Marriage & Family Rights:
Who's Allowed and Who Decides?

Public Discussion

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

In light of the legal battles over same-sex marriage rights, a panel of experts explore the ethical dimensions of the debate and aim to reframe the discussion by highlighting the range of viewpoints on the concepts of marriage and family rights. This program seeks to expand the current debates by including perspectives on the broader meaning of 'family', the history of the institution of marriage and the many forms of family that can be found around the world. 

The resulting dialogue will promote a deeper understanding of the ethical issues surrounding marriage and family rights, and encourage rigorous discussion for future personal and public policy decisions.

This event is coordinated in conjuction with UNC’s first year student summer reading book selection, "Covering: the Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights," by Kenji Yoshino. For a  further listing of gender related events  across campus this year, please visit: www.carolinacreativecampus.org.

Sponsored by the Parr Center for Ethics, LGBTQ Center, the Provost's Committee on LGBTQ Life, Difficult Dialogues and the Center for Global Initiatives.

Location: FedEx Global Education Center, Nelson Mandela Auditorium
(Room 1015), 6:30pm. This event is free and open to the public.

Parking: Free parking is available in the deck underneath the FedEx Global Education Center building. Access to the deck is off of McCauley St.

Keynote Presentation:
Mercy and Love -- The Continuing Revelation

Frank Schaeffer, fiction and nonfiction writer; and author of Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back, a chronicle of his evangelical upbringing and his own role in organizing the political efforts of Christian fundamentalists.

Panelists:

Philip Cohen, Associate Professor of Sociology at UNC-Chapel Hill

Tami Fitzgerald, Executive Director of NC4Marriage; and Staff Attorney, North Carolina Family Policy Council

Terri Phoenix, Director, UNC LGBTQ Center

Erica Roedder, Visiting Professor of Philosophy at UNC-Chapel Hill

Randall Styers, Associate Professor of Religion and Culture at UNC-Chapel Hill

Moderator:

Dean Blackburn, Assistant Dean of Students, Community Relations at UNC-Chapel Hill