Equal Justice Under Law? A History of LGBTQ+ Rights Before the United States Supreme Court
Join the Scripps Howard Center for the inaugural Six@Six Lecture of the 2026-2027 season! We want to thank the Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Center for being such enthusiastic partners and sharing our passion of connecting the community to lectures like these. As well, we would like to thank Jack Harrison from the NKU Chase College of Law for joining us as our lecturer for this event.
The Supreme Court of the United States sits at the apex of the American legal system, and its decisions on questions of constitutional law shape the lives of every person in the country. For LGBTQ+ Americans, gay men and lesbians, bisexual people, transgender and nonbinary individuals, the Court has served alternately as a fortress of oppression and a source of liberation. The arc of its jurisprudence on these issues is one of the most dramatic in American legal history.
This history surveys the major decisions in which the Supreme Court has grappled with the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, from the earliest relevant cases through the present day. It traces both the doctrinal evolution and the human stories behind the litigation, examining how shifts in constitutional interpretation reflected and shaped broader changes in American society.
It is not always true that the moral arc of the universe bends towards justice. This story is certainly not one of simple, uninterrupted progress. It is marked by setbacks, missed opportunities, tactical retreats by advocates, and the genuine complexity of constitutional adjudication. And it remains unfinished: questions about the rights of transgender people, the interaction of LGBTQ+ rights with religious liberty claims, and the durability of landmark precedents continue to be litigated before the Court.
SEATING IS LIMITED! Registration is required. Click HERE to register!
Speaker Jack Harrison, NKU Chase College of Law
Beginning with the 2023-24 academic year, Professor Jack Harrison became the inaugural David and Nancy Wolf Chair in Ethics and Professional Identity, Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law’s first endowed academic chair in its 130-year history. Professor Harrison currently teaches Civil Procedure, Torts, Professional Responsibility, and a seminar on Sexuality, Identity and the Law.
Prior to beginning his academic career with NKU Chase in 2011, Professor Harrison spent almost twenty years as a practicing attorney. In 2023, the Cincinnati Bar Association honored Professor Harrison with the Gerhardstein and Branch LGBTQ+ Legal Advocacy Award for the efforts he has made in furthering the cause of LGBTQ+ rights. Professor Harrison also recently served as Chair of the Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues of the American Association of Law Schools.
He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD, and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
