According to Loyola School of Law graduate Kim Gandy, there are disturbing changes occurring in the U.S. government. At the law school on Wednesday she expressed her belief that these changes could threaten much of the equal rights progress of the last 35 years.Gandy spoke about women’s rights and judiciary attacks on civil rights legislation. She brought up Title IX, domestic violence protection laws and age discrimination.The atmosphere inside stood in stark contrast to the anti-abortion protests outside. The only sign of controversy in the room was the presence of the New Orleans Police Department and University Police. At least four officers remained inside the room at all times, while others patrolled the halls and stairwells. Bill Quigley, director of the Gillis Long Poverty Center, joked that he had “never gotten in trouble for giving an award before” as he presented Gandy with a plaque honoring her commitment to public service.The audience welcomed Gandy with an extended round of applause. She accepted her award and thanked the university for not withdrawing support despite considerable financial and political pressure. She seemed unaffected by protests, telling light-hearted jokes and stories.The controversy didn’t appear to scare people from attending, as many were turned away at the door because the room had reached capacity. Since graduating from Loyola in 1978, Gandy has started a number of programs attempting to defeat gender bias. Her WomenElect 2000 project tripled the number of women in the Louisiana State Legislature.”The glass ceiling didn’t break. It was just moved higher,” Gandy said of the struggle for women’s rights.She said the women’s movement exists because people should “be judged on ability, not anatomy,” drawing loud applause.The balance of powers keeping the government in line is beginning to falter, Gandy said. The filling of Supreme Court vacancies has been one of Gandy’s major concerns since becoming president of NOW in July of 2001. She has tried to block efforts of President Bush’s administration to appoint judges to federal district court positions who could threaten civil rights legislation in many areas, as well as the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion.If such appointments occur, she said conservative judges would control at least 11 and perhaps all of the 13 districts. The only thing worse would be if conservatives controlled the Supreme Court, she said.”The Supreme Court is dismantling, piece by piece, a series of federal laws by dismantling the ability of the legislature to do their jobs,” she said.Gandy also served on drafting committees for the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. She also drafted Louisiana’s first domestic abuse legislation. Gandy referred to abortion at one point as “the A-word” she was “not supposed to say.”She did not address the topic again in detail until prompted by opposition during the question and answer period after the lecture. However, she fielded other questions after several people began shouting back and forth. A diverse group of people attended. The majority were women. Some NOW members passed out stickers before the speech began. The crowd listened and applauded many of Gandy’s comments. Gandy called for people not to sit back and watch for fear of seeming unpatriotic.”It’s up to us to decide what kind of a world to leave to our children,” she said.