it is all going to begin with a presentation of the book end its main issues of history by catherine frankie. she is the professor of law, director of the center for gender and sexual along which is a wonderful institution if we are happy to collaborate with and the author of wedlock, the perils of marriage equality and why you press 2015 just recently on. catherine has been working on marriage, gender justice, transitional justice, gender issues of gender and grace in law, she is a legal theorist, academic, activist, public intellectual and an amazing human being. i am happy to be celebrating her this afternoon. our speakers will go in this order. we are first going to have patricia williams, professor of law at columbia, the author of balcony of race and rights, the rooster's egg, the blind goddess, and you know doubt know her through her monthly column for the nation magazine, diary of a mad law professor in which you can subscribe to at www. mattlotprofessor bliss second speaker will be the ssc professor of sociology at barnard college who code directs the resource center for minority ag

please help me welcome catherine frankie. [applause] >> thank you so much. i teach in a room like this. >> here is the book. very exciting. thank you all. [applause] thank you all for coming. it coming. it is wonderful to have you come out and honor this work and honor thinking about marriage in a complicated way. i no so many of you do that in your own work. so i appreciate having company because the perspectives i have are not always the most popular within the gay community. you are my committee right now. and thank you for cosponsoring this event along with my own center. when i was in college at bernard college sodomy was a crime. but i moved here from illinois to a state that criminalize to our was or at least the things i did. and twice while i was a student i was assaulted by police. and they hurled homophobic epitaphs of me. another time i was beaten up by some guys over here and riverside park , and police stood by and watched. so for people in my generation or for me the idea that a lot later we return to state regulations as a way to be more free