Council Acts on Meeting Site Selection During Special Council Meeting on June 26, 2008 in Chicago

The Council met in special session on June 26, 2008 to consider APSA's site selection policy for the Annual Meeting based on concerns regarding the safety and civil rights of all APSA members--in particular, those restricting rights for same-sex families.

The APSA Council voted to revise its site selection policy for meetings but not to move the association’s Annual Meeting from New Orleans in 2012. The new policy is aimed at speaking out against state legal restrictions on same-sex unions, reflecting a preference for engaging with the state of Louisiana on these issues rather than to boycott New Orleans.

The vote by the Council was based on concerns that Article 4, paragraph 15 of the Louisiana state constitution, adopted in 2004, discriminates against the rights of same-sex couples and their families.

The Council recognized that state-level legal actions can infringe on rights and compromise the safety of members attending the Annual Meeting. The expanded attention to state-level actions broadens existing APSA policy. The Council acknowledged at the same time that conditions at the local level can mitigate these circumstances and that communities hosting APSA meetings will be expected to assure the civil rights and safety of all APSA members.

As a consequence, the Council reaffirmed our plan to meet in New Orleans in 2012. It called for scholarship and intellectual engagement at the Annual Meeting on these questions, and active engagement with the community on the issues of rights for same-sex unions and the economic development of meeting cities.

Review letter to APSA membership from Dianne Pinderhughes (6/26/08) 

View Press Release (6/26/08)

Members can review the original statements from the Council and other documents related to the siting issues by logging in to MyAPSA.