The BALIF 2013-14 Board Elections are under way. Your voice matters in selecting the people that will lead BALIF in the coming year.

Elections will be online for one week (April 9 - 16). You can also vote in person at the General Membership Meeting on Tuesday (April 16) at the Sausage Factory from 6 - 8:30 pm. The results will be announced at the end of the General Membership Meeting.

If you don't receive your e-ballot by Tuesday (April 9), please email balif@balif.org.

7 CANDIDATES for 5 Female Board Positions

+ Denise Bergin

+ Jessica Bogo

+ Jamie Dupree

+ Leah Nutting

+ Lilah Sutphen

+ Julie Wilensky

+ Meaghan Zore

11 CANDIDATES for 4 Male Board Positions

+ Paul Bird

+ Mario Choi

+ Edward P. Joy

+ Brian Mack

+ Michael O'Rourke

+ Dmitri Pikman

+ Mike Riess

+ Okan Sengun

+ John Unruh

+ Andrew Vu

+ David P. Waggoner

1 CANDIDATE FOR 1 Gender Non-Conforming Board Position

Jennifer Orthwein

3 CANDIDATES for 1 Female Student Board Position

+ Amanda Hamilton

+ Midori Hirai

+ Dannielle (Danni) Vogl

1 CANDIDATE for 1 Male Student Board Position

+ Dustin Helmer

San Francisco -- On Monday, April 22, 2013, The LGBT Committee of The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF), Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF), and Horizons Foundation will present Marriage on Trial: The U.S. Supreme Court, Proposition 8, DOMA, and You. This free event will take place from 6:00 -7:30 p.m. at the LGBT Community Center (1800 Market Street in San Francisco).

The event, which is open to the public and appropriate for non-lawyers and lawyers alike, will feature an all-star panel of community leaders who have been involved in the struggle for marriage equality in California from Day One and who attended the Proposition 8 and DOMA oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in late March.

Guests will hear from some of the LGBT community's most prominent attorneys and civil rights advocates who will discuss the oral arguments held in these cases, explain the legal theories and questions before the Court, and predict how the rulings will affect that lives of LGBT individuals in California and beyond. 

Speakers include:

• Matt Coles, Deputy National Legal Director, American Civil Liberties Union
• Kate Kendell, Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights
• Andrea Shorter, Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Leadership Strategies
• Terry Stewart, Chief Deputy City Attorney, City and County of San Francisco
• Ilona Turner, Legal Director, Transgender Law Center
• Yolanda M. Jackson, Deputy Executive Director and Diversity Director, BASF (Moderator)

There is no cost to attend this event. Space is limited, please RSVP online at www.sfbar.org/calendar.

For more information on BASF's LGBT Committee, please visit www.sfbar.org/cle/committees_equality_sexual.aspx.

For more information about BALIF, please visit www.balif.org.

For more information about Horizons Foundation, please visit www.horizonsfoundation.org.

From BALIF Member David Monroe:

I went to D.C. to sit in on the oral arguments. I am a lawyer admitted to the US Supreme Court, so I had a better than average chance to get inside and sit at "ground zero", so to speak, of the current status of gay legal rights in America.

I arrived in D.C. at 1:00 a.m. Monday morning from San Fran, went to my bed and breakfast, changed into my suit, and went straight to the Court, arriving at 2:30 a.m. It was about 36 degrees, chilly but bearable. I was 51st in line, good enough to get into the courtroom that day. We got into the building about 8:30. I was inside the courtroom for Prop 8 (2nd row center - nice!).

For DOMA the next day, I slept some, but still went to the court around 3:00 a.m. Wednesday. I did not get into the courtroom, between the lawyers paying for "Place Holders" to get the first 50 spots (a practice I detest, and will write to the Supreme Court marshals objecting to, as the use of "Place Holders" is not allowed in D.C. for congressional hearings, etc.) and the VIPs (many U.S. House of Representatives were there, including Nancy Pelosi, who did not have to stand in line), so I was in the lawyer's lounge for DOMA (where I could hear the arguments, but not see the proceedings).

My take on the Prop 8 - DOMA arguments in the US Supreme Court:

We still have work to do to educate the intelligent elite about the nature of gay people and the effects of discriminatory laws and language in society. They do not understand the oppressive effect of being denied equal treatment. They see us still as objects, not people.

The lady Supreme Court justices understand our position - not surprising, rising from the ranks of women, who have also been mistreated by the white rich straight men in America who think they rule the world, and experiencing the humiliation of being treated as "less than" - something most rich white men in America rarely experience. It was clear to me the white men on the Supreme Court did not understand what it is like to be discriminated against - they dismissed it as a passing discomfort, rather than the denigrating humiliation that it is.

On of the best points made by "our side" was the attorney arguing DOMA for the plaintiff, Edith Windsor, in response to Roberts' argument that we must now have extensive political power (and therefore do not deserve protection as a class), she pointed out that no other minority in history had been subjected to over 30 public referendums on whether we had rights, and we have lost 28 out of 30 times, indicating we do not have political power.

So we should continue to educate the straight world - make our movies, to reach those who do not have gay friends: but more focus on our humanity, rather than flaunting our sexuality. My goal - to make one feature film in the next two years that shows the effects of discrimination on people across the board, including my gay brothers and sisters.

I saw Rob Reiner in the hallway before the Prop 8 arguments, and did congratulate him for helping us get this far. Rob helped finance the underpinnings for the Prop 8 case and was there in the courthouse for the arguments.

Opinions are expected in June. My prediction: Prop 8 falls in California, but gay marriage is not addressed in other states; and DOMA Section 3 falls, leaving gay married couples in states that recognize gay marriage on equal footing with other married coupes. We will see.

And the journey continues...

Waiting for the Prop 8 arguments, like at 4:00 a.m. Tuesday morning - then I was interviewed on TV by the local SF affiliate (my roommate sent me a pic of my mug on his TV back at home that was broadcast that same morning, while I was still standing in line!) - and waiting outside shivering for the DOMA arguments (no pics are allowed inside the building); and after the DOMA arguments, the crowds outside...

Have a job or need one? Civil procedure question? Need a

referral? Have something important to ask ... or news to tell? Want to get to our members quickly? Join our Listserv!

Over the next few weeks, we will be sending out requests ONLY to BALIF members to join our newly-created Listserv. You must proactively respond to the request in order to be added to our Listserv (we will try to send out reminders to those of you who did not have the chance to respond). If you don't get a request by the end of April, please let us know. And, if you want to be added sooner than we can send out requests, shoot an email to technology@balif.org or balif@balif.org.

Please RSVP by April 10th to lenorejoconnor@gmail.com.

Thursday, April 18 - Friday, April 19, 2013

Click here for more information and to register!

We are very fortunate to have Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm as our Keynote Speaker for the Awards Breakfast on April 18, and CNN Morning Anchor Soledad O'Brien will be giving the closing Keynote Address on Friday, April 19! 

Location:

Hilton Concord

1970 Diamond Blvd

Concord, CA 94520

http://www.concordhilton.com/

Please call 1-800-826-2644 and ask for reservation and then ask for the California Diversity & Leadership Conference.

BALIF member Enrique A. Monagas serves on the Board of Directors of the New ConservatoryTheatre Center and gives two-thumbs up to "A Benefit Concert to End Bullying."  The concert benefits the New ConservatoryTheatre Center's Youth Aware program that combats homophobia. 

New Conservatory Theatre Center

A Benefit Concert to End Bullying

Featuring the Yale Whiffenpoofs
with Special Guest Star Taye Diggs

Saturday April 20, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
San Francisco, CA

We all love that section in our alumni newsletters that talks about who's doing what.

Well, we're introducing the BALIFBuzz to show-off all the great things that our members are doing.  BALIFBuzz will be appearing in the weekly BALIF newsletter.   

New job?

New client?

Promotion?

Court victory?

Significant settlement?

Baby on the way?

Recently married or engaged?

Speaking engagement?

Award, recognition, certification, or degree?  

Or anything else you're excited about...

Keep it to one or two lines.  Please send to membership@balif.org.

Can't wait to hear your great news!

Lauri Bertolacci

BALIF Membership Chair

All job postings can be found here!  

BALIF membership is required to view the job postings. Simply log into the BALIF website with your membership ID and password, and select the JOBS from the menu on the left.