To:  Barristers Members

This September 10-13, the California State Bar will hold its Annual Meeting in San Diego at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.  The owner of the Grand Hyatt, Doug Manchester, donated a significant sum ($125,000) to the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign, a November 4, 2008 ballot measure that resulted in the amendment of the California Constitution to eliminate the fundamental right of couples to marry regardless of sexual orientation.  Despite several requests from a variety of groups and organizations, including BASF, that the State Bar move the Annual Meeting to another location (as the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations has done), the State Bar has refused to do so.

Accordingly, the Barristers Club Board of Directors joins BASF, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF), and many other organizations in boycotting the Annual Meeting. We are in full support of the public demonstrations of protest that BALIF will hold during the California State Bar Board of Governors Swearing-in Ceremony at the Manchester Grand Hyatt from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 12.  The Barristers Club Board of Directors believes that the incoming California State Bar Board of Governors and President must understand that they do not enjoy the support of young lawyers in San Francisco as long as they support a proposition, through the continuing financial support of its backers, which denies LGBT individuals the fundamental right to marry.

We invite you to join us in taking a stand on what we believe to be a crucial fight for equality and civil rights.

Sincerely,

The Barristers Club Board of Directors