Law school’s annual Lavender Lecture discusses LGBTQ+ rights in the military

Attorney Bridget Wilson gave a presentation to USD students, staff and community members about LGBTQ+ equality in the military this past Monday night, an opportunity in itself that proves how far the issue has evolved, she said.

Wilson’s lecture was the fourth Lavender Lecture hosted by USD’s School of Law, which centered around educating South Dakota community members about LGBTQ+ issues and how they relate to law.

Wilson gave an hour-long presentation in the Law School courtroom on events affecting LGBTQ+ service members, the anticipated demise of the prohibitions on trans service and a brief review on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell – a law that prohibited gay and lesbian people from serving in the military.

Wilson practices military law at a private practice in San Diego, Calif., and has been involved with LGBTQ+ rights for some time, she said during her presentation.

This topic is important to her because of her military background, she added.

“At some point every member in my family has worn the uniform in some manner,” she said. “It was something that mattered to me. And when I came to San Diego it was during periods of times in the 70s and 80s when a really large part of prosecutions and investigations were going on and we at the center were helping people survive.”

Wilson said that being able to come and talk at USD is proof of how much society has changed since then.

“Young people are so different,” she said. “Young people don’t care like people my age. The fact that people are gay is so not an issue for young people, it’s a huge improvement and represents change. The fact that I’m in Vermillion, South Dakota with this represents change.”

Junior Michelle Novak, one of about 30 students that attended the event, said she took away a lot from Wilson’s speech.

“The major take away that I got from this speaker was that she explained that to bring about change, we do not need a powerful leader,” Novak said. “To make lasting change it requires individuals to band together and speak out against the status quo.”

Novak said she also learned more about LGBTQ+ members in the military.

“I thought the speaker did a great job presenting the past military policies that lead up to ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell,’” she said. “Also, the information on the current state of LGBT individuals currently serving in the military was compelling. It was great to be able to have this caliber of speaker at USD.”

Wilson, who has spoken on the topic several times throughout the country, said she was thrilled to bring this issue to South Dakota.

“This is wonderful,” she said. “I told everyone how happy I am to be in South Dakota. I grew up in Council Bluffs in Omaha. It’s delightful, the whole idea of lecturing on LGBT equality issues here in the Plains. What a wonderful thing for me to do. It really represents sustained change in our society that I am here.”