April 1 forum at ISU marks anniversary of legal same-sex marriage in Iowa

AMES, Iowa -- Just two days before the one-year anniversary of the Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous ruling that revoked the state's same-sex marriage ban, the case's lead counsel will be part of a panel discussion at Iowa State University.

"Marriage Equality Forum: A Legal Perspective," will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 1, in the Memorial Union Sun Room. It is free and open to the public.

The panel will feature Camilla Taylor, who was lead counsel when the Iowa Supreme Court voted that the state's same-sex marriage ban violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples. She is senior staff attorney with Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest legal organization working for the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and the transgendered. Taylor received her bachelor's degree from Yale University, New Haven, Conn., and her juris doctor from Columbia Law School, New York. She is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law, Evanston, Ill.

Mark Kende will join Taylor on the panel. He is the James Madison Chair in Constitutional Law and director of the Constitutional Law Center at Drake University Law School in Des Moines. Kende teaches both sides of the ruling. He received his bachelor's degree from Yale University and his juris doctor from the University of Chicago Law School.

Clark Wolf, ISU professor of philosophy and religious studies will moderate. Wolf is director of the Bioethics Program at Iowa State, and much of his published work is in political and legal philosophy.

The forum is cosponsored by the National Affairs series, and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by the Government of the Student Body.