UNSW MEDIA ALERT: ‘The freedom to marry – lessons for Australia’
US civil rights leader Evan Wolfson to give free public lecture at UNSW
The bid for marriage equality and the lessons to be learnt from overseas will be analysed at a free public talk at the University of New South Wales next week, Tuesday 7 August.
A long-time lesbian and gay civil rights leader, Evan Wolfson will talk about his work as Executive Director of Freedom to Marry, the campaign to win marriage equality in the United States. The talk will be followed by a short update on marriage equality in Australia from Australian Marriage Equality campaign director, Rodney Croome.
“Ending the exclusion of committed couples from marriage helps families and hurts no one. It is time for Australia to join the 14 countries on four continents where same-sex couples can share in the freedom to marry,” Wolfson says.
One of America’s most outspoken advocates, Wolfson worked at Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, America’s preeminent lesbian/gay legal advocacy group, leading a growing movement for equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.
He was co-counsel in the historic Hawaii marriage case, Baehr v. Miike, that launched the ongoing global movement for the freedom to marry, and has participated in numerous gay rights and HIV/AIDS cases.
Wolfson is an adjunct professor of law at Columbia University. He is a senior fellow at the New School’s Wolfson Center for National Affairs and has published numerous articles on sexual orientation and civil rights. His first book, Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People’s Right to Marry, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2004.
In 2000, the National Law Journal honoured Wolfson’s civil rights leadership by naming him one of “the 100 most influential attorneys in America”.
The talk is co-hosted by UNSW’s Australian Human Rights Centre and the Australian Marriage Equality.
What: The Global Marriage Equality Movement: Lessons From and For Australia
Where: Lecture Theatre M17, Chemical Sciences Building (F10) – next to Faculty of Law
When: Tuesday, 7 August, 6pm – 8pm
RSVP: diane.macdonald@unsw.edu.au
Media contact: Steve Offner, UNSW Media Office | 02 9385 1583
Steve Offner
Editor Uniken; Journalist (Faculty of Law)
Office of Media and Communications
University of New South Wales
(02) 9385 1583 or 0424 580 208 Follow us on Twitter: @UNSWnews