Constitution Day Lecture will address Supreme Court same-sex marriage decision
Thursday, September 10, 2015 
by: Tonya Lowentritt
CONSTITUTION DAY LECTURE - Patrick Traylor, a Hammond native and Washington, D.C. attorney, will return home to deliver the annual Constitution Day Lecture titled “The Constitutional Right to Same-Sex Marriage: The Supreme Court’s Opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges.” Sponsored by Southeastern Louisiana University’s Department of History and Political Science with support from members of the local community, the lecture will be presented at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, in the Student Union Theatre.
HAMMOND – Patrick Traylor, a Hammond native and Washington, D.C. attorney, will
return home to deliver the annual Constitution Day Lecture titled “The Constitutional
Right to Same-Sex Marriage: The Supreme Court’s Opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges.”
Sponsored by Southeastern Louisiana University’s Department of History and Political
Science with support from members of the local community, the lecture will be presented
at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, in the Student Union Theatre.
Earlier this year the Supreme Court delivered a controversial 5-4 decision saying
that the Constitution protects the right of same-sex couples to marry. Traylor, a
partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Hogan Lovells, will discuss the historical,
philosophical and constitutional underpinnings of this ruling. Admission is free and
open to the public.
Later, at 5 p.m. in Fayard Hall room 225, Traylor will meet informally with Southeastern
students planning to attend law school to talk about getting into and succeeding in
law school and beginning a life in the legal profession. Meeting with students on
real world issues is an important element in the university’s Real World Ready effort
to supplement classroom teaching with practical experiences.
“We are delighted to have Patrick Traylor for this year’s lecture,” said History
and Political Science Department Head William Robison. “The same-sex marriage issue
has been one of the most prominent news stories of the year and certainly the biggest
with regard to the U.S. Constitution. Although it has generated enormous public debate,
much of that has focused on the moral dimensions and social consequences of same-sex
marriage, and it has often been highly emotionally charged. Traylor’s lecture, on
the other hand, will examine the issue in constitutional terms.”
“That he also is willing to meet with our students to talk about law school is
an added bonus,” Robison added. “And on top of all that, Patrick is a great speaker,
just like his father, Ron (Traylor, instructor of history), my colleague and the organizer
of this event.”
Traylor is the son of Drs. Ron and Gwen Traylor. He earned a Bachelor of Arts
in history with an emphasis on classics and a minor in English from Texas A&M University
in 1991. He received his Juris Doctor degree in 1994 from the South Texas College
of Law, where he was an articles editor for the “South Texas Law Review.” He received
his Master of Law and Letters degree from the George Washington University School
of Law in 1996 with a specialization in Environmental Law. While in law school,
Traylor clerked for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United
States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas Environmental Crimes Unit,
and the United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division
Environmental Enforcement Section.
Traylor joined the law firm of Hogan Lovells in Washington, DC in 1997 and became
a partner in the firm in 2003. Hogan Lovells is a global law firm with over 2,500
attorneys in more than 45 offices on six continents. His practice focuses on air quality
and climate change.
Traylor also served by appointments from Presidents George W. Bush and Barack
Obama to the Department of the Interior’s Wind Turbine Guidelines Federal Advisory
Committee. He began his career with the Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts
while he was a partner at the firm.
