We are excited to welcome you online tonight with our co-host Out!Law. from 6-8pm. We present two guest speakers for this event, but first I want to introduce Alissa Dean from the Out!Law executive board to give an introductory statement.

ACLU STATEMENT- Out!Law's mission to promote discussion of the legal issues concerning members of the LGBTQ+ community aligns closely with the mission of the ACLU Student Chapter to promote interest, discussion, and protection for the civil liberties.

The agenda for this event
Start time of 6 pm
Introductory Statement from Out!Law
Thirty minutes for each speaker
Q&A
Followed by an open forum discussion

We are excited to present two guest speakers for this event.

Dr. T. Anansi Wilson is an Assistant Professor of Law at Mitchell Hamline. They are an award-winning scholar of law, literary and cultural studies, a racial-justice strategist, and an author of creative nonfiction. Their legal research is situated in legal philosophy, critical theory, political economy, and constitutional law. Their writing and scholarship primarily focuses on the history of Black thought, art, and imagination crafted in response to, and resistance against, the social, political, and legal realities of domination in the West. They seek to understand the processes of retrenchment after moments of social progress, and how freedom dreams are nevertheless sustained. Wilson’s work analyzes the ever changing relationships between race, law, sexuality, power, and citizenship; both in the construction of law and policy and the maintenance of the way we live our lives. They employ Critical Race, Black Feminist, Performance and Women & Gender Studies and legal methodologies to examine how instances and (extra) legal precedents of anti-Black violence and racial-sexual terror continue to frame and impact notions of Black being and citizenship.

Jess Braverman is the Legal Director for Gender Justice. She has demonstrated her personal and professional commitment to ending discrimination in the law throughout her career, most recently as an attorney with the Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office, where she spearheaded the special litigation unit that worked to end racial profiling in policing. Part of her efforts included challenging undercover sting operations that disproportionately targeted communities of color, which brought an end to the practice and the dismissal of dozens of wrongful charges. As the Legal Director for Gender Justice, Braverman steers the organization’s litigation strategy, ensuring that it not only brings justice to individual clients but also advances its mission of breaking down barriers to gender equity.

Nevada recently attempted to pass a law (SB139; 2021) to require state regulated health plans to “cover the treatment of conditions related to gender dysphoria” and “gender incongruence” - but even with support from some large health carriers and ERISA plans, the bill did not pass due to fiscal impacts in the public and private sectors. Is proactive legislation for the community often set aside due to fiscal impacts, and if so is there a path to advocate against the fiscal opposition?
 
How can prosecutors do their part when harmful, specifically anti-LGBTQ+, legislation is passed? In other words, how can prosecutors balance enforcing laws and using their discretion in their charge of bringing justice.
 
With one of the authors of the Texas abortion ban expressing a desire to also overturn obergefell and Lawrence, what appetite do you think the newly conservative Court has to undo these LGBTQ gains?
 
How do the speakers recommend that new law students get involved in the ongoing work for Gender and Racial Justice shared here? Are there volunteer opportunities (virtual for distance students)?
 
What sorts of changes to legislation do you see in the near future and do you think these changes will have a positive or negative impact on the community?
 
Why is preventing the right to privacy as seen in Griswold v. Connecticut and Lawerence v. Texas from being applied to protect transgender rights?
 
How do you see the Biden administration addressing the massive rollback of LGBTQ rights that we saw during by the Trump adminsistration?
 
How are individuals able to help or volunteer?