Gay, Gay Marriage

Not All BC Law Professors Believe in Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

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We’ve been waiting for this. We’ve been covering Boston College Law Professor Scott Fitzgibbon and his commercial against gay-marriage. That commercial is now being shown on national television (I caught it being discussed on Dylan Ratigan’s show this morning). I can’t imagine how proud the BC Law community is to have their law school prominently featured in an ad that — as one legal blogger put it: “relies on inflammatory and unfounded rhetoric.”
Today, a group of BC Law professors put out a statement that tries to soothe the feelings of gays and lesbians that may feel the university as a whole doesn’t think they should be given equal treatment.
Read it after the jump.


Here’s the letter:

The undersigned members of the faculty and administration at Boston College Law School feel that it is important to reaffirm our belief in the equality of all of our students. We are proud of the fact that Boston College Law School was one of the first law schools in the country to include sexual orientation in its non-discrimination pledge, and we reaffirm our commitment to making our institution a welcome and safe place for all students, including LGBT students.

The message was signed by 76 law school faculty, including Dean John Garvey. Dean Garvey has defended Fitzgibbon’s right to make the commercial and his right to promote his position as a BC law professor in the ad. But Garvey has not spoken about the material misrepresentations in the ad that others have noted.
You’ll note that this statement doesn’t address the issue of gay-marriage directly. But you’ll also note that of the 76 professors that did sign this rather non-controversial statement of tolerance, Scott Fitzgibbon is noticeably absent.
BC Law Professors Statement.pdf
Controversy Continues Over Law Prof’s Anti-Gay Ad [Legal Blog Watch]
Don’t like an AP title? Just pull a Fitzgibbon and distort it. [Eagleonline]
Earlier: Boston College Law Professor In Anti-Gay Marriage Ad
Boston College Defends Anti-Gay Marriage Professor

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