Gene Schaerr Explained

Gene Schaerr
Birth Name:Gene C. Schaerr
Birth Date:15 April 1957
Birth Place:Kanab, Utah, U.S.
Education:Brigham Young University (BA)
Yale University
Yale Law School
Occupation:Attorney

Gene C. Schaerr (born April 15, 1957)[1] is an American attorney.

Biography

Schaerr was born in Kanab, Utah, and educated in the public schools. In 1981, he received a B.A. degree from Brigham Young University, and then earned master's degrees in economics and philosophy from Yale University in 1985 and 1986. After graduating from Yale Law School in 1985, where he was a member of the Yale Law Journal, he served as a law clerk for D.C. Circuit Judge Ken Starr, and from 1986 to 1987 for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Warren Burger and Antonin Scalia.[1]

Schaerr is a litigator in state and federal appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.[2] [3] In 2014, he was chosen to represent the state of Utah as outside counsel in Kitchen v. Herbert, the state's legal action defending the state ban on same-sex marriage.[3] [4] [5] In 2015, he also submitted an amici curiae brief on behalf of 100 scholars of marriage to the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges,[6] the landmark Supreme Court case on same-sex marriage. The brief argued, among other things, that consistent with patterns in European countries and American states that have adopted same-sex marriage, opposite-sex marriage rates will likely drop as a result of redefining marriage as a genderless institution. This will result, over the next fertility cycle (30 years), in fewer children born to married parents, fewer children born overall since unmarried women have lower birth rates, and more abortions since unmarried women have higher rates of abortion.[7] Although the latter claim was criticized in various press outlets,[8] [9] [10] Schaerr defended the brief and its use of decomposition analysis—a technique frequently used by demographers—on the blog Bench Memos.[11] [12]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. George Bush: "Appointment of Gene C. Schaerr as Associate Counsel to the President," April 17, 1991. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=19483
  2. Web site: Gene C. Schaerr. n.d.. Oct 14, 2015. Oyez. Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech.
  3. News: Adams . Brooke. Utah AG picks outside counsel in same-sex marriage fight. January 16, 2014. Salt Lake Tribune. January 16, 2014.
  4. News: Romboy. Dennis. Utah attorney general hires 3 lawyers to fight same-sex marriage ruling. 2014-01-25. Deseret News. 2014-01-16.
  5. Web site: Outside Counsel to Assist with Kitchen vs. Herbert Announced. Utah Office of the Attorney General. 28 October 2014.
  6. Web site: Brief of Amici Curiae - 100 Scholars of Marriage in Support of Respondents. 2015.
  7. see page 22 of Supreme Court amici brief.
  8. Web site: Conservative Lawyer Gene Schaerr Argues That Marriage Equality Will Lead To Spike In Abortion Rates. Curtis M. Wong. The Huffington Post. 21 April 2015.
  9. Web site: Utah scholars join others in arguing same-sex marriage will lead to abortions. KUTV. Daniel Woodruff. 21 April 2015.
  10. Web site: Christian lawyer: Gay marriage will cause 900,000 abortions. Darren Wee. Gay Star News. 21 April 2015.
  11. Web site: 100 Scholars: Requiring States to Recognize Same-Sex Marriage Will Fundamentally Alter the Marriage 'Ecosystem,' Likely Reducing Opposite-Sex Marriage Rates. National Review. 2015-10-14.
  12. Web site: Advocates of Same-Sex Marriage Are Wrong to Claim It Poses No Risk to the Marriage Ecosystem. National Review. 2015-10-14.