|
|
Kevin M. Cathcart
|
|
|
|
Names Index:
A B
C D
E F
G H
I J
K L
M N
O P
Q R
S T
U V
W X
Y Z
| Authors
Index | Scholars
Index |
|
 Created
Equal : Why Gay Rights Matter to America by
Michael Nava, Robert Dawidoff (Contributor)
Nava and Dawidoff have written the clearest, most focused civic
argument for gay rights. They do not indulge personal anecdotes,
they do not essay moral arguments, they do not cite psychologists
and social scientists on the normalcy of homosexuals, they do not
attempt to change minds that believe homosexuality is a sin. Most
saliently, they do not anathematize antigays. Rather, they point
out and patiently, repeatedly restate that homosexual Americans
are citizens and entitled thereby to the rights and protections
citizens enjoy under the Constitution and the rest of U.S. law.
Those rights and protections include access to jobs, housing,
public accommodations, and public service, such as in the
military--access that must not be impeded on account merely of
being homosexual. Of course, much of the book has to be spent
answering the standard criticisms of gays and homosexuality--the
big lies involved in blanket phrases like "the gay
lifestyle," the view of some religious sects and factions
that homosexuality is a sin, etc. This Nava and Dawidoff do as
well as anyone has, and they excel at the end of the book at
arguing for gay marriage, for which, they acknowledge, many gays
do not yet see any need. This is the gay book that nongays should
read. Ray Olson From Booklist
|
|
Excerpt:
Kevin M. Cathcart, executive director of Lambda
Legal Defense and Education Fund since 1992, is a national
spokesperson and strategist in the movement to achieve full
recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, and people
with HIV. Cathcart has helped shape the legal battle to defend and
broaden those rights, expanding Lambda as a national force through
test-case litigation and public education.
Under Cathcart’s leadership, Lambda pursues
state-by-state efforts to secure parenting and adoption rights for
lesbians and gay men, to ensure safety in schools for lesbian and
gay youth, and to take action against AIDS-related discrimination.
During Cathcart’s tenure, Lambda has litigated several
groundbreaking cases, including Dale v. Boy Scouts of America,
which challenged the group’s anti-gay membership policy. By a
5-4 vote, the United States Supreme Court allowed the group to
maintain its discriminatory ban, a ruling that touched off an
unprecedented wave of public protest against discrimination by the
Scouts. Lambda served as co-counsel in another High Court case, Romer
v. Evans, in which the Justices ruled for the first time that
lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals are entitled to equal protection
under the Constitution. With its Marriage Project, Lambda
spearheads a national coalition to win the freedom to marry.
Lambda represented three Hawaii couples in Baehr v. Anderson,
which spurred the on-going national dialogue about gay people’s
freedom to marry. Another case, Baker v. Vermont, in which
Lambda served as amicus, recently prompted state
legislators in the Green Mountain State to create “civil
unions,” a new marital status for gay couples...
|
|
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund is a
national organization committed to achieving full recognition of
the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV/AIDS
through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.
Lambda carries out its legal work principally
through test cases selected for the likelihood of their success in
establishing positive legal precedents that will affect lesbians,
gay men, and people with HIV/AIDS. From our offices in New York,
Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta, Lambda's legal staff of
attorneys works on a wide range of cases, with our docket
averaging over 50 cases at any given time.
Lambda also maintains a national network of
volunteer Cooperating Attorneys, which widens the scope of our
legal work and allows attorneys, legal workers, and law students
to become involved in our program by working with our legal staff.
Lambda pursues litigation in all parts of the
country, in every area of the law that affects lesbians, gay men,
and people with HIV/AIDS, such as discrimination in employment,
housing, public accommodations, and the military; HIV/AIDS-related
discrimination and public policy issues; parenting and
relationship issues; equal marriage rights; equal employment and
domestic partnership benefits; "sodomy" law challenges;
immigration issues; anti-gay initiatives; and free speech and
equal protection rights.
Lambda's work ultimately benefits all people,
for it helps to fashion a society that is truly diverse and
tolerant. Our overall mission to combat sexual orientation
discrimination in this country has become an intrinsic part of the
struggle for civil rights.
|
|
|
|
Names Index:
A B
C D
E F
G H
I J
K L
M N
O P
Q R
S T
U V
W X
Y Z
| Authors
Index | Scholars
Index |
|
|
