In this piece, presented at the University of Oregon in April 1995, Prof. David Munsey discusses the essentialism/ constructivism debate in gay and lesbian scholarship. After describing various positions within the debate he advocates an anti-essentialist position, that homosexuality is "more akin to an appetite than a property." As a consequence of his view Munsey advocates a process of education demonstrating the Lack of differences between people of different sexual orientations.

This recently updated outline of law relating to sexual stereotyping, domestic partnership benefits, employment discrimination and sexual orientation harassment provides citations of key federal and state cases, law review articles and state and local laws in a concise and accessible format.

In this transcript of the proceedings of the panel on Gender, Sexual Orientation and HIV, sponsored by the State Bar of California Women in Law Committee, focuses on how AIDS affects women, including lesbians. Four women, a legal worker living with AIDS, an AIDS health and social service provider, a policy-worker and a legal service provider, tell their stories and express their opinions about the impact of the AIDS crisis on them and women generally.

This brief was filed in response to a proposed state constitutional amendment in Florida similar to those proposed in Colorado and Oregon prohibiting protection on the basis of sexual orientation by specifying bases on which protection could be provided: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, ethnic background, marital status and familial status. The Florida attorney general had petitioned the Florida Supreme Court for an opinion as to the constitutionality of the amendment. This brief successfully argued to the court that the amendment violated Florida statutory requirements requiring that its language and its title be clear and unambiguous in that "the only place where it is not made abundantly clear that this initiative is about the rights or lesbians and gay men is in the amendment itself and its ballot title and summary." (Decision reported at 632 So.2d 1018 (FLorida 1994)).

This brief, with an introduction by Prof. Barbara Cox, was written by her and filed with the Wisconsin Supreme Court on behalf of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. That case involved a custody and visitation claim filed by a non-biological parent of H.S.H-K, who had participated in the decision to have and raise the child with the child's biological parent. The court granted the petition and in doing so, became the first state supreme court to recognize the visitation rights of a non-biological lesbian parent.

This amicus brief, filed by the National Center for Lesbian Rights on behalf or the defendant argues that the decision of a New York trial court in Thomas S. v. Robin Y. 599 N.Y.S.2d 377 (Fam. Ct. 1993) to deny the paternity petition of Thomas S., a known sperm donor and the biological father of Ry, a child born into a household of a lesbian couple, should be affirmed. This brief was filed after the trial court denied the paternity petition. The appellate court reversed the trial court, holding that, despite an oral agreement to the contrary, Thomas S.s paternity petition should be granted. Thomas S. v. Robin Y., 618 N.Y.S.2d 356 (App. Div. 1994). The Court of Appeals, New Yorks highest court, stayed the appellate courts decision and granted certiorari. The appeal was ultimately dismissed, however, when Thomas S. withdrew his paternity petition.