Capitalism & the Family

Capitalism & the Family from Students For Liberty on Vimeo.

Prof. Steve Horwitz explains how capitalism has changed the nature of the family. About one hour.

Love and Obstacles: The Case for Gay Marriage

David Boies is a founder of and the chairman of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner. This year, with Theodore Olson, he successfully argued in federal court for the overturning of Proposition 8, California's ban of same-sex marriage. He previously served as lead counsel to Al Gore in his litigation relating to the 2000 Presidential election and as special trial counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice in its successful antitrust suit against Microsoft. In 2004, he published "Courting Justice."

Brian S. Brown is the president of the National Organization for Marriage, a non-profit organization that supports traditional marriage and the faith communities that sustain it. Previously, he served as NOM's executive director and as the executive director of NOM-California. Before joining NOM, he spent five years as the executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, during which time he developed it into one of the largest statewide pro-family organizations in the Northeast.

R. Clarke Cooper is the executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, an organization charged with building an inclusive Republican Party and advocating for gay-rights legislation. He is also the executive director of the Liberty Education Forum, a nonpartisan educational foundation. Previously, he served in the George W. Bush Administration as a diplomat; in his last position, he was an alternate representative to the United Nations Security Council. He is a combat veteran from the Iraq campaign and remains a captain in the Army Reserve.

Cynthia Nixon is an actress who has won two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award. Last spring, at a gay-marriage rally in New York, she announced her engagement to Christine Marinoni. Last fall, she spoke at the National Equality March, in Washington, and this year she has devoted much of her time to Fight Back New York, a political-action committee whose sole purpose is to unseat New York State senators who have voted against marriage equality.

Gene Robinson was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003, becoming the first openly gay diocesan bishop in the Anglican Communion. In 2009, he received the Stephen F. Kolzak Media Award from GLAAD. Last January, he delivered the invocation at the opening event of President Obama's inaugural weekend. He is the author of "In the Eye of the Storm" and the subject of the forthcoming documentary "The Truth Will Set You Free."

Jeffrey Toobin is a New Yorker staff writer and the author of, most recently, "The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court."

Libertarian Case for Marriage Equality

44 years ago this month, the Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia ended state bans on interracial marriage in the 16 states that still had such laws. Now the courts are once again grappling with denial of equal marriage rights -- this time to gay couples. Robert A. Levy is the Chairman of the Cato Institute and presented the libertarian case for respecting an individual's right to marry whomever they wish at a Policy Forum on marriage equality at Cato on May 18th.

Déjà vu all over again.

The second video is 5 minutes and it a reading of a letter from Mildred Loving about marriage equality.

Here Ted Olson and David Boies discuss their efforts to expand marriage equality.

The Constitutional Case for Marriage Equality

About 7 minutes, produced by the Cato Institute.

The Case for Marriage Equality

The 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia ended state bans on interracial marriage in the 16 states that still had such laws. Now, 44 years after Loving, the courts are once again grappling with denial of equal marriage rights — this time to gay couples. Two California couples have filed suit against Proposition 8, the 2008 initiative that limited marriage to opposite-sex couples. The American Foundation for Equal Rights engaged David Boies and Ted Olson to lead the legal challenge. The plaintiffs in Perry v. Schwarzenegger won in federal district court, and the case is now on appeal. Plaintiffs argue that Proposition 8 violates the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the U.S. Constitution and impermissibly singles out gay and lesbian individuals for a disfavored legal status. The speakers on our panel believe that the principle of equality before the law transcends the left-right divide and cuts to the core of our nation's character.

Featuring the co-counsels, David Boies, Chairman, Boies, Schiller & Flexner and Former Chief Counsel, Senate Judiciary Committee; and Theodore B. Olson, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Former Solicitor General. With comments by the co-chairs of the advisory board of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, Robert A. Levy, Chairman, Cato Institute; and John Podesta, President, Center for American Progress. About 90 minutes.

Marriage Equality: A Debate

With a potentially precedent-setting legal challenge to California's Proposition 8 working its way through the federal court system, the National Constitution Center presents a timely program on the issue of same-sex marriage. Last November, California voters approved the Proposition 8 ballot measure, amending their state Constitution to ban marriages between same-sex couples. A lawsuit filed on behalf of two gay couples wishing to marry has attracted national attention.

David Boies, one of the leading lawyers in the case, is joined in a conversation by Keith Boykin, anti-marriage advocate Maggie Gallagher and Glenn Stanton. Margot Adler moderates. About 1:45.

Overtuning Proposition 8

David Boies has been deeply involved in some of the most prominent legal disputes of the past two decades. From serving as special counsel to the Justice Department in the United States v. Microsoft trial to representing Vice President Al Gore in the Bush v. Gore case following the 2000 presidential election, Boies' legal experience is extensive and varied.

Currently, Boies and former Solicitor General Theodore Olson are working to overturn California's Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage. In a recent interview with Salon.com, Boies asserted that overturning this legislation will "improve the lives of gay and lesbian couples...it will not in any way harm heterosexual marriage." In 2010, Boies was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. Boies will provide a behind-the-scenes look at his most well-known cases, including Prop. 8, and provide insight into what it takes to challenge the status quo and make legal history. About 70 minutes.