Law School Opens Clinic for Gay Civil Rights

Lisa Badner, co-chair of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) Committee of the New York City Bar Association, noted that 'same-sex marriage is being legalized in certain states and certain countries, yet we have some states passing legislation that actually explicitly denies LGBT people their equal rights.' For example, she said, homosexual couples in Florida are legally prohibited from adopting children. Ironically, however, they are free to be foster parents. In New York State, said Ms. Badner, the Estates, Powers & Trusts Law makes it extremely difficult for a domestic partner to make ordinary claims in the event of intestate death. Generally, she said, heterosexual step-parents are afforded more rights than lesbians or gays in family court matters nationwide.

Immigration courts also present something of a de facto record of discrimination in that homosexual and transgendered applicants face a more difficult judicial process ' particularly in the absence of federal laws defining them as a protected class. It is hoped that the clinic's legislative agenda might ameliorate difficulties posed by a 'patchwork' of state and municipal laws affecting gays and lesbians and the absence of a federal ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation.