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Shannon Minter

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Shannon Minter
Born
Shannon Price Minter

(1961-02-14) February 14, 1961 (age 63)
EducationUniversity of Texas, Austin (BA)
Cornell University (JD)
Occupation(s)Civil rights attorney, director
Known forDirector of the National Center for Lesbian Rights

Shannon Price Minter (born February 14, 1961) is an American civil rights attorney and the legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco.[1][2]

Early life and education

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Minter is a 1993 graduate of Cornell Law School and he has been lead counsel in dozens of groundbreaking legal victories for the LGBT community. Raised in East Texas, Minter began transitioning at age 35. Minter did not change his birth name after he started living as a trans man.[3]

Career

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Minter first gained national attention in the United States in 2001 representing the lesbian partner of Diane Whipple, in a wrongful death case due to a dog mauling, which resulted in a landmark decision in California that extended tort claims to same-sex domestic partners; previously it was a right limited only to married couples.[4] Marjorie Knoller was sentenced to serve 15 years to life for the death of Diane Whipple.[5][6] Whipple's partner, Sharon Smith, succeeded in suing for $1,500,000 in civil damages, which she donated to Saint Mary's College of California to fund the women's lacrosse team.

In 2003, Minter gained national attention again when CourtTV aired the entire case of Kantaras v. Kantaras, where Minter represented Michael Kantaras, a transgender man who was trying to keep custody of his children.[4] Though he won that case in 2002, it was reversed on appeal in 2004 by the Florida Supreme Court, upholding the claim that the marriage was null and void because her ex-husband was still a woman and same-sex marriages are illegal in Florida.[7] The couple settled the case with joint custody in 2005.[8]

In 2009 Minter was the lead attorney arguing before the California Supreme Court to overturn California Proposition 8. Ken Starr represented the opposing side on this case.[9][10] Ruling that California's citizens held the inalienable right to amend their constitution, the 5 for 4 majority upheld Prop 8's ban on same-sex marriages, though they agreed to recognize marriages that had already taken place under a "grandfather clause".[11] Ultimately, the entire statute was rendered moot after the Supreme Court ruled that all states must recognize gay marriage in 2015.[12]

Minter has taught law at UCLA School of Law, Stanford University, Golden Gate University and Santa Clara University.[4]

Awards

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Minter won a Ford Foundation "Leadership for a Changing World" award in October 2005.[4]

Personal life

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Minter got married in 2001 and has a daughter.[3] He said at the time that he was pained "by the injustice" that transgender people could legally marry in California while gay and lesbian couples could not.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Mangaliman, Jessie (2005-10-06). San Jose Mercury News. Transgender Advocate Honored Retrieved on 2009-03-05.
  2. ^ Jesse McKinley and John Schwartz. McKinley, Jesse; Schwartz, John (2009-03-04). "California Court to Weigh Gay Marriage Ban". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  3. ^ a b c Rojas, Aurelio (2009-03-03). "Ken Starr vs. transsexual in Prop 8 case". Chicago Sun-Times (Sacramento Bee News Service). Archived from the original on March 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  4. ^ a b c d Lowery, George (2005-11-29). "Unfair and unequal: Attorney Minter champions rights of sexual minorities". Cornell University Chronicle). Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  5. ^ Knoller Gets 15 to Life in Dog-Mauling Case- law.com
  6. ^ [1][permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ Michael J Kantaras v Linda Kantaras [2003] Case No. 98-5375CA. 511998DR005375xxxWS, 6th Circuit
  8. ^ Emanuella Grinberg (June 16, 2005). Settlement reached in transsexual custody case. CNN
  9. ^ Rojas, Aurelio (2009-03-05). "Attorneys in Prop. 8 court test a study of opposites". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  10. ^ Schwartz, John; McKinley, Jesse (2009-03-05). "California Court Weighing Gay Marriage Ban". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  11. ^ Producer, By Bill Mears, CNN Supreme Court (26 June 2013). "Supreme Court dismisses California's Proposition 8 appeal - CNNPolitics". CNN. Retrieved 2019-08-09. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Obama: Gay marriage ruling is 'a victory for America'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
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