A
group
of
gay
and
lesbian
lawyers
is
protesting
the
Atlanta
Bar
Association’s
decision
to
honor
former
Georgia
Attorney
General
Michael
Bowers
with
an
esteemed
Leadership
Award,
arguing
that
Bowers’
most
famous
legal
victory
“is
one
of
the
most
shameful
[court
decisions]
of
our
era.”
In
the
1986
U.S.
Supreme
Court
case
known
as
Bowers
v.
Hardwick,
Bowers
successfully
defended
Georgia’s
anti-sodomy
law
against
a
challenge
by
Michael
Hardwick,
a
gay
man
who
was
arrested
inside
his
Atlanta
apartment
for
engaging
in
consensual
oral
sex
with
another
man.
The
5-4
decision
in
Bowers
v.
Hardwick
technically
made
it
illegal
to
be
a
sexually
active
gay
man
or
lesbian
in
Georgia,
until
the
Georgia
Supreme
Court
struck
down
the
state
sodomy
law
12
years
later.
The
U.S.
Supreme
Court
also
reversed
Bowers
v.
Hardwick
with
its
2003
ruling
in
Lawrence
v.
Texas.
“Thanks
to
[Bowers’]
efforts,
our
community
suffered
through
an
additional
two
decades
of
discrimination
based
on
the
sodomy
statues,”
Lori
Surmay,
president
of
the
gay
Stonewall
Bar
Association,
wrote
in
a
Sept.
12
letter
to
Atlanta
Bar
Association
President
Richard
Herzog.
“During
that
time,
those
statues
were
used
commonly
as
an
excuse
to
treat
members
of
our
community
as
second-class
citizens,
or
worse,”
Surmay
wrote.
“The
conferral
of
the
Leadership
Award
on
Mr.
Bowers
devalues
the
award
itself
and
undermines
the
judgment
of
the
Atlanta
Bar.”
Bowers
is
scheduled
to
be
honored
at
the
Atlanta
Bar
Association’s
Leadership
Awards
Luncheon
on
Oct.
3,
along
with
U.S.
District
Court
Judge
Orinda
Evans,
both
of
whom
were
selected
by
Herzog.
The
Leadership
Award
is
bestowed
upon
local
attorneys
who
“inspire
by
their
example,
challenge
by
their
deeds,
and
remind
us
all
of
our
debt
to
our
profession
and
community,”
according
to
the
bar
association,
which
cites
some
6,300
members
in
the
Atlanta
area.
“I
thought
that
Judge
Evans
and
Mr.
Bowers
were
both
sort
of
overdue,
and
both
continue
to
have
long
careers
of
leadership
in
the
Atlanta
legal
community,”
Herzog
said
during
an
interview
Sept.
13.
During
his
16-year
tenure
as
attorney
general,
Bowers
kept
the
state
law
department
independent
from
an
overbearing
state
legislature
and
executive
branch,
and
had
a
reputation
for
hiring
and
promoting
women
and
minority
lawyers,
Herzog
said.
Herzog
consulted
with
a
number
of
people
before
selecting
Bowers,
and
said
he
didn’t
expect
the
Stonewall
Bar
Association
to
respond
to
his
decision
with
anger.
“I
now
understand
the
intensity
of
their
feelings,”
said
Herzog,
who
met
with
Surmay
before
the
Labor
Day
holiday.
“I’m
disappointed
they’re
taking
this
public
stand,
but
I
certainly
understand
where
they’re
coming
from.
“That
being
said,
I
think
Michael
Bowers
is
a
deserving
honoree,”
said
Herzong,
adding
that
the
Leadership
Awards
luncheon
will
proceed
as
scheduled.
“I
don’t
see
any
middle
ground
in
this
situation,
but
[the
Atlanta
and
Stonewall
bar
associations]
do
intend
to
continue
working
together
on
common
goals
and
projects,”
Herzog
said.
‘Outrageous’
award
Surmay’s
Sept.
12
letter
to
Herzog
was
written
after
her
discussion
with
him,
during
which
Herzog
reiterated
that
Bowers
would
be
honored.
Stonewall
Bar
Association
members
believed
they
should
formalize
their
objection
via
a
meticulously
sourced
letter
outlining
their
opposition
to
Bowers’
award,
Surmay
said.
“To
honor
that
person
as
a
role
model
seemed
disappointing,
it
seemed
surprising,
and
to
some
of
our
members
it
seemed
outrageous,”
said
Surmay,
who
added
that
Stonewall
Bar
Association
members
have
no
further
plans
to
express
their
objections.
In
an
interview
Sept.
13,
Bowers
said
he
is
honored
to
be
recognized
by
the
Atlanta
Bar
Association,
despite
objections
raised
by
gay
and
lesbian
lawyers.
“All
I
can
tell
you
is
I
respect
their
views
and
their
right
to
express
their
views
— I
respectfully
disagree
with
them,”
Bowers
said.
“My
job
[in
Bowers
v.
Hardwick]
was
to
defend
state
law,
and
I
did
that
— I
did
it
to
the
best
of
my
ability
and
I
make
no
excuse
for
that.”
In
her
original
protest
letter
to
Herzog,
Surmay
also
blasted
“the
hypocrisy
of
Mr.
Bowers
in
his
determined
effort
to
discriminate
against
Georgia’s
citizens
on
the
basis
of
sexual
orientation.”
In
1991,
Bowers
rescinded
an
offer
to
Robin
Shahar
to
work
in
the
attorney
general’s
office
after
learning
that
Shahar
was
a
lesbian
who
was
planning
to
have
a
private,
religious
commitment
ceremony
with
her
partner.
Bowers
engaged
in
a
protracted,
successful
legal
battle
—
based
significantly
on
the
decision
in
Bowers
v.
Hardwick
— arguing
that
Shahar
was
unfit
to
serve
in
the
state’s
law
department
because
she
was
essentially
violating
the
state
sodomy
law
by
being
in
a
lesbian
relationship.
In
1997,
...
