Spring Break
Law forum, activities raise LGBT awareness
Daniel Collins
Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: News
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UTEP's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Queer, Intersex group, or LGBTQI, and the university's Chicano Pre Law Society hosted the forum. Society President Lori Nava said she hoped the afternoon would expose students to equality issues in the queer community.
"We consider ourselves a social justice organization and our support of social justice transcends gender, race and sexual orientation," Nava said. "Legal issues with same sex couples need to be brought to light, especially in a liberal college environment, where people can thoughtfully acknowledge topics they might normally shy away from."
Participating on the forum's panel were Sam Aguilera, cofounder of Get the Word Out, a binational grassroots antiviolence project for the LGBTQI community; Naomi Gonzalez, an assistant county attorney on the domestic violence unit; Lyda Ness-Garcia, an attorney specializing in family law; Tony Ramos from Planned Parenthood's Desert Rainbow Initiative, which specializes in HIV/AIDS prevention programs in the queer community and Bill Ellis, an attorney specializing in adoption, alimony and business disputes.
The speakers briefly addressed issues of adoption, domestic violence, legal partnerships, harassment and education as they relate to queer residents.
Fear for safety and fear of harassment, participants said, are major obstacles to a gay, lesbian or transgender person from coming out, particularly in high schools, when many people begin to realize their sexual and gender identities. Ramos said in many cases school administrators are not adequately prepared to assist their queer students and often end up overtly discouraging sexual identification in drafting their dress code.
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