The clash between the claims of religious conservatives to “religious freedom” and the rights of sexual minorities to equality has featured in every debate over the rights of sexual minorities. The Vatican, evangelical Christian Americans and Islamic countries have been working in concert to resist our rights claims domestically and internationally. A Christian leader, a gay Muslim lawyer, Israeli law professor, and a legal expert discuss current developments and strategies for effectively responding to our religious opposition.

Once the right to live is secured, the right to express our sexuality without fear of criminal prosecution is central to our human rights. Sodomy statutes that arose out of religious prohibitions were once common around the world. With a few exceptions, such laws have been crumbling under a sustained series of legal assaults domestically and internationally. Panelists will discuss the UNHRC ruling in Toonen, the ECHR rulings beginning with Dudgeon and Norris, and the current efforts to role back section 377 of the Indian Criminal Code.

A new documentary from Canada's award winning National Film Board. The film features the couples involved in British Columbia's same sex marriage litigation.

• 1.1 Right to Live: “ The Right to Health”
  Moderator: Rodney Croome
  Panelists: Cynthia Petersen, Jenny Pizer

  For over 30 years sexual minorities have been working to overcome the “disease” model of discrimination. Today, our right to health remains a crucial issue. Panelists will describe a range of issues including access to family health insurance and the gender reassignment surgery rights of transgendered persons.

• 3.2 Right to Love: “Family Formation and Recognition: Barriers, Challenges, Opportunities” sponsored by Dewar Communications
  Moderator: Lorraine Weinrib
  Panelists: Katherine Arnup, Francesc Jaurena, Yuval Merin, Ed Stein

  This workshop examines two of the most daunting challenges to full recognition of our families: adoption and mobility. Panelists will examine the approaches taken to adoption in two nations, Canada and Spain. Panelists will also discuss efforts to limit recognition of same sex relationships by constitutional amendment in the USA, and the ability of married same sex couples to achieve legal recognition of their marriages in other jurisdictions.

• 4.5 Regional Roundup: Europa
  Moderators: Helmut Graupner
  Panelists: Stefano Fabeni, Karon Monaghan, Rob Wintemute

• 3.3 Right to Love: “Making the Winning Case for Marriage” sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association
  Co-moderators: Douglas Elliott, Lorraine Weinrib
  Panelists:
  • Trial advocacy: the judge’s perspective - Hon. David Corbett, Superiour Court of Justice for Ontario
  • Winning strategies in Massachusetts: Mary Bonauto
  • Winning strategies in Ontario: Joanna Radbord
  • Advocacy in the Court of US Public Opinion: Evan Wolfson
  • Advocacy in the Court of Canadian Public Opinion: Jaime Watt

Presentation of the Karl Heinrich Ulrichs Award
Please note: this dinner is not included in the cost of registration. Persons who are not registered, such as partners or spouse, are welcome without registering. Dinner is CDN $85 per person, or CDN $150 per couple.

Due to constraints imposed by the size of this facility, the number of tickets available is strictly limited and will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Registration does not guarantee the right to a ticket to this dinner.