Gender & Sexuality Law Blog

Late on Monday night a federal trial court in Eastern Kentucky issued an opinion upholding the constitutionality of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepherd and James Bird Hate Crime Prevention Act (“HCPA”). The case, U.S. vs. Jenkins, may be the first federal sexual orientation-based hate crime case to go to […]

In a May 26 post on this blog, Columbia Law School Associate-in-Law Michael Kavey criticized the efforts of several New York school districts to dismantle critical civil rights protections for their students. The districts, presumably seeking to avoid financial liability, had been claiming in various cases across the state that the broad antidiscrimination and antiharassment safeguards […]

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Friday in the trial of Dharun Ravi. The former Rutgers University student is charged with using a webcam to spy on his roommate Tyler Clementi, who later committed suicide. Ravi faces 15 counts. The most serious charge, bias intimidation, is a hate crime, which carries a possible sentence of […]

Tanya L. Domi, an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, offers the following thoughts on the murder of David Kato: Just as Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) claimed Matthew Shepard’s hate-crime murder was the by-product of a robbery, police in Kampala, Uganda, are calling LGBT activist David Kato’s brutal death-by-bludgeoning a […]

Last week a court in Uganda issued a decision permanently enjoining a daily Kampala newspaper from printing the names and addresses of persons alleged to be gay or lesbian, and awarded damages to those whose identities the paper had already been published.  On the front page of the paper, above the pictures of the supposed […]

For students of the legal regulation of sex/work, this forthcoming issue of the Journal of Law and Society looks great.

The twin horizons of many people and organizations in the lesbian and gay community – achieving marriage equality and repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell – seem like obvious civil rights goals.  They both enshrine official, legally sanctioned discrimination against gay men and lesbians.  Yet as sites for the elaboration of a free-self, military services […]

Rutgers students are way ahead of many of the national lgbt leaders in thinking about how to respond to the death of Tyler Clementi – with a call for justice, not vengeance.  Read their press release below – Wednesday, October 19, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts: Robert T. O’Brien (215) 704-8938, robertob@rci.rutgers.edu; Lauren Irene […]

Jane Kim, is a J.D. candidate in her third year at Columbia Law School and an aspiring civil and human rights advocate, activist, and scholar.  Here are her thoughts on sexual violence in the university setting: It may be common knowledge that 25 percent of college women survive rape or attempted assault, but imagining what […]

Unless you were living in a cave you should be aware that a week ago Tuesday the people of Maine decided to pass on marriage rights for same-sex couples.  Commentators described it as not only “a harsh blow to the gay marriage drive,” but “a major set back to gay rights,” and “a tremendous and […]