Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Law

Civil Marriage: Threat To Democracy, Jessica Knouse Jan 2012

Civil Marriage: Threat To Democracy, Jessica Knouse

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

This Article argues that civil marriage and democracy are inherently incompatible, whether assessed from a transcultural perspective that reduces them to their most universal aspects or a culturally situated perspective that accounts for their uniquely American elaborations. Across virtually all cultures, civil marriage privileges sexual partners by offering them exclusive access to highly desirable government benefits, while democracy presupposes liberty and equality. When governments privilege sexual partners, they effectively deprive their citizens of liberty by encouraging them to enter sexual partnerships rather than selfdetermining based on their own preferences; they effectively deprive their citizens of equality by establishing insidious status …


Tango Or More - From California's Lesson 9 To The Constitutionality Of A Gay-Friendly Curriculum In Public Elementary Schools, Amy Lai Jan 2011

Tango Or More - From California's Lesson 9 To The Constitutionality Of A Gay-Friendly Curriculum In Public Elementary Schools, Amy Lai

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

In August 2009, a group of parents in California filed a lawsuit, Balde v. Alameda Unified School District, in the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda. They alleged that the Alameda Unified School District refused them the right to excuse their children from a new curriculum, Lesson 9, that would teach public elementary school children about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) families. The proposed curriculum included short sessions about GLBT people, incorporated into more general lessons about family and health, once a year from kindergarten through fifth grade. Kindergarteners would learn the harms of teasing, while fifth graders …


Chaos, Law, And God: The Religious Meanings Of Homosexuality, Jay Michaelson Jan 2008

Chaos, Law, And God: The Religious Meanings Of Homosexuality, Jay Michaelson

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

This Article argues that the religious meaning of homosexuality cannot be explained merely in terms of homophobia, "church and state," or traditional values versus progressive ones. Rather, the regulation of sexuality has a particular religious meaning: sexuality is a primary site in which religious law is engendered, where the lawfulness of religion meets the chaos beyond it. Whether in Biblical times or today, changing the way sexuality is regulated is a threat to the notion of order itself, as construed by Jewish and Christian religion. Arguments about gay rights, same-sex marriage, and related issues are not merely arguments informed by …


"Just" Married?: Same-Sex Marriage And A Hustory Of Family Plurality, Judith E. Koons Jan 2005

"Just" Married?: Same-Sex Marriage And A Hustory Of Family Plurality, Judith E. Koons

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

To contribute to a full moral deliberation about same-sex marriage, this Article inquires into the meanings of marriage, sexuality, and family from historical and narrative perspectives that are situated at the intersection of religious and political domains.


Domestic Violence And The Jewish Community, Stacey A. Guthartz Jan 2004

Domestic Violence And The Jewish Community, Stacey A. Guthartz

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

In Part I of this Article, Guthartz defines the problem of domestic violence as it relates to the Jewish community. Specifically, Jewish texts and history and community understanding and exposure, that contribute to Jewish domestic abuse are examined. In Part II, the author explores Jewish solutions to domestic violence by focusing on religious remedies, community pressure, and the use of civil law. In this Article, it is submitted that it is only through an understanding of the uniqueness of "Jewish" domestic violence by domestic violence and law enforcement organizations, coupled with an understanding about domestic violence within American society by …


The Marriage Dower: Essential Guarantor Of Women's Rights In The West Bank And Gaza Strip, Heather Jacobson Jan 2003

The Marriage Dower: Essential Guarantor Of Women's Rights In The West Bank And Gaza Strip, Heather Jacobson

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

This Article evaluates the impact that eliminating or reducing the marriage dower would have on the well-being of Muslim women in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Although Palestinian women's rights organizations seek to eliminate dower on the grounds that it is a "burdensome custom" that is "inconsistent with the intifada's stated goal of improving women's status," in fact, the interaction between dower and other laws relating to marriage and divorce is such that the majority of women would be materially harmed by its discontinuance. Therefore, while the movement to eliminate dower may benefit the financially secure upper class women …


Faith In Justice: Fiduciaries, Malpractice & Sexual Abuse By Clergy, Zanita E. Fenton Jan 2001

Faith In Justice: Fiduciaries, Malpractice & Sexual Abuse By Clergy, Zanita E. Fenton

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

This article argues that perpetrators of sexual misconduct should not be granted refuge from the potential consequences of their actions by mere affiliation with a religious institution. Part I of this article examines the theories of malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty, and determines the appropriate cause of action for sexual misconduct and ascertains their capacities to withstand First Amendment scrutiny. Determining the cause of action is essential to the evaluation of the potential constitutional challenges. Part II demonstrates that sexual misconduct by clergy is well outside First Amendment constraints. It examines both the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses, and …