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Sexuality and the Law

Selected Works

palma joy strand

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Law

Making Law Accessible: Gay Rights, Abortion, And Gun Control Through A Civic Organizing Lens, Palma Joy Strand Mar 2011

Making Law Accessible: Gay Rights, Abortion, And Gun Control Through A Civic Organizing Lens, Palma Joy Strand

palma joy strand

In this article, I offer a civic view of social change. This view emphasizes the role of citizens and describes the connection between civic bonds and the emergence of new, sustainable legal doctrine. I use three current sociolegal movements—gay rights, abortion rights, and gun control—as illustrations, and I focus on non-lawyer individuals and civic organizing within those movements.


Harvey Milk, Jane Roe, And James Brady: The Contribution Of The Civic To The Evolution Of Law, Palma Joy Strand Jan 2011

Harvey Milk, Jane Roe, And James Brady: The Contribution Of The Civic To The Evolution Of Law, Palma Joy Strand

palma joy strand

The lack of civility in political discourse and asserted negative effects of that lack of civility have recently drawn an increasing amount of popular attention. At the same time, legal scholars have characterized law—especially constitutional law articulated by the Supreme Court—as the result of a dialogue between the Court and the people. This article links these discussions with a unified explanation of how civic discourse among ordinary citizens in the form of personal story-telling and story-listening grounds stable and sustainable law—especially law in areas of evolving social norms. The article uses three contemporary sociolegal movements—gay rights, abortion rights, and gun …


Harvey Milk, Jane Roe, And James Brady: Why Civic Organizing Matters, Palma Joy Strand Mar 2010

Harvey Milk, Jane Roe, And James Brady: Why Civic Organizing Matters, Palma Joy Strand

palma joy strand

This Article presents a view of the civic underpinnings of law by examining how civic interaction or the lack of such interaction facilitates or inhibits sociolegal change. The Article begins with empirical observations of civic experience and engagement, which ground more general conclusions about the importance of civic relationships and civic networks as well as the way personal stories contribute to the creation of both. The Article then applies these conclusions to three currently contentious and unsettled issues: gay rights, abortion, and guns. As to gay rights, the “coming out” process identified with Harvey Milk has transformed the civic landscape, …


Harvey Milk, Jane Roe, And James Brady: Why Civic Organizing Matters, Palma Joy Strand Feb 2010

Harvey Milk, Jane Roe, And James Brady: Why Civic Organizing Matters, Palma Joy Strand

palma joy strand

This Article presents a view of the civic underpinnings of law by examining how civic interaction or the lack of such interaction facilitates or inhibits sociolegal change. The Article begins with empirical observations of civic experience and engagement, which ground more general conclusions about the importance of civic relationships and civic networks as well as the way personal stories contribute to the creation of both. The Article then applies these conclusions to three currently contentious and unsettled issues: gay rights, abortion, and guns. As to gay rights, the “coming out” process identified with Harvey Milk has transformed the civic landscape, …


A Civic Critique Of Democracy: Civic Organizing As The Generating Force Of A Civic Concept Of Law, Palma Joy Strand Aug 2009

A Civic Critique Of Democracy: Civic Organizing As The Generating Force Of A Civic Concept Of Law, Palma Joy Strand

palma joy strand

A Civic Critique of Democracy: Civic Organizing as the Generating Force of a Civic Concept of Law Palma Joy Strand ABSTRACT Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s controversial “wise Latina” comment embodies the view that law is socially constructed—that “we” make it and that it thus may vary according to who “we” are. Current theories of “popular constitutionalism,” “democratic constitutionalism,” and “demosprudence” take this several steps further and begin to explore the idea that the “we” that makes constitutional law is not just judges but society more broadly. These theories matter because they envision an active role for citizens in law creation, but …