Mercer Law Review Symposium

The 2025 Mercer Law Review Symposium will be titled “The Freedom-to-Marry Movement: Legacy and Lessons.”

There will be three panels:

PANEL #1 - The Family Law Legacy of the Freedom-to-Marry Movement

The freedom-to-marry movement sparked sometimes unintended reactions, including accelerated legal recognition of nonmarital partners and new alternative legal institutions such as Domestic Partnerships, Civil Unions, and Reciprocal Beneficiaries. This panel plans to explore this path and the resilience of these legal innovations for same- and different-sex couples. Obergefell and its progeny, Pavan v. Smith, also have raised family law questions that have yet to be definitively resolved, such as the constitutionality of discrimination in parentage presumptions between same- and different-sex spouses. Finally, the panel will also address topics such as the possible legal recognition for polyamorous relationships, which have been discussed since Obergefell.

PANEL #2 - The Constitutional Law Legacy of the Freedom-to-Marry Movement

This panel will discuss the extent and even viability of the Obergefell legacy in light of recent Supreme Court decisions, such as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and Department of State v. Muñoz, retreating from both the substantive due process jurisprudence that underpinned Obergefell and the traditionally robust understanding of constitutional marriage rights. This continuing viability may rely on alternative rationales such as stare decisis, equal protection, or even religion clause principles. Panelists may also address recent First Amendment jurisprudence as it threatens to narrow the rights of same-sex spouses.

PANEL #3 - Movement Legacies and Lessons

Forty years ago, civil rights legend Bayard Rustin described lessons from other civil rights movements, which could inform gay rights activists in the 1980s. More recently, Evan Wolfson, an architect of the freedom-to-marry movement, has outlined several lessons of that movement that could be applied by activists in other fields, ranging from Palestinian peacemakers to transgender rights activists. Some activists may embrace these suggestions, while others may passionately reject them. This panel will explore how various civil rights movements have learned and borrowed from each other over time, possibly carving out lessons for current and future movements as well.

More information will be forthcoming.