Leonardo DiCaprio and Charlize Theron presented entertainment lawyer and GLAAD Board of Directors member Steve Warren with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award Saturday night at the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles. The Hollywood Reporter premiered the video and you can also check it out below:
Steve Warren called on Justices Roberts and Kennedy to act against the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8:
"Four weeks ago, Justice Anthony Kennedy remarked that the court is heading into uncharted waters. It can lead to a wonderful destination he said, or to a cliff. I almost wept when I heard these words. They are so true. In fact, all of us in the LGBT community have been living our entire lives in uncharted waters. Each time one of us comes out, each time we commit our love whether privately or publicly, each time we decide to create our own families with children and partners of our own, we plunge head first into those waters. It's terrifying . . . . Justice Kennedy, please recognize that these waters will not take us over the precipice, but will, in fact, lead us to that wonderful destination you allude to. But don’t just recognize it. Help take us there."
"[Just as I did], Chief Justice John Roberts attended an Ivy League college followed by Harvard Law School and Harvard Law Review, and built a thriving private practice as well. He, too, has dedicated his life to the protection of his family, clients and country. And has adopted two children of his own. Only one of us, however, was told by their state that their home was not fit for a child, despite all the child proofing and security measures in the world. Only one of us was subjected to the humiliation and degradation of being forced to appeal to a family court judge with the power to overturn that hate filled judgment mandated by then Governor Pete Wilson. How did this happen? It happened because Chief Justice John Roberts was accorded the protections of the U.S. constitution. And I was not."
Warren also spoke out against Justice Scalia's hateful and anti-gay remarks:
"[Justice Anthony Scalia] proudly makes pronouncements comparing laws against homosexuality to laws against murder, and places bestiality on par with homosexual conduct. He is unable to distinguish the difference between the "life partner of a homosexual" and ordinary same sex roommates. Has he forgotten that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are core American values? Every American has the right to a life of meaning, with the liberty to choose who we spend that life with, and to pursue happiness through our sexuality and soulfulness. Justice Antonin Scalia is an old-fashioned bully . . . . I may not have had the strength to stand up to the bullies who taunted me in the fifth grade, but I do now. We do now. Justice Antonin Scalia, the bully on high, we are speaking to you. Do the right thing and be the impartial jurist you swore to the American people that you would be when you took your oath of office. It’s not too late."
President Bill Clinton responded to Warren's speech in his remarks:
"I was very impressed by the speech of my predecessor up here, and I cannot hope to equal it, but I'd like to say amen to it. It was quite wonderful. Steve Warren and Dean Hansell really deserve their awards. I think that the staff, the board of directors, and the most active supporters of GLAAD deserve the award I'm getting because they are the real agents of change."
The Stephen F. Kolzak award is presented to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality for our community. Previous recipients include Ellen DeGeneres, Sir Ian McKellen, Bill Condon, Wanda Sykes, Alan Ball and Robert Greenblatt.
Warren, a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, has been a practicing entertainment lawyer for twenty-seven years. He is a name partner at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush & Kaller, LLP, specializing in the representation of actors, directors and writers. He served as the first out gay man on the Board of Trustees for his daughter's school, the Center for Early Education, and currently serves as the first out gay man on the Board of Trustees at the Archer School for Girls. Warren joined GLAAD's Board of Directors in 2010, and currently serves on the Executive Committee.
Photos and videos of the event are available at glaad.org/mediaawards. For a complete list of winners, click here.
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