New York Event: Gay Rights and the Politics of 2008

Efforts to overcome discrimination based on sexual orientation have been part of a more generalized agenda of civil rights. These efforts have been played out in the streets, in major institutions, and in the courts. What do the politics of statewide elections and the presidential race of 2008 tell us about efforts to remedy the effects of discrimination on gays, lesbians, and transgendered individuals?

On Wednesday, June 18, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., a panel moderated by Robert-Jay Green, executive director, Rockway Institute, Alliant International University, will discuss issues of marriage, family, employment, health, and well-being in relation to electoral politics and the interests of the gay constituency.

Panelists include Judith Stacey, professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, Sociology Department, NYU Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality and author of In the Name of the Family: Rethinking Family Values in the Postmodern Age; Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Gay Rights and lead attorney for same-sex couples in the marriage case recently decided by the California Supreme Court; and Richard Goldstein, journalist and author of The Attack Queers: Liberal Society and the Gay Right.

This event, sponsored by the Wolfson Center for National Affairs in partnership with the Alliant International University's Rockway Institute for Science and LGBT Public Policy, will be held in the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, 66 Fifth Avenue. Admission is $8; free for all students and New School faculty, staff, and alumni with ID.