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Marital Status As Property: Toward A New Jurisprudence For Gay Rights, Goutam U. Jois

Goutam U Jois

The issue of same-sex marriage has received much attention over the past few years, with significant focus on the role of the judiciary. For example, the first legal gay marriages in the country took place after a court decision in Massachusetts, and no state has sanctioned same-sex marriage through the legislative process. Proponents of same-sex marriages generally justify their creation on civil rights grounds, relying in particular on equal protection and due process arguments. However, the preservation of same-sex marriage can be defended on other grounds as well. I examine one such alternative theory, that of property rights. In this …