David/Sonia Burgess

[Ijustwannateach]

Since we have recently been moving towards greater transgendered consciousness here in the gay subforum, I thought it would be appropriate to post a link to this Guardian article highlighting the life and work of this extraordinary person. I think the article treats the issue of the complicated truth of his/her personal life in all the particularity it deserves.

The same dogged determination was in evidence when Burgess took up the cause of "M", a Zairean asylum seeker, in 1991. He eventually brought contempt proceedings against Kenneth Baker, then the Conservative home secretary, for failing to stop M's deportation. The House of Lords upheld Burgess's complaint, in a decision which reversed centuries of deference to Crown ministers. The victory was described by Professor Sir William Wade, one of the giants of academic law, as the most significant constitutional case for more than 200 years.