Heritage of Pride

I know that it's a month early to be celebrating Pride, but both of my June updates are already booked: at the beginning of the month I have to announce my East Coast tour, and at the end of the month I have to report on the results.

Most years I don't post anything about Stonewall and Gay Pride. I assume most of you know that I'm a lesbian; after all, if you google my name, you'll find my political past almost as quickly as you'll find my web page. And since the Supreme Court decided that gay people actually do have civil rights in 2005 in Lawrence v. Texas, I naively assumed that silence was an acceptable position to take. But several things have made it important to me to take a stand now.

Elena Kagan, President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, has set off a new round of witch hunts. I don't think I'd be shocked if the political right were attacking a woman who banned the military from recruiting at Harvard Law School because they discriminate against gay people. I'm shocked that as respectable a publication as the Wall Street Journal casts doubt on a woman's sexual orientation because she was once seen playing softball. I think it's even more shocking that this suspicion is "disproved" because some of her law school roommates can recall her dating men.

The Roman Catholic church in two different cities has refused to allow children of gay people to enroll -- in 2010! In 2008, a teenaged boy killed another teenaged boy who asked him to be his valentine. The outrage over this devastating act inspired an award-winning series of public service announcements raising consciousness about homophobia in our daily lives.

Personally, I am beyond upset over this. I've spent over thirty years of my life fighting for equality for gay people and other minorities. But that's not why I've chosen to devote space to the issue on my web page. I've decided the issue needs addressing because of the number of GLBT applicants, clients and otherwise, who contact me in fear of coming out on their law school applications. And there's no need for that fear.

LSAC has taken many positive steps to reassure GLBT applicants.

• They have published a video that you can watch here.
• They've published a survey of law schools and their attitudes towards GLBT applicants here.

Many law schools have identified GLBT applicants as minorities who contribute to the diversity of the student body, and often recruit them through the LSAC Candidate Referral Service. Anne Richard at George Washington Law School specifically mentioned that GW has an orientation breakfast for their GLBT students to reassure them of both their rights and their welcome.

But obviously, this isn't enough. Our society is still killing gay teenagers and questioning the sexual orientation of women who play softball. And that's why I've decided I need to follow the advice of Harvey Fierstein and take a stand.