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64 Alb. L. Rev. 905 (2000-2001)
Domestic Partnership, Civil Unions, or Marriage: One Size Does Not Fit All

handle is hein.journals/albany64 and id is 917 raw text is: SPEECH DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP, CIVIL UNIONS, OR MARRIAGE: ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL Paula L. Ettelbrick* Among this remarkable gathering of scholars, I'd like to talk to you as a legal strategist and family advocate. And, I'd like to voice my continued belief that the best course for family advocates to pursue is that which recognizes the caring and committed relationships of all families-not just those who wish to marry and not just those that include lesbian and gay couples. Not so long ago, the term gay or lesbian family was an oxymoron-a legally impossible and functionally undesirable notion. Lesbians and gay men did not fit into the world's understanding of family. At the same time, the idea of family had not yet been claimed by lesbians and gay men. Standing here now, it's difficult for most of us to even remember those times given the virtual revolution that has occurred in re-thinking and re-configuring the basis for recognizing, or not, certain kinds of families. It is important to remind ourselves, particularly in a law school forum like this, that social change doesn't just happen. It is a dynamic process involving theory, strategy, advocacy, and the story of human lives. It is the dynamic process of history in which we know that nothing ever stays the same-even the role, function, and definition of family. Despite the religious right's insistence on the existence of the traditional family, from which far too many Americans have * Paula Ettelbrick was introduced at the Symposium in the following way: Our next speaker is Paula Ettelbrick who is a nationally known civil rights attorney and also the Family Policy Director for the Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, which is a national think tank. Throughout her career Paula has been dedicated to developing legal strategies, alliances, and solutions for enhancing the recognition of all families in the law and social systems. She's written and spoken a lot about these issues and she teaches Sexuality and the Law as an adjunct professor at New York University Law School, University of Michigan Law School, and Barnard College. 905