Frontlines: The Latest from OutServe-SLDN

Calling All Law Schools

On March 7, 2008, SLDN will be holding its annual Lobby Day. During Lobby Day, individuals from all over the country travel to Washington, DC to ask Congress to lift the ban against gays and lesbians openly serving in the military. It is an opportunity to educate congressional members and their staff about the very real problems created by the ban and to directly advocate for its repeal. Lobby Day also presents an opportunity for law schools who allow JAG to recruit on campus to meet their mandated amelioration requirements. A little history is necessary here. The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) had required member schools to adopt a policy that prohibited discrimination against their students on a number of factors, including sexual orientation. As part of this effort, member schools were also required to withhold recruitment opportunities to any employer who could not affirm that it did not discriminate based on sexual orientation. In short, employers allowed to recruit on campus had to provide equal opportunity to all students, regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, nation of origin, or sexual orientation. Because the military could not make such an affirmation, law schools routinely prevented JAG from recruiting on campus. In the 1990s, Congress passed the Solomon Amendment. The Solomon Amendment essentially provided that if a college or university failed to allow the military to recruit on campus, it would lose federal funding from specified sources. Initially law schools fought the issue but the Supreme Court, in FAIR v. Rumsfeld, held that Congress had the authority to tie federal funding to on-campus military recruitment. To learn more about the statute and the lawsuit go to http://www.law.georgetown.edu/solomon/. As a result of the Solomon Amendment and the Supreme Court’s decision, every law school except three now allow JAG to recruit on campus. Only New York Law School, William Mitchell Law School, and Vermont Law School have maintained their non-discrimination policy although it means they are prohibited from seeking certain federal funding. For those schools who allow the military on campus, the AALS required that they engage in “amelioration efforts.” You can find an overview of these requirements at http://www.aals.org/deansmemos/02-03.html. In a memorandum to all law school deans the AALS specifically identified “[p]articipating in challenges to both the Solomon Amendment and the policy of discrimination by the military” as an appropriate amelioration action. Lobby Day provides a perfect opportunity for law students, faculty, and staff to directly seek the repeal of the ban. Last year, several law schools participated in the event; there were students and faculty from Boston College, Columbia, New York University, New York Law School, Touro, Georgetown, and Vermont Law School to name just a few. This year Touro Law Center’s Career Services Office has posted a blog about Lobby Day and declared that students participating can count it as part of their pro-bono requirement. http://tourolawcso.blogspot.com/2008/01/dont-ask-dont-tell-amelioration.html. At Vermont Law School over 30 students, faculty, and staff (and counting) have committed to attending Lobby Day and the school, the Board of Trustees, and members of the faculty are contributing to a fund to pay for travel expenses while Vermont alums in the DC area are opening their homes. But law schools don’t need to attend Lobby Day to help in this effort. Schools can organize a letter writing campaign to members of Congress; engage at a local level by sponsoring a resolution; or raise funds to help SLDN provide free legal services to those affected by the ban. If you want more information about how your law school can work to lift the ban visit sldn.org or you can contact Professor Jackie Gardina at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). -Jackie Gardina -----

01-30-08