Conversation to focus on gay marriage

Thu, March 29, 2007 |

Valparaiso University’s Conversations Project will conclude April 3 with the program “Gay Marriage: Civil Right or Civil Wrong?”

The program will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Christopher Center for Library and Information Resources on campus. The event is free and open to the public.

A panel of area and nationally-known speakers will discuss and spark conversation among audience members regarding gay marriage. Panelists are:

• Patrick Lee, the author of “Abortion and Unborn Human Life” and a professor of bioethics and director of the bioethics program at Franciscan University of Steubenville;

• Father Patrick Ormos, senior pastor at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Valparaiso and president of the Valparaiso Christian Ministerial Association;

• Dr. Richard Stith, a professor of law at Valparaiso who serves as a member of the Board of Editors of the American Journal of Comparative Law and the Advisory Council of the National Lawyers Association; and

• Don Evans, a Valparaiso law graduate who has a private practice in Valparaiso and is active in First United Methodist Church.

Panelists and audience members will be invited to continue the conversation while enjoying refreshments during a post-event reception.

The goals of the Conversations Project are to promote non-partisan and non-adversarial discussion on issues of national importance, enhance mutual understanding and political reconciliation through community conversations, and to forge connections between the University and wider Valparaiso community. The program is supported by the VU School of Law, Valparaiso Law Democrats, Valparaiso Law Republicans and the Valparaiso Project on Civic Reflection.

For more information about the Conversations Project, contact Dr. Jeremy Telman, assistant professor of law, at (219) 465-7811 or Jeremy.Telman@valpo.edu.