How did you get into civil rights law?
In college, I became a political activist. American foreign policy in Central America, campus issues and reproductive freedom in particular drew my attention. By the end of college, I knew I was leaning toward civil rights generally and wanted to make changes. Then I came out as a lesbian. So that was the final confirmation, and ultimately led me to do the kind of work that I'm doing now.
How do you do what you do? Describe your process.
I'm at the Lesbian and Gay Rights Project at the ACLU national office. We take on cases all over the U.S. dealing with discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. I usually handle a few cases at any given time, many of which relate to protecting relationships between lesbian and gay parents and their children. Handling cases usually means writing papers to the court--complaints to start a case and lots of briefs. But it's often researching law and sometimes going to court to argue certain issues or investigating facts.
How many people do you work with?
There are about twelve people in the project. I'm usually the only lawyer in our office who would be on a particular case, although we have a litigation director who is like a supervisor. I also work with co-counsel in the states where we are litigating.
What do you like/dislike most about civil rights law?
Well, I guess I would say what I like most and least are the same thing. I care a lot about the results, which means it motivates me and makes me want to work hard and do the best I can do. But it also can make it more stressful than other kinds of jobs because a lot is riding on each case.
What was high school like? Were you into civil rights law?
No, but I had a lot of strong opinions about unequal treatment of different kinds of people, ranging from how students were being treated in school to the civil rights movement. I remember wishing that we had spent more time on Martin Luther King Jr. in history class.
Did your college major relate to your work?
I was a cultural anthropology major in college. One of the principles of cultural anthropology fieldwork was not to interfere with what you see. I started to become very frustrated with that idea by the end of college. I wanted to make changes. I didn't want to sit by the sidelines and just watch, so I decided that law school was the way to go.
Tell us about your work on the Florida gay adoption case.
We brought a challenge to a Florida state law, which says that gay people cannot adopt children, regardless of the circumstances. It's the only state in the country that has such a restrictive law. We represent two individual men who have been raising children independently for years and would like to adopt the children so that they can make it permanent for the kids. There is also a couple that wants to adopt. We are seeking to have the law held unconstitutional, as discriminatory, and as being really bad for kids. The case has been going on for several years. A few years ago, we the court upheld the law, but we are appealing their decision.
