Law Commons^™

Giving Shelter From The Storm: Colombians Fleeing Persecution Based On Sexual Orientation, Luz Estella Nagle

Luz Estella Nagle

Asylum seekers fleeing persecution due to sexual orientation face difficult challenges in proving their claims before United States immigration judges. Homosexuals in Latin America, and especially in Colombia, live under constant fear of harassment and violent attack, despite the fact that laws and constitutional rights are slowly being extended to the Gay and Lesbian population in Latin America. This article examines the conditions for LGBTs in Colombia, as a model for the region, to educate immigration judges about the horrific experiences that compel LGBTs to flee, and why they should be extended every consideration for gaining asylum in the United …

Erasing Boundaries: Masculinities, Sexual Minorities, And Employment Discrimination, Ann Mcginley

Ann McGinley

This article analyzes the application of employment discrimination law to sexual minorities – lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex individuals. It evaluates Title VII and state anti-discrimination laws’ treatment of these individuals, and is the first article to use masculinities research, theoretical and empirical, to explain employment discrimination against sexual minorities.While the article concludes that new legislation would further the interests of sexual minorities, it posits that it is neither necessary nor sufficient to solving the employment discrimination problems of sexual minorities. A major problem lies in the courts’ binary view of sex and gender, a view that identifies men …

Moving Beyond The 'Immutability Debate' In The Fight For Equality After, M. Katherine B. Darmer

M. Katherine B. Darmer

On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court issued its historic decision regarding marriage rights for same-sex couples. In the course of its opinion, the court found that classifications based upon sexual orientation are subject to the protections of "strict scrutiny" for purposes of the state's equal protection clause. The court also found that marriage is a fundamental right that extends to same-sex couples.

On November 4, 2008, 52% of California voters voted for Proposition 8, which purported to "amend" the state constitution by adding fourteen words in a new clause following the equal protection clause: "only marriage between a …

A Different Kind Of Sameness: Beyond Formal Equality And Antisubordination Principles In Gay Legal Theory And Constitutional Doctrine, Nancy Levit

Nancy Levit

Gay legal theory is at a crossroads reminiscent of the sameness/difference debate in feminist circles and the integrationist debate in critical race theory. Formal equality theorists take the heterosexual model as the norm and then seek to show that gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transsexuals - except for their choice of partners - are just like heterosexuals. Antisubordination theorists attack the heterosexual model itself and seek to show that a society that insists on such a model is unjust. Neither of these strategies is wholly satisfactory. The formal equality model will fail to bring about fundamental reforms as long as sexual …