This course is taught under the assumption that most of the students attending this course do not intend to enter law schools or the employment of an in agency after their graduation. They take Gender Issues in the Law  because it is an alternative to fulfil the necessary credits or they believe it is something different. This course is therefore designed to provide an overview of the status of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans today.

This course engages students directly with important decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts to trace the development of rights pertaining to sexual orientation and identity, evolution of the right to privacy, regulation of parenthood, marriage and family; freedom of speech and expression;  and the US Military. The course emphasizes the important interface between law and the democratic political process in expanding the equality of the LGBT community.