Mission Statement:

OUTLAWs are law students committed to promoting awareness, education, support and appreciation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer legal issues and civil rights. We welcome everyone who is dedicated to our mission of furthering LGBTQ rights, regardless of age, sex, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.

Letter

to prospective students interested in OUTLAWS: click here
Note: if you received a hard copy of this letter in the mail, please note that the contact email is lcaudil1@oregon.edu NOT lcaudil11@uoregon.edu.

Next meeting:

Who: OUTLAWs and friends
What: Our first meeting of the semester.
When: Sunday 1/22/06, 7pm
Where: At the Director's house (email her for directions).
Why: To go over upcoming senate meeting and events, including a Seattle trip with the University of Washington Outlaws and the Girl4Girl Event next month, and also potentially stuffing envelopes with Lucy's letter encouraging LGBTQ law students to come to UO Law. After the meeting, the feel free to hang out for a screening of the L-word at 8pm, followed by a trip to John Henries for the Burlesque show at 9:30 pm with the Cruise Director. Also feel free to bring food/beverages to share.

About OUTLAWs:

We are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (and other-non-heterosexual) law students, as well as heterosexual allies who support equal rights. We are a diverse group with a variety of ethnicities, ages and religions, and we welcome everyone who is dedicated to LGBTQ rights

We organize panels and speakers on LGBTQ legal issues, and encourage the general public to attend. We also co-sponsor events with other legal organizations, such as the Womens Law Forum and the American Constitution Society of Law and Policy, for events on and off campus to address LGBTQ legal issues. This year we are making a greater effort to collaborate with our fellow Oregon LGBTQ law student organizations at Willamette Law School and Lewis and Clark Law School for joint-sponsored events.

For our biggest event of the year, we travel to the Lavender Law conference, a National LGBTQ law conference, to learn about a variety legal issues surrounding the LGBTQ community -- including marriage, tax law, immigration, employment discrimination, the Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, the Solomon Amendment, constitutional issues as well as activism work shops. This year we sent 13 University of Oregon OUTLAWs to San Diego to attend the Lavender Law conference. Last year we sent 8 to Minnesota, and in 2003, we sent 8 to New York City. Compared to most law schools, we have a very active LGBTQ law student organization.

For students who seek a more formal LGBTQ legal education, Professor Dom Vetri teaches a course on "Gay and Lesbian Legal Issues" every Spring semester. http://www.law.uoregon.edu/faculty/dvetri/

The OUTLAWs members have consistently been politically active in opposing public initiatives and legislative bills aimed at discriminating against Oregonians because of their sexual orientation, as well as advocating for policies that enhance the quality of life for the LGBTQ community. We host speakers to educate Oregon voters about the consequences of these laws. We attend rallies at the capitol building in Salem as well as organize phone trees to call state legislators.

To reward all the OUTLAWs for all their hard work, we do not underestimate the importance of having a fabulous time whenever we can. Click on the links below to see pictures and information of past events.