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Critical Tax Policy: A Pathway To Reform?, Nancy J. Knauer Apr 2013

Critical Tax Policy: A Pathway To Reform?, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

The Global Recession of 2008 and ensuing austerity measures have renewed the urgency surrounding the call for fundamental tax reform. Before embarking on fundamental tax reform, this Article proposes adding a critical lens to existing US tax policy to ensure that any proposals for change are informed, transparent, and responsive to the needs (and abilities) of individual taxpayers. This Article makes the case for a specific method of inquiry – Critical Tax Policy – that is built on the articulation of difference rather than false assumptions of sameness. Critical Tax Policy incorporates the insights of a growing international tax equity …


Aging In The United States: Rethinking Justice, Equality, And Identity Across The Lifespan, Nancy J. Knauer Jan 2012

Aging In The United States: Rethinking Justice, Equality, And Identity Across The Lifespan, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

Our current aging policies and procedures raise profound questions of individual liberty, autonomy, and equality. Guardianship regimes require the state to balance the interests of vulnerable adults with their right to self-determination. The proliferation of age-specific laws designed to protect elders may actually compromise the civil rights of older individuals by denying their autonomy based solely on their age. The regulation of intimacy in long-term care settings infringes on a core liberty interest essential to human dignity. This essay introduces a new body of work that specifically addresses the civil rights aspects of aging. In many ways, aging represents the …


Gay And Lesbian Elders: History, Law, And Identity Politics In The United States, Nancy J. Knauer Dec 2009

Gay And Lesbian Elders: History, Law, And Identity Politics In The United States, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

The approximately two million gay and lesbian elders in the United States are an underserved and understudied population. At a time when gay men and lesbians enjoy an unprecedented degree of social acceptance and legal protection, many elders face the daily challenges of aging isolated from family, detached from the larger gay and lesbian community, and ignored by mainstream aging initiatives. Drawing on materials from law, history, and social theory, this book integrates practical proposals for reform with larger issues of sexuality and identity. Beginning with a summary of existing demographic data and offering a historical overview of pre-Stonewall views …


A Marriage Skeptic Responds To The Pro-Marriage Proposals To Abolish Civil Marriage, Nancy J. Knauer Dec 2005

A Marriage Skeptic Responds To The Pro-Marriage Proposals To Abolish Civil Marriage, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

This essay responds to the pro-marriage proposals to abolish civil marriage presented by Professors Crane and Zelinsky. As a marriage skeptic, I do not share their unwavering support of marriage, but there are numerous points of agreement. I agree with Professor Zelinsky that a vision of a world without civil marriage is an important metric against which to evaluate public policy proposals. In addition, I find quite compelling the notion that a private deregulated marriage regime would promote a more mindful partnership where expectations were express, responsibilities were clear, and the terms were tailor-made for the particular couple. Finally, I …


Homosexuality As Contagion: From The Well Of Loneliness To The Boy Scouts, Nancy J. Knauer Jan 2000

Homosexuality As Contagion: From The Well Of Loneliness To The Boy Scouts, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

In the political arena, there are currently two central and competing views of homosexuality. Pro-family organizations, working from a contagion model of homosexuality, contend that homosexuality is an immoral, unhealthy, and freely chosen vice. Many pro-gay organizations espouse an identity model of homosexuality under which sexual orientation is an immutable, unchosen, and benign characteristic. Both pro-family and pro-gay organizations believe that to define homosexuality is to control its legal and political status. This sometimes bitter debate regarding the nature of same-sex desire might seem like an exceedingly contemporary development. However, the ex-gay media blitz of 2000 represents only the latest …


Same-Sex Domestic Violence, Nancy J. Knauer Jan 1999

Same-Sex Domestic Violence, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

Same-sex domestic violence is a difficult topic. The LGBT communities have been reluctant to discuss same-sex domestic violence for fear of validating negative stereotypes and detracting from the push for legal recognition of such relationships. The relative silence on this issue continues despite the fact that individuals in same-sex relationships are more likely to be abused by their partners than beaten in an act of anti-gay violence. and despite legislative efforts to restrict domestic violence laws to cover only different-sex couples. The political downside of discussing same-sex domestic violence is obvious. Anti-gay organizations invoke same-sex domestic violence to bolster their …


Domestic Partnership And Same-Sex Relationships: A Marketplace Innovation And A Less Than Perfect Institutional Choice, Nancy J. Knauer Jan 1998

Domestic Partnership And Same-Sex Relationships: A Marketplace Innovation And A Less Than Perfect Institutional Choice, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

The struggle for the recognition and protection of same-sex relationships is at the forefront of the contemporary gay and lesbian civil rights agenda. Whereas the push for same-sex marriage and parenting rights has met with mixed results in the courts and the legislatures, an impressive array of organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, colleges, nonprofit corporations, and municipalities, now extend benefits to the same-sex partners of their employees. This level of success raises a provocative question regarding the potential role of institutional employers in the larger on the agenda for progressive social change. Domestic partnership benefits are a creature of the …