State Bar Establishes Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification issues section
By Katrina C. Rose

On April 17 in Austin, by a nearly 3-1 margin, the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas voted to establish a Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification Issues Section.

Houston attorney Mitchell Katine, Chair of the new section, formally presented the proposal, backed by petitions signed by over 250 Texas attorneys, to the Board which, after an attempt to prevent the matter from even being voted on, heartily approved the sections creation.

The section has several purposes, all of which have been recognized by a cross-section of legal practitioners throughout Texas as being worthy of the focus which will result from creation of a Bar section:

1. to promote the study of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and HIV law;

2. to study and report on laws, decisions and governmental regulations that affect GLBTs and those living with HIV;

3. to provide a common meeting ground and forum for members of the legal profession who are interested in the legal problems of people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered as well as those who are living with HIV;

4. and to take action regarding these matters.

One of the criteria to establish new sections is a showing that the new section does not encroach into the subject matter of any existing ones. The hostile proposal, if successful, would have sent the proposed section to a committee to study whether it would conflict with the existing Individual Rights Section. Charles Spain, Secretary of the new section, noted that sections dealing with issues affecting African-Americans, American Indians, Hispanics and Women apparently do not conflict, noting that whenever a GLBT person is involved in litigation there is simply a “different spin” on the issue, however well- defined that issue may already seem to be. Even the head of the Individual Rights Section stated that, in his view, there was no overlap.

Ultimately, the motion to send the proposal to committee failed by a wide margin, clearing the way for the vote on the issue itself, creating the section.

The creation of this new section mailers to all GLBTs and those living with HIV as all people are affected by the legal system - either directly or indirectly. Noteworthy is that not alt of the supporters were attorneys - six transgendered non-attorneys sat alongside the legal professionals. Katine pointed out to the Board that in 1996 only three people showed up to support the proposal but that for this proposal over a dozen were in the audience. This may not seem like a large number, but at a rather small gathering of rather powerful people, every ounce of GLBT representation matters.

Of course, representation also matters in the political branches of government, which could eventually make a statement on the subject. The California Bar has all but ceased to exist because of Governor Pete Wilson’s disapproval of the Bats endorsement of same-gender marriage and its ban on discrimination against transgendered people - his disapproval was in the form of a veto of the Bars funding bill.

The next session of the legislature may well be a time for vigilance. Friday, however, was a time for celebration. After the vote, Houston attorney Phyllis Frye jubilantly stated that creation of a forum such as this new section was one of the reasons that she founded the International Conference on Transgender law and Employment Policy in 1991.

She added, “This is a great day for freedom,”

Indeed.

(For more information on the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification Issues Section, contact Mitchell Katine at (713) 981-9596 or via e-mail at mkatine@wba-law.com)