As part of the National LGBTQ+ Bar’s mission to promote justice and equity for the diverse LGBTQ+ community, the LGBTQ+ Bar engages in advocacy work aimed at increasing equity and accessibility for the LGBTQ+ community in the legal profession, our nation’s legal systems, and in legal education. To learn more about our advocacy work, visit the pages below.
Advocacy
LGBTQ+ “Panic” Defense
The LGBTQ+ Bar has served as a national expert on the dangerous LGBTQ+ “panic” defense for two decades. This defense is a legal strategy wherein defendants charged with violent crimes weaponize their victim’s real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity/expression to reduce or evade criminal liability.
ABA Resolutions
The LGBTQ+ Bar was instrumental in the passage of three key resolutions in the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates centered on the basic principle of equality under the law. Resolution 113A and Resolution 108D have served as a basis for legislation both in individual states and in Congress.
Juror Nondiscrimination
Most Americans live in states where LGBTQ+ jurors may be lawfully removed from a jury on the basis of their identity, creating a gap in protection that denies litigants their constitutional right to a jury of their peers, excludes LGBTQ+ Americans from civic duty, and erodes key principles of our judicial system.
