How a Ruling on Gay Jurors Could Have a Huge Effect on the Gay Rights Movement

Lambda Legal's National Legal Director, Jon W. Davidson, talks to the Huffington Post about a very significant ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals two weeks ago:

In the next few weeks, AbbVie, a pharmaceutical company that produces an important AIDS drug, will make a decision that could have a far-reaching effect on gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, and not just those with HIV.

If the company appeals a recent court ruling and wins, it will come as a blow to those who hope to see states around the country topple the remaining barriers both to same-sex marriage and to laws that protect gay people from discrimination.

(...)

If it does, it would be asking the 9th Court not only to rule that it is acceptable to exclude gay citizens from jury service, but also to make it more difficult to challenge anti-gay laws.

"If such an anti-gay assault by Abbott were successful, the drive for LGBT equality will still proceed, but Abbott would have made it a much more steep hill to climb," said Jon Davidson, the legal director at Lambda Legal, a gay rights advocacy group handling the case against Nevada's gay marriage ban.

Read the article here.

Learn more:

• Another Huge Week for LGBT Rights
• From Marriage Recognition to the Jury Box, the Windsor Decision Continues to Extend the Promise of Equality