The California Supreme Court today ruled that the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, making California the only state other than Massachusetts to uphold the rights of gay couples to wed. According to U.S. Census figures, California has the highest number of same-sex couples in the nation. Several UCLA experts are available to discuss the demographic, economic and legal implications of the ruling.
Brad Sears, a UCLA lecturer on disability and sexual orientation law, is executive director of the UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy. The institute is the country's first national think tank dedicated to issues of sexual orientation law and policy and the only research center at a law school dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.
Contact Sears directly at 310-794-5279 or sears@law.ucla.edu.
M.V. Lee Badgett, a UCLA visitng law professor, is research director at the UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy and a is an expert on the economic characteristics of same-sex couples. Badgett recently co-authored a study assessing the potential economic impact of gay marriage on the California state budget and has testified on the issue before the California Senate.
Contact Badgett directly at 310-825-5847 or badgett@law.ucla.edu.
Gary Gates is a senior research fellow at the UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy and co-author of "The Gay and Lesbian Atlas." Gates and law professor M.V. Lee Badgett co-authored an amicus brief cited in the current case describing the demographic and economic characteristics of same-sex couples in California.
Contact Gates directly at 310-825-1868 or gates@law.ucla.edu.
