LGBTQ+ Rights In the Trump Era Is Symposium Topic at Catholic Law School

LGBTQ+ rights in light of the 2024 US presidential election was the focus of a recent symposium at Fordham Law School, a Catholic law school based in New York CityThe event was sponsored by Fordham OUTLaws, the LGBTQ+ student group at the law school,  reported s the Fordham Observer. 

A panel at the OUTLaws symposium

Students, legal professionals, and activists attended the symposium which was The event, a key part of Fordham’s 2025 Week of Abolition, a time dedicated to fostering justice and advocacy within the legal field.

“If you think for a moment you’re not doing enough, or that you’re not doing the right thing, I want you to think again. You’re doing everything right by preparing for a career in which you advocate, counsel, speak up, and fight,” Dean Joseph Landau of Fordham Law told attendees during the event’s kickoff.

Throughout the symposium, panelists discussed the importance of community organizing, civic engagement, and voter participation. Dominic Cigna, an event co-chair, introduced the first panel, which examined the future of LGBTQ+ rights under a Supreme Court influenced by Trump-appointed justices. Cigna emphasized the need for political action to safeguard the rights of trans youth, even in progressive cities like New York.

“We’ve seen proof that passive existence is not enough,” Cigna said. “We must actively engage in elections at every level to protect all of us.”

Alexia Korberg, executive director of Her Justice, an organization that offers legal help to women experiencing poverty in New York City, a panelist,said that the current Supreme Court was no longer helpful for advancing social justice issues and LGBTQ+ rights.

“I think it’s a farce that we’re doing rule of law on constitutional issues,” Korberg stated. 

Lauren Zimmerman, a partner at Selendy Gay PLLC, who has litigated book bans at public schools and libraries, shared Korber’s concerns about judicial rulings regarding LGBTQ+ rights and free expression.

“I think that the gloves are off in terms of the reasoning for why books can be removed,” Zimmerman said. 

Panelist Gabriella Laros, an attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union, talked about recent legal battles against Nassau County’s efforts to bar trans athletes from sports. 

Despite New York’s robust laws protecting LGBTQ+ people, panelists agreed that civic engagement is the most essential action to take right now. New York City ranks second-to-last among major U.S. cities in voter turnout, a statistic that underscores the need for political mobilization. Filament Kind, an intern at Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas’s office, argued that voting is just the beginning of advocacy.

“There’s so much more that we can do,” Kind said. “Engaging in your community and assisting your community is also incredibly valuable.”

Zimmerman agreed, stating: “Encourage you to get your friends to pay attention to local politics, board elections, understand what jurisdiction, what districts near you are doing what, and focus on candidates that’ll help us with the issues we want, because I think it’s really easy right now to put our heads in the sand.”

—Elsie Carson-Holt, New Ways Ministry, April 8, 2025