Marriage equality supporters, opponents hold dueling forums on Goodridge; Trans group on Cape

As the fifth anniversary of "Goodridge vs. Department of Public Health" approaches, both supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage are hosting forums to discuss what has changed in the past five years and what the future holds.

Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) is hosting their forum on Nov. 16 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, while the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), which led the unsuccessful effort to end marriage equality through a constitutional amendment, is hosting their forum the next day at the Suffolk University Law School.

At GLAD's forum attorney Mary Bonauto, Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe and State Sen. Marian Walsh (D-West Roxbury), will reflect on the progress that has been made for LGBT rights and the challenges ahead. Renee Loth, the editorial page editor for the Boston Globe, will moderate.

Bonauto was one of the lead attorneys in the Baker vs. State case in Vermont, which prompted the state's high court to rule in 1999 that same-sex couples were entitled to all the benefits of marriage and led the state to create civil unions. She was the lead counsel in the Goodridge suit, which resulted in a 4-3 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that granted marriage rights to same-sex couples.

On the other side, MFI's forum, titled "The Future of Marriage," plans to analyze how same-sex marriage has purportedly changed Massachusetts for the worse.

The panel's special guest, Maggie Gallagher, a widely quoted opponent of same-sex marriage, is the president of the National Organization for Marriage, the president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy and the co-author of The Case for Marriage.

Other panelists in the forum include Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby, David Parker, who made national headlines by unsuccessfully suing the town of Lexington over his opposition to the use of gay-inclusive books in his son's elementary school classroom, and MFI President Kris Mineau.

Both events are free and open to the public, but organizers sask that people RSVP to guarantee seating.

The GLAD forum takes place Nov. 16 at the John F. Kennedy Library beginning at 2:00 p.m. To R.S.V.P. visit www.glad.org. The MFI forum will be held Nov. 17 at Suffolk University Law School, Sargent Hall, beginning at 2:00 p.m. To R.S.V.P. visit www.mafamily.org.

--Aviva Gat

CIGSYA launches gender discussion series

The Cape & Island's Gay and Straight Youth Alliance (CIGSYA) has begun a series of gender discussions, stemming around the tough gender issues and stereotypes that exist in today's culture.

"Different things started really opening the eyes of people here at CIGSYA about what an issue gender repression is in our culture for everybody. ... No matter who people are they're affected by the expectations that surround gender in our culture," said Scott Fitzmaurice, executive director at CIGSYA, of the idea to start the weekly discussion. "We just thought that having a discussion group that talks about those things might be a really great thing."

Meetings will take place from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday evenings at the CIGSYA house in Hyannis. Meetings will include topics ranging from political issues and current events to screenings of films with discussions to follow.

Currently, the discussion participants are all over the age of 18, although Fitzmaurice said the group is open to all who want to participate. According to Fitzmaurice, about 10 individuals from the local Cape area currently attend the discussion, but all are welcome to attend.

Fitzmaurice said CIGSYA felt that supporting discussions about gender issues was an important step forward in the group's mission of providing support to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.

"We just thought that we should be taking a proactive stance on [these issues] so we started the gender meetings, and it's been really amazing," said Fitzmaurice of the meetings that have occurred thus far. "It's just a really positive family atmosphere and it's completely run by our members."

For more information, call Scott Fitzmaurice at 508.524.7888 or visit www.myspace.com/cigsyahouse.

--Rachel Kossman