Sexuality and the law: introduction to the issue.

• Author: Lang, Lucy Jane

It is not every year that fifty-six professors at one's law school join together to submit a brief to the Supreme Court. This law school's recent brief in Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, No 041152 (2005), demonstrates the mounting tension around questions of sexuality and sexual expression in contemporary American culture, and the pressing need for the law to accommodate the asking of those questions. From the outcry that followed President Bush's call for a constitutional amendment protecting heterosexual marriage in 2004 to the record-breaking release last month of Brokeback Mountain, the first gay romance film to receive wide release, this year has been marked by persistent reminders about the need to explore the issues surrounding sexuality.

In an effort to encourage that discussion, we are pleased to host a symposium entitled "Sexuality and the Law" on February 24, 2006. We look forward to welcoming the many scholars who have contributed to this volume and will contribute to the panel discussions on "Children and Education," "The Interplay Between Disability and Sexuality," "Prison and Punishment," "Sexuality and Marriage," and "Sexual Expression." We are especially pleased that Professor William Eskridge will join us to give the keynote address.

We are proud that all of the...