Lambda Conference Examines "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
Brad Rosen
Issue date: 3/8/07 Section: News
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 Media Credit: Samantha Franklin Alumni and students network at the Lambda conference. |
On Friday and Saturday, March 2-3, HLS Lambda held its second annual Gay and Lesbian Legal Advocacy (GALLA) Conference. The conference has grown considerably since last year; both the panelists and attendees were drawn from a wide range of backgrounds and places in the country. Brian Schroeder, Co-President of HLS Lambda, remarked, "I'm very pleased. Our goal is to build this conference into an annual regional event, and this was a great step in that direction."
Students came from BC, BU, Columbia, Georgetown, NYU, and the University of Maine to attend this year's conference, focusing on the military policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). A number of firms sponsored the conference, with Skadden, Cravath, and Davis Polk as headlining sponsors. This year's conference consisted of an opening keynote speech during lunch at the Harvard Faculty Club, a series of five panels on key issues, a networking lunch, and closed with the Leadership Award Dinner.
The conference kicked off, despite harsh rain, with an opening plenary by Joseph Steffan, who was dismissed from the United States Naval Academy for his sexuality just weeks before his graduation in 1987. Steffan is the author of the book Honor Bound, and is known for his battle against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the military in the time before DADT. He jokingly referred to his lawsuit, Steffan v. Cheney, as "suing [Vice President] Cheney before it was en vogue."
On a more serious note, Steffan spoke of how self-identification is fundamentally an indicator of existence, and so coming out should be seen not as speech but as a facet of identity itself. In denying gays the right to self-identify, the military denies them the right to exist.
The first panel focused on the social, civic, military, psychological and economic ramifications of DADT, attempting to determine whether the law, as a public policy matter, has been a success or a failure. The panel was moderated by Robert Bordone. Professor Bordone opened the panel by pointing out that although Lambda had tried multiple times, they were unable to secure a panelist to advocate that DADT has been and continues to be a good thing.
The other panelists included Lawrence J. Korb, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress; Denny Meyer, Public Affairs Officer of the Military Equality Alliance; and C. Dixon Osburn, Executive Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). One of the more salient stories discussed was the broad impact that DADT had on individuals in the service, including subtleties like being ineligible for bereavement leave. The panelists made numerous comparisons to the inclusion of women in the service and the rhetoric from both sides that preceded it.
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