OutLaw X PILS | Countering the Executive Threat to the LGBTQIA+ Community

President Trump’s executive orders threaten the health, safety, and lives of vulnerable peoples in the country, with one of them targeting in particular the queer and transgender community. It is a critical time to hear the perspectives and reassurance of those demonstrably committed against the bigotry his reelection has emboldened, and we are grateful to have Professor Linda McClain and Professor Heron Greenesmith lend their voices to this discussion.

The Panelists:
Heron Greenesmith is the Senior Research Analyst for LGBTQI+ Justice at Political Research Associates. Heron has worked in LGBTQ advocacy for over a decade with the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, the Movement Advancement Project, Family Equality Council, and the National LGBTQ Task Force. They specialize in advocacy for bisexual and pansexual people. Heron is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and American University, Washington College of Law. Heron is admitted to the New York and Massachusetts bars. They are a former board member of the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association, a former board member of the National LGBT Bar Association, a former Rockwood Leadership Institute Fellow, and a returned Peace Corps Volunteer.

Linda McClain is known for her work in family law, gender and law, and feminist legal theory. Her most recent book, Who’s the Bigot? Learning from Conflicts over Marriage and Civil Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2020), argues that, although denouncing and preventing bigotry is a shared political value with a long history, people disagree over who is a bigot and what makes a belief, attitude, or action bigoted. Her scholarship addresses the respective roles of families, other institutions of civil society, and of government in fostering citizens’ capacities for democratic and personal self-government. Professor McClain has been a visiting professor of law at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Virginia. Before joining the faculty of Boston University School of Law in fall 2007, Professor McClain was the Rivkin Radler Distinguished Professor of Law at Hofstra Law School, where she was also co-director of the Institute for the Study of Gender, Law, and Policy. Prior to entering the legal academy, she practiced litigation at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

Chester Eduardo Fernández teaches Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, and a seminar on Sentencing, Prisons and Reentry. Chester's research and writing focuses on some of the most marginalized communities impacted by the criminal legal system, specifically Transgender and Latinx defendants that don't speak English. Chester serves as the Director of the Quinnipiac Law school's Criminal Law and Advocacy Concentration, and as Faculty Adviser to the Muslim Law Student Association. Prior to joining the Quinnipiac Law faculty, Chester worked for the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) as their Director of Learning and Innovation. His work at NLADA focused on integrating the voice of those impacted by the American legal system, which disparately impacts BIPOC and other marginalized folks, in trainings to legal aid and public defender attorneys. To this end, Chester is a certified racial justice trainer by the Black Public Defender Association.

Otto's Pizza will be provided!

OutLaw | Website | View More Events
Co-hosted with: Public Interest Law Society

Contact the organizers