tank
focusing on the research and analysis of sexual orientation law
issues.

Bill Rubenstein, a professor at the UCLA Law School and the
founding director of the Williams Project, said he will be talking
about two different studies he recently published at the
update.

The studies look at employment discrimination claims filed by
members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and
reports of hate crimes.

Rubenstein said the studies used empirical research to
demonstrate the level of bias this community faces in the United
States.

One of the panels will include speakers presenting summaries of
legal articles they have written that appeared in the Dukeminier
Awards, a journal published by the Williams Project.

The journal features a selection of articles concerning various
aspects of sexual orientation law.

David Cruz, a professor at the University of Southern California
School of Law who has had an article appear in the Dukeminier
Awards, said he will be speaking about gender as an ideology and a
form of social organization, and the applicability of that approach
to the legal issues of transgender persons.

During the update, panelists will also spend time addressing
various issues such as how same-sex couples can impact their
children’s development.

The update will be followed by the project’s annual book
party. The funds raised by the party will support the growth of the
project.

The event will take place today in the Law School room 1357
from 1 to 6:30 p.m