I doubt that AALL being in Boston will be construed by the public (if
they are even aware of us) as support for one issue supported by a
portion of lawmakers in Massachusetts, any more than will the Democratic
National Convention, which will take place right after ours in Boston.
Even though they are a political party whose business it is to take
stands on social issues, nobody is talking about the Democrats pulling
up stakes at this late date. The people who would be affected by (or
even take notice of) a pullout would not necessarily be the ones who are
the driving force behind the anti-gay marriage legislation.
In fact, where would we go? Massachusetts just happens to be in the
forefront of this issue because the high court made a ruling in favor of
gay marriage, while most states are not even close to dealing with it.
It would certainly be appropriate for AALL, in accordance with our
formal principals on civil rights, to make a statement about the
controversy, if the members and the Board see fit to do so. On a
personal note, I am certainly in favor of gay rights, but I also favor
actions that will further the cause in an effective way.
Chris Graesser
Brown Rudnick
Hartford, CT
-----Original Message-----
From: Baker, Brian L. [mailto:bbaker@udc.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2004 11:20 AM
To: 'law-lib@ucdavis.edu'
Subject: AALL, Boston, and the Massachusetts State Legislature's action
to ban Gay Marriage.
Colleagues,
I am very concerned about the important Civil Rights issue of Gay
Marriage.
I am also concerned about whether holding the AALL Annual Meeting in
Boston
this Summer would be providing some support to the anti Gay Marriage
position.
I know an unbelievable amount of hard work has gone into this Annual
Meeting. I understand that the timing of the Massachusetts
Legislature's
actions are unfortunate.
I also know that I, for one, am hesitant about providing tax dollars to
support such a narrow minded legislature.
I am surprised that there has not been a call to boycott Boston over
this
issue.
Am I out of step?
Shouldn't this be a topic for reasoned discussion?
Sincerely,
Brian
Brian L. Baker, JD, MLS
Director of the Law Library
& Assistant Professor of Law
UDC David A. Clarke School of Law
4200 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Voice: 202-274-7354 Fax: 202-274-7311
bbaker@udc.edu
**********************************************************************
The information contained in this electronic message may be legally
privileged and confidential under applicable law, and is intended
only for the use of the individual or entity named above. If the
recipient of this message is not the above-named intended recipient,
you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copy or disclosure
of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received
this communication in error, please notify Brown Rudnick Berlack
Israels LLP, (617) 856-8200 and purge the communication immediately
without making any copy or distribution.
**********************************************************************
This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by
MAILsweeper to enhance content security.
www.mimesweeper.com.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Nov 14 2007 - 20:45:30 PST