In this talk, charismatic Roberta A. Kaplan recounts the high-stakes trial Windsor v. United States and asks what are the parallels between this case and other historic civil rights cases? Which groups—corporate, community, religious—were instrumental in the victory? What are the immediate and long-term ramifications throughout the country, on college campuses and in corporate America? What’s next? Kaplan answers these vital questions, but, at core, her talk—delivered with gravitas, humor and deep compassion—is about two people: Edith Windsor and her late wife, Thea Spyer. This is a powerful talk that will inspire faith in the legal system, and, more importantly, in our collective ability to enact important social change.
Roberta A. Kaplan is the lawyer who argued—and won—the Supreme Court case that produced one of the most important civil rights decisions of our time. Kaplan’s victory on behalf of her client (and friend) Edith Windsor in Windsor v. United States is a turning point in the history of the right to marry for gay couples, gay civil rights and American life. In this speech, Kaplan discusses why the 2013 decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is a watershed moment for human rights. She also touches upon the changing social, political, legal, and economic context in which gay people have lived in the last half century.
The Supreme Court case Windsor v. United States—which struck down DOMA—has changed the course of gay rights in America. In this talk, charismatic lead counsel Roberta Kaplan recounts the high-stakes trial and traces the significance of the win. What are the parallels between this case and other historic civil rights cases? Which groups—corporate, community, religious—were instrumental in the victory? What are the immediate and long-term ramifications throughout the country, on college campuses and in corporate America? What’s next? Kaplan answers these vital questions, but, at core, her talk—delivered with gravitas, humor, and deep compassion—is about two people: Edith Windsor and her late wife, Thea Spyer. Their decades-long relationship, Kaplan notes, runs parallel with the changing social, political, legal, and economic context in which gay people lived in the last half century. “The love affair and the marriage that Edie and Thea had is the kind of marriage that any of us, gay or straight or young or old, rich or poor, would be so lucky to have,” Kaplan has said. “And I believed instantaneously that was a story Americans would understand.” This is a powerful talk that will inspire faith in the legal system, and, more importantly, in our collective ability to enact important social change.
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