Back to News & InsightsBACK TO HEALTH EQUITY BLOGBACK TO DIGITAL HEALTH BLOGBACK TO FRUAD ABUSE BLOGBACK TO CASE STUDIES
Ian Tapu to Speak at Lavender Law 2026 on Marriage Equality and the Legacy of the Insular Cases
Ian Tapu will present “Where Marriage Equality is Not Legal in America: The Legacy of the Insular Cases” at the 2026 Lavender Law Conference & Career Fair, hosted by the LGBTQ+ Bar in Chicago on July 14, 2026. The panel is presented by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)’s LGBTQ Network as part of the conference’s Intersectional Justice & Community Rooted Lawyering theme.
- Examine why Obergefell v. Hodges does not currently extend marriage equality to American Samoa, the one U.S. jurisdiction where same-sex couples cannot obtain a marriage license.
- Trace the legal doctrine of the Insular Cases, the early 20th-century Supreme Court decisions that continue to shape how and whether constitutional rights apply in U.S. territories.
- Discuss the enduring consequences of this framework, including unequal citizenship status and the discretion it affords territorial governments to decline enforcement of certain constitutional rulings.
- Explore what a century of partial reform in Puerto Rico, Guam, and other territories suggests about the path toward full constitutional protection for American Samoa.
Professional
