Larry and Lawrence

Abstract

The subject of my speech is Larry and Lawrence, a topic inspired by Larry's tireless efforts to fight the good fight for gay rights, and one that has been an integral part of his life as an academic and a lawyer. I will focus on the central question raised by Lawrence v. Texas-whether the fight for gay rights should be waged on the terrain of equal protection or substantive due process-in order to offer a friendly critique of Larry's work on the subject. My argument is that equality, not liberty, is the most promising framework for future gay rights litigation. Perhaps I offer only a friendly amendment, as Larry has written as a scholar about the relationship between liberty and gay rights and thus has not explicitly addressed the tactical question I consider here. Offering a critique, even a friendly one, seems like an odd thing to do at an event celebrating someone's career. But academics are a strange tribe. The gift that we give to one another is to engage with each other's ideas. Larry has spent his life questioning the fundamental premises that undergird legal analysis. It would be passing strange not to respond in the same cadence.