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2014

Sexual orientation

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Institution
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Articles 1 - 25 of 25

Full-Text Articles in Law

Dual Rationality Of Same-Sex Marriage: Creation Of New Rights In The Shadow Of Incomplete Contract Paradigm, Saby Ghoshray Dec 2014

Dual Rationality Of Same-Sex Marriage: Creation Of New Rights In The Shadow Of Incomplete Contract Paradigm, Saby Ghoshray

University of Massachusetts Law Review

In an effort to reconcile the inconsistency between liberal ideals and inequitable adjudication of marriage rights amongst our citizens, this article will seek answers to these issues. By straddling the contractual confines of marriage via law and economic analysis, Part II of the article explores the contractual paradigm of marriage to examine whether the framework is independent of sexual orientation and it the deliberately incomplete nature of marriage can provide consistencies for all types of marriages. Part III examines whether the private aspiration of marriage should necessarily be linked with public consequences by evaluating the impact of marriage’s social cost …


Supreme Court, Tompkins County, Seymour V. Holcomb, Jessica Goodwin Nov 2014

Supreme Court, Tompkins County, Seymour V. Holcomb, Jessica Goodwin

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.


Stand With Sam: Missouri, Survivor Benefits, And Discrimination Against Same-Sex Couples, Lesley A. Hall Nov 2014

Stand With Sam: Missouri, Survivor Benefits, And Discrimination Against Same-Sex Couples, Lesley A. Hall

Missouri Law Review

In Glossip v. Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System, the Supreme Court of Missouri perpetuated these fears. The court refused to identify sexual orientation as a classification worthy of heightened or “intermediate” equal protection scrutiny, signaling to Missourians that homosexuality is still something to discount, fear, and hide. The holding also erroneously deprived Kelly Glossip of Corporal Engelhard’s survivor benefits after Engelhard, his partner of many years, was killed in the line of duty. This Note discusses the resolution of this case and analyzes why the court’s holding demonstrates a regressive step for gays and lesbians …


Outed At School: Student Privacy Rights And Preventing Unwanted Disclosures Of Sexual Orientation, Evan Ettinghoff Oct 2014

Outed At School: Student Privacy Rights And Preventing Unwanted Disclosures Of Sexual Orientation, Evan Ettinghoff

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals often identify their sexual orientation during their formative school years. During this time, they make important decisions about whether they will come out, to whom, and under what circumstances. However, some school officials have taken matters into their own hands, disclosing information about a student’s sexual orientation to parents or family members without the student’s permission, and without considering the student’s well-being and potential consequences at home. This Note explores a student’s constitutional right to privacy in their sexual orientation. It begins by examining the unique problems LGBTQ youth encounter while developing …


The Changing Tide Of Immigration Law: Equality For All?, Laurie M. Cochran Oct 2014

The Changing Tide Of Immigration Law: Equality For All?, Laurie M. Cochran

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.


A Joyful Heart Is Good Medicine: Sexuality Conversion Bans In The Courts, Wyatt Fore Oct 2014

A Joyful Heart Is Good Medicine: Sexuality Conversion Bans In The Courts, Wyatt Fore

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Led by California and New Jersey, states have begun to ban Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE) for minors. States have targeted SOCE, also called ‘gay conversion therapy,’ by regulating state licensure requirements for mental health professionals. Conservative legal groups have challenged these bans in federal court, alleging a variety of constitutional violations sounding in the First and Fourteenth Amendments. More specifically, these legal groups propose theories claiming that the bans infringe upon individuals’ freedom of speech, free exercise, and parental rights. In this Note, I survey the history of these bans, as well as court decisions that have rejected constitutional …


Democracy In Disguise: Assessing The Reforms To The Fundamental Rights Provisions In Guyana, Arif Bulkan Sep 2014

Democracy In Disguise: Assessing The Reforms To The Fundamental Rights Provisions In Guyana, Arif Bulkan

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.


Gender And Sexual Orientation In The Family: Implications For The Child Welfare System, Megan Fulcher Sep 2014

Gender And Sexual Orientation In The Family: Implications For The Child Welfare System, Megan Fulcher

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.


Stereotype Threat And Law Librarianship, Ronald E. Wheeler Jul 2014

Stereotype Threat And Law Librarianship, Ronald E. Wheeler

Faculty Scholarship

Mr. Wheeler looks at the concept of stereotype threat and discusses ways to confront and combat it in a diverse society. He proposes some simple solutions within the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) and the law librarianship profession to help diminish the effects of this psychological barrier.


The Ninth Circuit's Treatment Of Sexual Orientation: Defining “Rational Basis Review With Bite”, Ian Bartrum Jun 2014

The Ninth Circuit's Treatment Of Sexual Orientation: Defining “Rational Basis Review With Bite”, Ian Bartrum

Michigan Law Review First Impressions

On February 10, Nevada's Democratic attorney general decided to stop defending the state's constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, which is currently under review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Perhaps even more surprising, Nevada's Republican governor agreed with that decision, concluding that the "case is no longer defensible in court." Ironically, all of this came after the plaintiffs had lost their case in the district court. But the federal constitutional landscape surrounding same-sex marriage is rapidly shifting, and in the nation's largest circuit change is coming quickly indeed. The latest upheaval—the decision that in fact prompted …


Sexual Orientation: A Plea For Inclusion, Sharon E. Rush May 2014

Sexual Orientation: A Plea For Inclusion, Sharon E. Rush

Sharon E. Rush

White women and people of color have made significant scholarly contribution toward a better understanding of patriarchy and racial hegemony. Other outsider scholars, such as lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals, also have spoken out about how hegemony subordinates them to the dominant culture. That subordination creates a common pain of exclusion. All subordinated people should explore the sources of common pain that come from exclusion from the power and privilege generally enjoyed by members of the dominant culture.


The Spiritual Dimension Of Social Justice, Peter Gabel May 2014

The Spiritual Dimension Of Social Justice, Peter Gabel

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.


Immutability And Innateness Arguments About Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Rights, Edward Stein Apr 2014

Immutability And Innateness Arguments About Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Rights, Edward Stein

Chicago-Kent Law Review

A popular and intuitively plausible type of argument for the rights of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals is based on claims that sexual orientations are inborn and/or unchangeable. Many advocates of such rights view expressing doubts about the immutability and innateness of sexual orientation as tantamount to opposing gay rights. Legally, claims that sexual orientations are innate and/or immutable intersect with the so-called immutability factor in equal protection jurisprudence. This article considers the legal, ethical, and empirical support for arguments for LGB rights based on immutability and innateness. I raise a variety of problems for such arguments in various contexts, …


A Victory In Defeat: The Implications Of Rumsfeld V. Fair On "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", Jill Shotzberger Mar 2014

A Victory In Defeat: The Implications Of Rumsfeld V. Fair On "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", Jill Shotzberger

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

On March 6, 2006, the United States Supreme Court decided Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights. In this decision, drafted by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court addressed the constitutionality of Congress (1) requiring universities to provide military recruiters with the same access to law school career services offices that the school would grant to other prospective employers and (2) withholding federal funding for the entire university if the law school failed to grant this access. The Supreme Court held that these requirements did not violate the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of association. …


Not Without Political Power: Gays And Lesbians, Equal Protection And The Suspect Class Doctrine, Darren L. Hutchinson Jan 2014

Not Without Political Power: Gays And Lesbians, Equal Protection And The Suspect Class Doctrine, Darren L. Hutchinson

Faculty Articles

The Supreme Court purportedly utilizes the suspect class doctrine in order to balance institutional concerns with the protection of important constitutional rights. The Court, however, inconsistently applies this doctrine, and it has not precisely defined its contours. The political powerlessness factor is especially undertheorized and contradictorily applied. Nevertheless, this factor has become salient in recent equal protection cases brought by gay and lesbian plaintiffs.

A growing body of and federal and state-court precedent addresses the flaws of the Court's suspect class doctrine. This Article discusses the inadequacies of the suspect class doctrine and highlights problems within the emerging scholarship and …


“Doomed Social Engineering?” Ethics And Professionalism Related To Sexual Orientation: The Florida Experience, Robert W. Lee Jan 2014

“Doomed Social Engineering?” Ethics And Professionalism Related To Sexual Orientation: The Florida Experience, Robert W. Lee

Barry Law Review

No abstract provided.


$1.6 Million Employment Bias Award Upheld By Manhattan Appeals Court, Arthur S. Leonard Jan 2014

$1.6 Million Employment Bias Award Upheld By Manhattan Appeals Court, Arthur S. Leonard

Other Publications

No abstract provided.


Religious Exceptionalism And Human Rights, Laura S. Underkuffler Jan 2014

Religious Exceptionalism And Human Rights, Laura S. Underkuffler

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The liberal-democratic governmental compact assures that citizenship, political power, and civic participation in all of its forms will be afforded to all citizens on an equal basis. In particular, simple identity—as a presumptive matter—cannot be the basis for the denial of human rights. It is on this simple yet elegant principle that all civil-rights laws are founded.

Freedom of religion presents a particularly complex problem in this context. On the one hand, it is—itself—a universally recognized member of the human rights family, and is protected under civil-rights laws. On the other hand, it is— because of its possible invocation by …


The Ninth Circuit’S Treatment Of Sexual Orientation: Defining “Rational Basis Review With Bite”, Ian C. Bartrum Jan 2014

The Ninth Circuit’S Treatment Of Sexual Orientation: Defining “Rational Basis Review With Bite”, Ian C. Bartrum

Scholarly Works

When the Ninth Circuit handed down Witt v. Department of the Air Force, President Obama and then-Solicitor General Kagan declined to take an appeal to the Supreme Court. At the time, it seemed that most advocates of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” believed that the administration made that decision because it was afraid the Supreme Court would reverse the Ninth Circuit. If that fear was perhaps well-founded in 2009, it is certainly less so now. In the wake of SmithKline Beecham Corp. v. Abbott Laboratories, as well as recent District Court decisions, opponents of federal constitutional protection for gay people …


A Critical Research Agenda For Wills, Trusts And Estates, Bridget J. Crawford, Anthony C. Infanti Jan 2014

A Critical Research Agenda For Wills, Trusts And Estates, Bridget J. Crawford, Anthony C. Infanti

Articles

The law of wills, trusts, and estates could benefit from consideration of its development and impact on people of color; women of all colors; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals; low-income and poor individuals; the disabled; and nontraditional families. One can measure the law’s commitment to justice and equality by understanding the impact on these historically disempowered groups of the laws of intestacy, spousal rights, child protection, will formalities, will contests, and will construction; the creation, operation and construction of trusts; fiduciary administration; creditors’ rights; asset protection; nonprobate transfers; planning for incapacity and death; and wealth transfer taxation. This essay …


Understanding Insurance Anti-Discrimination Laws, Ronen Avraham, Kyle D. Logue, Daniel Schwarcz Jan 2014

Understanding Insurance Anti-Discrimination Laws, Ronen Avraham, Kyle D. Logue, Daniel Schwarcz

Articles

Insurance companies are in the business of discrimination. Insurers attempt to segregate insureds into separate risk pools based on the differences in their risk profiles, first, so that different premiums can be charged to the different groups based on their differing risks and, second, to incentivize risk reduction by insureds. This is why we let insurers discriminate. There are limits, however, to the types of discrimination that are permissible for insurers. But what exactly are those limits and how are they justified? To answer these questions, this Article (a) articulates the leading fairness and efficiency arguments for and against limiting …


Risky Arguments In Social-Justice Litigation: The Case Of Sex Discrimination And Marriage Equality, Suzanne B. Goldberg Jan 2014

Risky Arguments In Social-Justice Litigation: The Case Of Sex Discrimination And Marriage Equality, Suzanne B. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay takes up the puzzle of the risky argument or, more precisely, the puzzle of why certain arguments do not get much traction in advocacy and adjudication even when some judges find them to be utterly convincing. Through a close examination of the sex discrimination argument's evanescence in contemporary marriage litigation, this Essay draws lessons about how and why arguments become risky in social-justice cases and whether they should be made nonetheless. The marriage context is particularly fruitful because some judges, advocates, and scholars find it "obviously correct" that laws excluding same-sex couples from marriage discriminate facially based on …


Compulsory Sexuality, Elizabeth F. Emens Jan 2014

Compulsory Sexuality, Elizabeth F. Emens

Faculty Scholarship

Asexuality is an emerging identity category that challenges the assumption that everyone is defined by some type of sexual attraction. Asexuals – those who report feeling no sexual attraction to others – constitute one percent of the population, according to one prominent study. In recent years, some individuals have begun to identify as asexual and to connect around their experiences interacting with a sexual society. Asexuality has also become a protected classification under the antidiscrimination law of one state and several localities, but legal scholarship has thus far neglected the subject.

This Article introduces asexuality to the legal literature as …


Policing Masculinity In Small-Town America, Luke A. Boso Dec 2013

Policing Masculinity In Small-Town America, Luke A. Boso

Luke A. Boso

This Article explores masculinity in rural areas, and it addresses bullying and harassment of gay, bisexual, transgender, and otherwise gender non-conforming boys and men. While all men are under constant pressure to perform masculinity correctly and act like a "real" man, rural boys and men experience unique forms and degrees of gender policing and victimization. The confluence of geographic, social, religious, and economic characteristics common in many rural areas results in few available options for exhibiting acceptable masculinity; even benign and seemingly gender neutral traits quickly become proxies for effeminacy. Moreover, the cultural salience of rurality in the construction of …


Queer Contestations And The Future Of A ‘Queer’ Criminology, Jordan Woods Dec 2013

Queer Contestations And The Future Of A ‘Queer’ Criminology, Jordan Woods

Jordan Blair Woods

This chapter provides an overview of the treatment of sexual orientation and gender identity issues and LGBTQ populations in the field of criminology. The chapter advances three main points. First, it argues that there is very little data on LGBTQ people’s experiences of crime, both in terms of victimization and offending. Second, the overwhelming majority of criminological engagement with sexual orientation and gender identity occurred prior to the 1980s, and discussed these concepts insofar as assessing whether ‘‘homosexuality’’—a term that was often employed to describe non-heterosexual sexualities and gender nonconforming identities/expressions—was or was not a form of criminal sexual deviance. …