The Center for Gender & Sexuality Law's mission is to formulate new approaches to complex issues facing gender and sexual justice movements. Founded by Professor Katherine Franke with co-director Suzanne Goldberg, The Center for Gender and Sexuality Law has established Columbia Law School as the preeminent law school for the study of and specialization in the law of gender and sexuality. The Center is the base for many research projects and initiatives focused on issues of gender, sexuality, reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and gender identity and expression in law, policy, and professional practice.
A core focus of the Center's work is to provide students with opportunities to supplement their curricular learning through lectures, panel discussions, conferences, and guest speaker series on a multitude of contemporary issues regarding Gender and Sexuality Law, including civil rights, bodily autonomy and reproductive justice, the rights of transgender, nonbinary and gender non-conforming persons, the rights and experiences of intersex persons, and gender norms in public space.
The Center for Gender & Sexuality Law is committed, too, to supporting the Columbia Law School alumni community. All of our events are free and open to the public, and we offer several CLE programs each year to Columbia Law School alums and the New York City legal community.
Publications from 2023
Document: Columbia Law School’s ERA Project Releases New Policy Paper Demonstrating Race-Based Gap in Who Benefits From Sex Discrimination Laws, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: ERA Project FAQ on the Court of Appeals Decision in Illinois v. Ferreiro, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: Possible Avenues for Action Related to the Equal Rights Amendment, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: Testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee by the ERA Project at Columbia Law School and Constitutional Law Scholars on Joint Resolution S.J.Res. 4: Removing the Deadline for the Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, Katherine M. Franke, Laurence H. Tribe, Geoffrey R. Stone, Melissa Murray, and Michael C. Dorf
Paper: The Sex Equality Gap: How the 20th Century Sex Equality Paradigm Continues to Leave Women of Color Behind, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Publications from 2022
Document: A Religious Right to Abortion: Legal History and Analysis, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: Biden Administration Revises Federal Government Position on Validity of the Equal Rights Amendment, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: Columbia Law Experts Submit Two Briefs to Supreme Court in Free Speech/LGB Rights Case, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law on Leaked Dobbs Opinion, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: Critical Race Theory: FAQ, Candace Bond-Theriault
Document: ERA and Abortion Talking Points, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: ERA Project OLC Letter, Katherine M. Franke, David E. Pozen, Erwin Chemerinsky, Melissa Murray, Laurence H. Tribe, Martha Minow, Geoffrey C. Stone, Cary Franklin, Michael C. Dorf, and Victoria Nourse
Document: ERA Project Summary of Argument Before PA Supreme Court on Whether Medicaid Abortion Ban Amounts to Sex Discrimination, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: ERA Project Summary of Argument Before PA Supreme Court on Whether Medicaid Abortion Ban Amounts to Sex Discrimination, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: FAQ on the New York State Equality Amendment, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: FAQ on the U.S. Archivist and the Future of the Equal Rights Amendment, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: Parading the Horribles: The Risks of Expanding Religious Exemptions, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: Statement from Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law on the Supreme Court Decision Overruling the Constitutional Right to Abortion, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: The Equal Rights Amendment and LGBTQ Rights, Including Marriage Equality, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: The Impacts of Compulsory Prison Labor Ballot Initiatives on Pregnant & Postpartum Incarcerated Women of Color, Candace Bond-Theriault
Document: What Comes Now? Religious Liberty and the End of Roe, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Publications from 2021
Document: Columbia Law School Center for Gender and Sexuality Law Launches New ERA Project, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: Columbia Law School ERA Project FAQ on Legal Issues Surrounding Final Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: Columbia Law School ERA Project Statement on Virginia v. Ferriero, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: Columbia Law School's ERA Project Files Amicus Brief with PA Supreme Court Explaining Why Banning Public Funding for Abortion Violates the State ERA, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: ERA Joint Resolution on Timeline for Ratification, Ben Cardin and Lisa Murkowski
Document: ERA Project FAQ on the District Court's Decision in Virginia v. Ferriero, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: FAQ on the Current Status of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: In Fulton Decision, SCOTUS Solidifies Expansion of Religious Exercise Rights, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: May 2021 ERA Update, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: New Report Documenting Abortion Bans in Protestant & Secular Hospitals in the U.S. South, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: Our Work in the World, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: Religion's Ascension to a Top-Tier Right During COVID: New Report Unpacks the Supreme Court’s Recent Religious Liberty Cases, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: The Equal Rights Amendment and the Equality Act: Talking Points, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: The Equal Rights Amendment and the Equality Act: Two Equality Measures Explained, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: The ERA Brief June 2021, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: The ERA Brief October 2021, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Document: Ting Ting Cheng Appointed as Director of Columbia Law School’s ERA Project, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Report: The Southern Hospitals Report, Elizabeth Reiner Platt, Katherine M. Franke, Candace Bond-Theriault, and Amy Littlefield
Report: We the People (of Faith): The Supremacy of Religious Rights in the Shadow of a Pandemic, Elizabeth Reiner Platt, Katherine M. Franke, and Lilia Hadjiivanova
Publications from 2020
Document: Legal Scholars & Theologians Partner on an Ambitious Vision for Religious Liberty, Elizabeth Reiner Platt
Document: Major Federal Court Victory for Religious Liberty Rights of Immigrants' Rights Activists, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: Professor Katherine Franke Joins Supreme Court Brief Urging Limits to Religious Exemptions in Same-Sex Parenting Case, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: Religious Liberty Challenges to Health Care in the Age of COVID-19 – Supreme Court Arguments in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Report: All Faiths & None: A Guide to Protecting Religious Liberty for Everyone, Elizabeth Reiner Platt, Katherine M. Franke, Keisha E. McKenzie, and Katharine Rhodes Henderson
Publications from 2019
Document: Columbia Law Professor Comments on Federal Court Conviction of Four Migrants' Rights Activists for Leaving Water and Food in the Arizona Desert, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: Columbia Law Scholars Respond to New HHS Rule, "Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care", Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: Law Professors File Amicus Brief on Religious Liberty Rights in Appeal from Criminal Conviction of AZ Immigrants Rights Activists, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: Legal Scholars File Brief in Case in Which the Department of Justice Rejects Religious Liberty Rights of Non-Profit That Provides Safe Space to Injection Drug Users, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: New Report Surveys Extent of Religious Liberty Activism on the Left, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: New Year, New Name: The Public Rights/Private Conscience Project is Now the Law, Rights, and Religion Project, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Document: Professor Katherine Franke Joins an Amicus Brief in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and New Jersey v. Trump, Law, Rights, and Religion Project
Report: Whose Faith Matters? The Fight for Religious Liberty Beyond the Christian Right, Elizabeth Reiner Platt, Katherine M. Franke, Kira Shepherd, and Lilia Hadjiivanova
Publications from 2018
Document: Comment on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Rule, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Devalued, Turned Away, and Refused Health Care: What Happens to Women of Color When Religion Dictates Patient Care, Elizabeth Boylan
Document: “First Amendment Defense Act” (FADA) is Reintroduced in the Senate, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: New Report Details Consequences of Trump Administration’s Overly Broad Guidance on Religious Liberty, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project and Center for American Progress
Document: Professor Katherine Franke Files Amicus Briefs on Religious Liberty Claims Raised in Federal Prosecutions of Activists in Arizona Who Left Water and Food in Desert for Migrants, Elizabeth Boylan
Document: Professors of Law and Religion File Brief Supporting Arizona Immigration Rights Activist's Use of RFRA as a Defense to Federal Criminal Prosecution, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Religion, Discrimination, and Government Funding: Enforcing Civil Rights Law After Masterpiece Cakeshop and Trinity Lutheran, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Report: Bearing Faith: The Limits of Catholic Health Care for Women of Color, Kira Shepherd, Elizabeth Reiner Platt, Katherine M. Franke, and Elizabeth Boylan
Report: Religious Liberty for a Select Few, Sharita Gruberg, Frank J. Bewkes, Elizabeth Reiner Platt, Katherine M. Franke, and Claire Markham
Publications from 2017
Document: Amicus Brief to U.S. Supreme Court in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Human Rights Commission, Katherine M. Franke and Elizabeth Reiner Platt
Document: Columbia Law Experts Denounce DOJ Religious Liberty Guidance as Attack on Religious Liberty and Fundamental Equality Rights, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Columbia Law Experts Denounce Federal Guidance Allowing Religious and Moral Discrimination in Contraceptive Coverage, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Columbia Law School Think Tank Files Amicus Brief in SCOTUS Case, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Columbia Law School Think Tank Provides Testimony to New York City Council on Gender and Racial Equity Training, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Columbia Law School Think Tank Submits Amicus Brief in Transgender Rights Case, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Dignity Denied: Religious Exemptions and LGBT Elder Services, Elizabeth Boylan
Document: EEOC Proposed Guidance Shows We Can Protect Religious Freedom & LGBTQ Rights, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Five Key Questions to Ask About the New Executive Order on Religious Liberty, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Joint Statement by the Council on American-Islamic Relations of New York & Columbia Law School’s Public Rights/Private Conscience Project, Council on American-Islamic Relations of New York and Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Potential Consequences of Trump’s “Religious Freedom” Executive Order, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Proposed New York State Health Regulation Contains Troubling Exemption: The Public Rights/Private Conscience Project Responds to a Proposal on Abortion Access, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Trump and Cabinet Nominees Seek to Restrict Muslim Rights, Break Down the Wall Between Church and State, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Trump’s Executive Order Barring Refugees is Unconstitutional: Order Expresses a Religious Preference in Violation of the Establishment Clause, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Report: Church, State & the Trump Administration, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Report: Dignity Denied: Religious Exemptions and LGBT Elder Services, Movement Advancement Project (MAP), Public Rights/Private Conscience Project, and SAGE - Advocacy Services for LGBT Elders
Report: Unmarried and Unprotected: How Religious Liberty Bills Harm Pregnant People, Families, and Communities of Color, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Publications from 2016
Document: Brief for Amici Curiae Church-State Scholars in Support of Respondents in Zubik v. Burwell, Elizabeth Boylan
Document: Comments Submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services Regarding Religious Exemptions to Contraceptive Coverage, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Memorandum on Mississippi House Bill 1523, Katherine M. Franke, Michèle Alexandre, Deborah A. Challener, Judith J. Johnson, Richard Gershon, Elizabeth A. Sepper, Noa Ben-Asher, Daria Roithmayr, and Nomi M. Stolzenberg
Document: State & Federal Religious Accommodation Bills: Overview of the 2015-2016 Legislative Session, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Document: Testimony on Pennsylvania SB1306: No Additional Protections for Religious Freedom, Katherine M. Franke, Burton Caine, Lenore F. Carpenter, Eric A. Feldman, Thersa Glennon, Nancy J. Knauer, Jules Lobel, Wendell Pritchett, Dara E. Purvis, Brishen Rogers, Victor C. Romero, Kathryn M. Stanchi, and Nancy A. Welsh
Document: Testimony Regarding the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), Katherine M. Franke, Elizabeth A. Sepper, Ariela Gross, Sylvia A. Law, Martin S. Flaherty, Suzanne B. Goldberg, Carol Sanger, J. Stephen Clark, Florens Wagman Roisman, Gregory Magarian, Caroline Mala Corbin, Nomi Stolzenberg, Carlos A. Ball, Aaron Ezra Waldman, Aziza Ahmed, Jennifer A. Drobac, Deborah Widiss, Arthur S. Leonard, and Martha M. Ertman
Document: What's at Stake for Women of Color in Zubik v. Burwell, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project
Publications from 2014
Document: Columbia Law Professor Katherine Franke Creates Public Rights/Private Conscience Project, Columbia University Public Affairs
Report: Our Fair City: A Comprehensive Blueprint for Gender and Sexual Justice in New York City, Cindy Gao and Katherine M. Franke
Publications from 2012
Paper: Engaging With Tradition: Mechanisms, Strategies, and Tactics, Michael Edwards
Publications from 2011
Article: Open Service and Our Allies: A Report on the Inclusion of Openly Gay and Lesbian Servicemembers in U. S. Allies' Armed Forces, Suzanne B. Goldberg