The White House just announced that it has nominated Georgetown Law Center’s Professor Chai Feldblum as a Commissioner to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  This is huge not only because Feldblum would be the first out lesbian or gay person on the EEOC (which, as Nan Hunter points out will gain particular significance when/if ENDA is enacted), but more generally because Feldblum is among the smartest and most experienced lawyers working on the administrative interpretation and enforcement of anti-discrimination laws.

Chai was at the center of the policy team that aided Congress and the first Bush Administration in the drafting of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its accompanying regulations and implementation, played a crucial role in the writing of the Ryan White CARE Act, has developed legal and legislative strategies to expand anti-discrimination protections for transgendered people, and has been a key player in the many-year effort to gain passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act which could add sexual orientation and gender identity protections to federal non-discrimination laws.   Feldblum has fought efforts to remove the gender identity provisions from ENDA, a strategy urged by some, including Rep. Barney Frank, to gain broader support for the legislation.

Not incidentally, after serving as Legislative Counsel to the ACLU’s AIDS Project, Feldblum founded Georgetown’s Federal Legislation and Administrative Clinic, a program designed to train students to become legislative lawyers.  It is hard to imagine a more qualified appointment to the EEOC.

It’s also a delight to see a White House Press Release that uses the words lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender as something other than an epithet.

From the Reproductive Rights Law Prof Blog:

Obama to Keep Abstinence-Only AIDS Coordinator, by Jodi Jacobson:

Confirming month-old rumors, a high-level source reported last night that President-Elect Obama’s transition team has asked Ambassador Mark Dybul to remain in place as Global AIDS Coordinator, despite strong opposition by treatment access, HIV prevention, and women’s rights advocates across the global HIV and AIDS community, many of whom signed letters calling for a change in PEPFAR leadership at this crucial time.  While keeping Dybul on may be a stopgap measure for a new Administration dealing with huge problems across the board, it is a decision that signals we may not be getting “the change we need” in global AIDS policies.

Dybul, a medical doctor, is strongly associated with the failed policies of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), including those that flout both evidence and human rights, and that neglect the role of stigma, discrimination and gender equity in the spread of HIV.

Columbia Law School’s Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic yesterday secured asylum for a gay, HIV-positive man who feared persecution if forced to return to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in West Africa. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued the grant of asylum.

“This case sheds light on the violence and abuse gay men and people living with HIV/AIDS face in Côte d’Ivoire,” said Suzanne B. Goldberg , who directs the Clinic. The extensive documentation of the horrific conditions faced by gay and HIV-positive Ivoirians that the Clinic students compiled is now available for all gay or HIV-positive asylum-seekers from Côte d’Ivoire.

The asylee, age 32, arrived in the United States in January 2004. His application for asylum describes the personal violence and abuse he was subjected to because of his sexual orientation. He has been raped and beaten by military and militia members and was subjected to constant verbal and physical abuse by his neighbors, classmates and his own father. His application also describes the lack of protection offered him at home in Côte d’Ivoire, where police too participate in the persecution of gay people.

“I feel really happy and blessed that I was granted asylum, because I was not expecting it,” the asylee said. “I am so happy that I can stay in the U.S. and live a happy and healthy life.” He added, “I am so grateful for all of the hard work of the Clinic students, Professor Goldberg and Immigration Equality.”

Since this past September, five students from Columbia’s Sexuality and Gender Clinic – Dana Kaufman ’09, Holly Chen ’09, Abbey Hudson ’09, Brad Mullins ’10 and Keren Zwick ’09 – have provided legal assistance to the asylee. Immigration Equality, a national organization focused on immigration rights for GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) individuals, referred this asylum-seeker to the Clinic and provided important assistance on the case.

“Our client’s personal story reveals the perilous conditions for gay men in Côte d’Ivoire who are beaten, sexually assaulted and rejected by the military, police, militias, civilians and even their own families,” said Chen.

The Clinic students spent several months conducting interviews, drafting affidavits, researching country conditions, reaching out to HIV experts and filling out necessary forms to complete the asylum application. The students also accompanied their client to the asylum office in Rosedale, New York, for his asylum interview, where Chen and Kaufman asked follow-up questions and made a closing presentation to the asylum officer after the client’s testimony.

“We are thankful that our client will finally be able to live openly as a gay man, safe from government-sponsored persecution, and that he will be able to access the life-saving HIV medications that he would not have been able to obtain in Côte d’Ivoire,” added Kaufman. “We hope that our client’s case will help combat the misperception that Côte d’Ivoire is a safe place for gay people, and will let other Ivoirians who were persecuted because of their sexual orientation know that they are not alone,” said Kaufman.

Goldberg said, “This experience – where students are responsible for working through the challenges of a case that makes a real-world difference in an emerging and important area of law – is what the Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic is all about.”

Three Cheers to the students in the Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic!!!

Columbia University’s newspaper, The Spectator, ran a nice profile of Columbia Law School’s Sexuality & Gender Law Clinic as part of their reporting on AIDS Awareness Month.   The Clinic is doing important work successfully gaining asylum for HIV positive asylum seekers.  Read the article here: Clinic Fights for HIV Awareness in Courts.