February 12, 2004

ACLU Attorney To Speak At Boise State On Issue Of Gay Marriage

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney Tamara Lange will speak at Boise State University at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23, in the Student Union Jordan D Ballroom. Lange’s address, titled “Live and Let Marry,” is free and open to the public. Lange is a staff attorney for the ACLU National Lesbian and Gay Rights and AIDS projects. She is currently litigating the challenge to the Nebraska anti-gay relationship constitutional amendment. In November, she won a preliminary court ruling in the case, which is still pending in federal court in Nebraska. Lange has been involved with two other recent high profile cases. Lange worked on the recently resolved case against a Kentucky high school that barred a gay-straight alliance. That case was settled earlier this month, requiring that the district treat all student clubs equally and conduct anti-harassment training for all district staff as well as middle school and high school students. Lange also represented a bisexual teenager in Kansas who was given a sentence 13 times greater than a straight teenager would receive for the same crime. Lange’s talk at Boise State is sponsored the Boise State Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians, and Allies for Diversity (BGLAD) and Idaho Progressive Student Alliance student organizations, as well as the ACLU of Idaho, Idaho Women’s Network and Your Family, Friends and Neighbors. Prior to her talk, Lange will be featured from 5-7 p.m. at a fundraising reception for the ACLU. For information on the reception, call 344-9750, ext 201. Contact Media Jack Van Valkenburgh American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho 208 426-9750, Ext. 203 Contact   Kathleen Craven Boise State communications and marketing 208 426-3275