ITHACA, N.Y. -- The hot topic of gay marriage in the United States will be the focus of a debate at Cornell University between two noted advocates on opposite sides of the issue. Elizabeth Birch, attorney and former executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, and Robert H. Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute, will square off on the subject April 6 at 8 p.m. in the Statler Auditorium.

The debate is free and open to the public, but tickets are required and they will be available beginning March 16 at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office, on campus.

From 1994 through 2003, Birch led the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy organization. During her tenure, the group's membership quadrupled to 500,000 and emerged from its grassroots founding to a modern corporate model with a 100-person staff. The former worldwide director of litigation for Apple Computer Inc., Birch also has worked with Fortune 500 companies to develop and implement nondiscrimination and domestic partner benefits policies.

Knight leads the Culture and Family Institute, which is an affiliate of Concerned Women for America. A draftsman of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, he has written monographs on same-sex marriage, television sex and violence, and government sponsorship of the arts. Before joining the Culture and Family Institute, he was director of cultural studies at the Family Research Council, and he is a former news editor and writer for the Los Angeles Times . In August of 2001, CNSNews.com profiled Knight in a series of programs on America's conservative leaders.

The April 6 debate is sponsored by the Cornell University Program Board. For more information, contact: Marcy Patrick, program board chair, at mpd24@cornell.edu ; Jonathan Bellante, vice chair for publicity, at jdb62@cornell.edu ; or Joseph Scaffido, assistant dean of students for student activities, at (607) 255-4169.