Civil Rights Attorney Robert Rubin lectured to a room of close to 100 faculty and students to celebrate Constitution Day in spite of bad weather.
Rubin, who is the litigation director for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco, focused his lecture on the rights of illegal immigrants and the power of the majority in the United States.
We are not just battling the law; we are battling the hearts and the minds of the people. Ultimately
we want the support of the majority Rubin said. The law can be a vehicle for social change.
His lecture focused on voting rights, immigration rights, due process of law and the 10th Amendment as well as the state of Ohio.
Illegal aliens are healthy for the country, Rubin said in the question and answer portion of the night. The taxes they pay outweigh the benefits that they spend.
The lecture was sponsored by the Center for Law, Justice, and Culture and was free to anyone who wanted to attend.
It is federally mandated recognition (for the Constitution) said John Gilliom, an OU professor of political science. It is required that we acknowledge the Constitution around Sept. 17 and we have many activities (on campus).
Rubin, who specialized in immigration and voting rights, teaches a voting rights seminar at UC Berkeley School of Law as an assistant professor.
You don't need the support of the majority to be right
Rubin said. The Bill of Rights of the Constitution was designed specifically to protect against the excesses of the majority.
The Center for Law, Justice and Culture brings in a different speaker every year for Constitution Day.
We have different folks come in every year
Gilliom said. Academics
lawyers... and Constitutional specialists.
Overall, the Center for Law, Justice, and Culture paid the $2,000 for the whole event, said Gilliom.
This accounts for advertising
travel
and other expenses
he added.
In addition to Rubin, other events will be presented around campus today, including Student Senate handing out free Constitutions to students.
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