A Tavern Debate: “Resolved, that gays have every right to marry.”

Chicago Lawyers Chapter

Speaker:

• Prof. Dale Carpenter, University of Minnesota Law School 
• Prof. Douglas Kmiec, Pepperdine University Law School

Speaker:

• Prof. Dale Carpenter, University of Minnesota Law School 
• Prof. Douglas Kmiec, Pepperdine University Law School

There are many reasons to favor traditional marriage, but in truth, the state - as opposed to churches and other religious bodies - has principally one argument, and it is compelling: the augmentation and responsible upbringing of new citizens. On the other hand, current widespread legal recognition and social acceptance of no-fault divorce, abortion on demand, surrogate motherhood, and unwed couples with children suggest that traditional marriage may already be irrevocably broken. Did the California courts correctly rule that gays can marry? Come hear Prof. Douglas Kmiec address the topic, hoist a drink, and join the debate yourself.

Our keynote speaker, Douglas W. Kmiec, has served as head of the Office of Legal Counsel for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, as Dean and St. Thomas More Professor of the law school at The Catholic University of America, and as a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, where he directed the Thomas White Center on Law & Government and founded the Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy. A former White House Fellow, a Distinguished Fulbright Scholar on the Constitution, and the inaugural Visiting Distinguished Scholar at the National Constitution Center, he is a frequent guest in the national media analyzing constitutional, cultural, and political developments. A married man with children, Prof. Kmiec is currently Caruso Family Chair and Professor of Constitutional Law at Pepperdine University.

Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres

$20.00 per person

$10.00 students