Professional Gay Marriage Debate Coming to Westminster College
Posted on Thursday, April 6, 2006
Allies, Westminster College's gay-straight alliance, will host "The State of THE Union: A Gay Marriage Debate" Tuesday, April 11, at 8 p.m. in Beeghly Theater.
The debate will feature Robert Knight, director of the culture and family institute and a drafter of the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, versus Jason West, mayor of New Paltz, N.Y., who performed 25 gay marriage ceremonies in February 2004 before a court order forced him to stop.
"It is important to keep the students and the Westminster community informed on important issues," said Mariella Volker, a sophomore and vice president of Allies from York. "By bringing the debate to campus, all sides of the issue can be heard, and we can in turn bring awareness to campus."
Keppler Speakers, a company based in Arlington, Va., that schedules speakers at corporate, civic, and academic events internationally, is providing the debaters. According to the Keppler Web site, "This controversial Civil Rights Debate brings two notable experts to discuss the Constitutional, legal, social, and cultural implications of this landmark issue."
Allies will be hosting the debate, but it is sponsored in part by Diversity Symposium, the Diversity Office, the Student Government Association Diversity Speaker Fund, Sociology Interest Group, Green Party, College Democrats, the Political Science and Sociology Department and the Communication Studies, Theater and Art Department.
A question and answer session with the speakers will follow. Afterward, refreshments will be provided in the lobby of Beeghly.
"We want to encourage open discussion on gay marriage following the event," said Bethany South, a sophomore public relations chair for Allies from Bradford. "We hope that everyone who attends will feel free to stay and discuss the issue informally."
Faculty adviser to Allies and assistant professor of biology Joshua Corrette-Bennett encourages all who attend to go into the event with an open mind.
"I do not expect anyone to undergo a sudden transformation during the debate and completely change their views on gay marriage," Corrette-Bennett said. "My immediate hope is that people who view this issue from one perspective or the other walk away from this forum having learned something about the opposing side that makes them stop and reconsider their position as well as their understanding of marriage."
According to Keppler, Knight wrote and directed The Children of Table 34, a documentary about sex researcher pioneer Alfred C. Kinsey, and a video about recovery from homosexuality, Hope & Healing. He has written articles for many publications, including Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, Washington Times, and San Francisco Chronicle. He has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, Hardball, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, ABC's World News Tonight and Nightline, CNN's Crossfire and CNN News, Oprah, and National Public Radio's Fresh Air, Talk of the Nation and All Things Considered.
According to Keppler, in addition to being mayor, West was part of the first Green Party majority elected in New York State. He has won many awards for his stance on marriage equality and honored by the New York State Senate Democratic Conference, the California State Legislature, and community organizations from around the country. West has been profiled in such magazines as the New York Times Magazine, Plenty, Out, The Advocate, and Jane.
The event is free and open to the public. Contact Corrette-Bennett at (724) 946-7206 or e-mail corretjc@westminster.edu for more information.
More Stories
