Law Commons^™

Afterword – Straightness As Property: Back To The Future-Law And Status In The 21st Century, Symposium: Liberalism And Property Rights, Berta E. Hernández-Truyol, Shelbi D. Day

Berta E. Hernández-Truyol

As is evident from the other works in this Symposium, throughout history in both the United States and the greater Western World, status-based exclusion of individuals and groups from property rights has been central to the existence of political and social hierarchies. Specifically, exclusion based on status — whether it be nationality, culture, race, sex or sexuality — has plagued our history and has been integral in the formation and development of both constitutional and property law regimes. Consequently, both regimes are at best uneven in the grant and distribution of rights and benefits. A forward-looking examination of the link …

Coming Out: Decision-Making In State And Federal Sodomy Cases, Susan Ayres

Susan Ayres

In 1791, American states were enacting laws against sodomy at the same time they ratified the Bill of Rights, the first ten constitutional amendments meant to safeguard fundamental rights of individuals in a free society. In a March 1789 letter to James Madison, Thomas Jefferson asserted that a bill of rights was necessary to give the judiciary the power to protect such individual rights. Ironically, that which the judiciary gives, it may also take away, since "[t]he legislator is a writer. And the judge a reader."

This Article deconstructs recent sodomy cases in order to challenge judicial adoption or reinscription …

Some Thoughts On The Conduct/Status Distinction, Sherry F. Colb

Sherry Colb

No abstract provided.

India: Supreme Court Recriminalises "Carnal Intercourse Against The Order Of Nature", Shubhankar Dam

Shubhankar Dam

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

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 …

Sexually Expressive Materials For Gay Men: Sex Discrimination Or Subversive Potential?, Donn Short

Donn Short

This article reviews Christopher N. Kendall's book Gay Male Pornography: An Issue of Sex Discrimination. In particular, this article focuses on the analysis of the Little Sisters case and the harms-based test articulated in the Butler decision. Kendall's book explains his position that gay male pornography is a problem of sex discrimination, and the harm of gay pronography is not propertly understood under current theoretical models. Short challenges Kendall's assessment of gay male pornography.

"Franco's Spain, Queer Nation?", Gema Pérez-Sánchez

Gema Pérez-Sánchez

This Article discusses how, through its juridical apparatus, the Spanish dictatorship of Francisco Franco sought to define and to contain homosexuality, followed by examples of how underground queer activism contested homophobic laws. ... Part III illustrates the social and cultural legacy of queer activism against Francoist laws on homosexuality through an analysis of Eduardo Mendicutti's novel Una mala noche la tiene cualquiera Anyone Can Have A Bad Night and the young, urban culture, post-Franco context of supposed historical amnesia in which it was produced. ... As the power of Francoism and its institutions waned during the last years of the …