...because the disallowance of it violates their constitutional rights. Marriage is an institution long recognized by our government under the right to pursue happiness, and denying that right to any couple, regardless of gender, is unconstitutional. This argument, though, is not disputed. In fact, none of the arguments raised in opposition to the allowance of homosexual marriages takes into account the constitutional rights afforded to all humans. The arguments are only in relation to the possible repercussions (real or imagined) of granting these rights. Our nation was built and has always been based on the fundamental principles of freedom expressed in the Declaration of Independence and through our Constitution. The opponents of homosexual marriage need to remember what freedom means to America, and understand the significance of setting a precedent that denies that freedom. The Supreme Court has long recognized that the institution of marriage is one of the rights guaranteed to all Americans by our Constitution. Banning same-sex marriage is discriminatory. Marriage is a basic human right and should not be denied to any individual. At various times in U.S. history, other minorities have been prevented from marrying: African-Americans, for example. Interracial marriage was also legally prohibited in various states, until the Supreme Court ruled such bans unconstitutional in 1967 ("Should Gay" 31). At this time, however, marriage is only granted to heterosexual couples. Although...
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...Sample Final Exam Essay: Legalize Gay Marriage English—Mr. Fichter (This sample essay is based upon a student-written essay from last year. The student author is anonymous.) Homosexuality is everywhere. You can see it in books, on television, in the media; it is rapidly becoming a social norm. Given this trend of greater acceptance of gay marriage, the issue of whether to legalize same-sex marriage naturally arises. Massachusetts has led the way by legalizing gay marriage. Responding to this example, some states have taken steps towards accepting gay marriage while others are considering laws and constitutional amendments banning gay marriage within state borders. President George Bush has recently proposed a ban on gay marriage in the U.S. Constitution (Hulse). If Americans carefully examine the situation, however, they should all be able to understand the importance of making same-sex marriage legal in the United States. Those opposing same-sex marriage claim that by allowing this act, marriages everywhere will lose their honor and validity (Kurtz). Marriages between a man and a woman would lose their special importance, these opponents argue, if the definition of marriage is expanded to include same-sex couples as well. The test of time has proven this fear pointless. For several years, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands have allowed gay marriage without any signs of damage to heterosexual couples. Social life in these countries continues unchanged, and...
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...where one of the very watchwords of the day is equality, we still cling to a fairly archaic idea of the definition of marriage. This definition holds the rights and responsibilities, as well as the protections inherent to this idea of marriage being only available as a legal construct for heterosexual couples. We discriminate against our homosexual citizens and their right to have their long term relationships recognized and given the same validity as those long term relationships of heterosexual couples through the societal construct of marriage. Same-sex marriage has become a huge issue for many in the United States, it is a “lightning rod” issue that seems to polarize the two sides of the argument. There does not seem to be much, if any, common ground to stand upon. A person either holds the belief, often backed by their faith, that gay marriage is unacceptable, or they discard that belief and can't conceive of why that viewpoint is in any way valid. For most people there really is no middle ground. The focus of this paper is to examine same-sex marriage through the lens of the state and federal levels of legislation and constitutional precedent. My personal interest in this subject stems from my own beliefs about homosexuality in general, and particularly the point that I would like is that I believe continuing to deny the right of a fully recognized marriage to...
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...“Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California” (Wohlsen & Hoag, 2009). Voting yes and getting the win on Proposition 8 will define marriage in California (to mean only) a union between one man and one woman. Yes will add exactly 14 words to the California State Constitution: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Voting no on Proposition 8 will define marriage in California( to mean) a union between any two people regardless of gender, which would include same-sex couples (Wohlsen & Hoag, 2009). Clearly, the effects of this vote will be far-reaching and long lasting. Advocates of Proposition 8 urge people to consider many consequences prior to voting. The following will explore counter arguments effecting these consequences and show that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional as it “violates the due process and equal protection rights of gays and lesbians under the U.S. Constitution by denying them the right to marry the person of their choice and by singling them out for disparate treatment without a legitimate rationale” (Ashby, 2010). Same Sex Marriage: Overturn Ban on Same Sex Marriage in California An Argument to Vote No on Proposition 8 During the hearing, it was argued that Propositions 8’s withdrawal of the right of marriage from gays and lesbians was unconstitutional as it violates their civil rights. The reason being was, in the 5 months prior to the ruling of Proposition 8, gay and lesbian...
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...say is un constitutional, is a law that gives the rights to heterosexual couples the right to claim benefits of his or her love one due to death. This act came into existence due to issues with common law marriages. Common law marriages were causing an over flow of problems that were not legal and partners wanted to claim his or her common law spouse benefits and property. Families and common law spouses were fighting over these benefits. State court systems were overwhelmed with cases that held up court calendars. The repeal of the DOMA law could recant the issues that state courts encountered back in the early 80’s. Erikson’s approach to this issue lacks the credibility that the act was unconstitutional. Is this act un constructional or is it valid? This issue came as a result of two women that were partners in life for over 20 years and her death resulted in an enormous inheritance taxes by the IRS . The death of her lover, those not having the same last name, and the death tax act struck the nerve of some lobbyist on Capitol Hill to repeal DOMA. If the DOMA law is repeal, from the time of enactment to the repeal of the law, many common law spouses can re-file his or her case in court for a review of the ruling or a new decision on the case. This could cost companies millions or billions of dollars. Courts will face excessive man hours and money to rework or revisit these cases. A same sex marriage does not hold the value of the institution of marriage between a...
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...........................................5 iv. Organizations..............................................................................5 - 8 v. Health..........................................................................................8 - 9 D. History..............................................................................................................................9 - 11 i. Ancient........................................................................................9 - 11 ii. Modern........................................................................................11 E. 10 Reasons Why Homosexual “Marriage” is Harmful and Must be Opposed.................11 - 17 F. Reasons to Legalize Same Sex Marriage..........................................................................17 - 18 G. Same Sex Marriage in the...
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...Burger’s statements about much of the American laws about sexually came from the British laws, and that much out these laws have been enforced with Judeo-Christian influences. Truth be told, homosexuals were considered taboo. Why should they? It is considered an abomination in the bible, and it does not cause procreation to happen. So now with this case, public opinion at that time, just like Roe v Wade, the opinions are nearly split. In a Gallup poll conducted at the time of the case the option stated that six out of ten people agreed that “gay sex” should be legal, as well as five out of four agreed abortion should be legal. Not sound like a broken record, but these Justices that voted to consider that the Sodomy laws in Texas were unconstitutional was because to violated the Fourteenth Amendment in where the right to privacy between to consenting adults cannot be...
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...Assignment 2: The Statutes Sara Barboza Dr. Joseph McCue PAD 525 Constitutional and Administrative Law October 18, 2015 INTRODUCTION The word miscegenation comes from the Latin words miscere (to mix) and genus (type, family, or descent) and has been used to refer to cohabitation or intermarriage between racial groups. Regulated by state law, miscegenation was illegal in many states for decades. However, interracial marriage in the United States has been fully legal in all U.S. states since the 1967 Supreme Court decision, Loving v. Virginia, that decreed all state antimiscegenation laws unconstitutional. Many states, of course, had chosen to legalize interracial marriage much earlier. According to a May 14, 2012, Huffington Post article entitled “Interracial Marriage Statistics: Pew Report Finds Mixed-Race Marriage Rates Rising,” the 1980 Census (the first to collect data on interracial marriage) reported that 3% of all married couples were from different races. The number had risen to 8.4% (one in twelve couples) by 2010. Looking at marriages recorded in the years between 2008 and 2010, we find that 22% of newly-married couples in Western states were of different races or ethnicities, compared to 14% in the South, 13% in the Northeast, and 11% in the Midwest. QUESTION 1: Analyze and evaluate each case independently by providing the following (about two paragraphs per case): LOVING V. VIRGINIA CASE. 1. Facts of the case: In 1958, Mildred Jeter, a black woman...
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...NAZ ON GAY PRIDE: HAS HOMOSEXUALITY BEEN LEGALISED IN INDIA? Sujoy Chatterjee Student, National Law University, Jodhpur I. INTRODUCTION: HISTORY OF S.377 Sir Fitz-James Stephen, in his treatise on the History of Criminal Law , has opined, “The Indian Penal Code may be described as the criminal law of England…to suit the circumstances of British India.” S.377 of The Indian Penal Code, which proscribes “Unnatural Offences”, is one such import of Victorian standards of morality as prevalent in Britain at that time. S.377, at the time of its introduction in India in 1861, was contrary to existing Indian law which did not treat sodomy as a crime. S.377 proscribes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”. The marginal note refers to the acts proscribed as "unnatural offences", but this expression is not used in the text of S.377. The expression "carnal intercourse" is used in the text of the Section, as distinct from the expression "sexual intercourse", which appears in S.375 and S.497 of the Indian Penal Code. But the expression “carnal intercourse” itself is not defined, nor does S.377 provide any explanation or illustration as to what acts are proscribed. This was initially a source of great confusion as to what acts fall under the ambit of the term “carnal intercourse”. In Government v. Bapoji Bhatt it was held that the act of putting a penis in a boy’s mouth is not covered by S.377, since this provision is based on English sodomy law and hence requires...
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.................................9 Visual aids..................................................................................................13 Sentences and covert messages..................................................................14 Words and connotations.............................................................................17 VI. Conclusion.......................................................................................................19 I. Introduction The same-sex marriage movement deals with what is arguably a leading social issue in the United States today. In 1996, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) legally fixed the definition of marriage to be that which includes one man and one woman, including the provision that “states need not recognize a marriage from another state if it is between persons of the same sex” (www.domawatch.org). Grassroots organizations began to form on both sides of the debate concerning same-sex marriage reform. Most discourse research on the issue focuses on the ways in which the media and reform oppositionists (DOMA defenders) use language to display and perpetuate their social and political dominance over the pro-reform...
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...NATURE, FUNCTION AND CLASSIFICATION OF LAW Objectives of the course:- • Enable the students to think in a more abstract or general fashion than is generally achieved in the study of specific areas of law and demonstrate the same in answering questions. • Enable the student to develop the willingness to question and think independently and to find out more in the study of law. • Discuss critically the definition of law • Explain the various scholars position on their attempt to define the meaning of law • Distinguish law from morality; justice • Explain the various classification of laws • Discuss the functions of law in society Nature of law Meanings given to the word law The word law has various meaning which are used by different classes & types of people. Examples • Regulations that help in the smooth and proper running of institutions such as colleges and Universities could be referred to as laws/ rules. • There are laws of science, which are basis formulas and set standards to be applied in the field of different sciences. • There is also the layman’s idea of what law is. He will have a rough idea of where the law came from - the politicians (which are his description of parliament) and the judges. He knows that if he steals and he is caught he will be punished. He also knows that if a drunk driver knocks him down and injures him, he will have the law on his side. However, he will know nothing of the branches of law (law of tort and criminal law) which gives...
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...official capacity as State Registrar of Vital Records, Petitioners, MICHÈLE MCQUIGG, Intervenor/Petitioner, v. TIMOTHY B. BOSTIC; TONY C. LONDON; CAROL SCHALL; and MARY TOWNLEY, Respondents. ________________________________ ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT ________________________________ BRIEF FOR THE RESPONDENTS ________________________________ Law Student Counsel for the Respondents QUESTION PRESENTED Whether Virginia’s Marriage Laws, which prohibit same-sex couples from marrying or entering a civil partnership in Virginia or in any other jurisdiction, violate the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment when: * Virginia’s constitution limits marriage to one man and one woman; * Virginia’s code prohibits same-sex marriages or civil unions; and * Virginia’s code refuses to recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions lawfully consummated in other jurisdictions. TABLE OF CONTENTS page QUESTION PRESENTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv OPINIONS BELOW . . . ...
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...Constitutional Law II Tebbe Spring 08 4 Equality and the Constitution 4 Class 1: Slavery and the Constitution 4 1. The Original Constitution 4 2. State v. Post 4 3. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) 4 4. Reconstruction 5 5. Post-Reconstruction Cases 6 Class 2: The Advent of American Constitutional Law: Brown 7 6. RACIAL EQUALITY 7 7. Brown I (1954) The segregation of children in public schools based solely on race violates the Equal Protection Clause. 7 2. Brown II 8 3. What was the constitutional harm in Brown? 8 4. THEORY 8 5. Subsequent School Desegregation 9 Class 3: Local Efforts to Desegregate: Parents Involved 11 6. Parents Involved 11 Class 4: Rational Basis Review: Cleburne, Romer, etc. 13 2. Tiers of Scrutiny 13 3. Beazer (1979) 13 4. Moreno (1973) 14 5. Cleburne (1985) 14 6. Romer (1996) 15 7. Nordlinger (1992) and Allegheny Pittsburgh (1989) 16 8. Lee Optical (1955) 17 Class 5: Racial Classifications and Heightened Scrutiny: Strauder, Korematsu, Loving 17 9. Heightened Scrutiny Analysis 17 10. Strauder (1880) 17 11. Korematsu (1944) 18 12. Loving (1967) 19 13. Theories Supporting Strict Scrutiny of Racial Classifications 20 14. Tiers of Scrutiny 20 15. Tiers of Scrutiny Table 21 Class 6: Facially Neutral Classifications: Washington v. Davis 21 16. Types of Discrimination (from Fall) 21 X. Disparate...
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...Legal Studies Research Paper Series Research Paper No. 07 - 25 E-marriage: Breaking the Marriage Monopoly Adam Candeub Mae Kuykendall This paper can be downloaded without charge from the Social Science Research Network Electronic Paper Collection at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1491704 Candeub-Kuykendall: Draft. Do Not Cite or Quote Without Permission E-MARRIAGE: BREAKING THE MARRIAGE MONOPOLY Adam Candeub and Mae Kuykendall ∗ ABSTRACT: This Article advocates updating the law governing marriage formation to recognize the shift in social interactions from real to virtual life. We argue that couples can use internet communications not only to marry when separated by great distance but also to choose which state’s laws will authorize their marriage. In particular, same sex couples could marry under the laws of a state that permit such unions, regardless of where they exchange vows. States inadvertently have created geographic monopolies, requiring each marriage receiving the benefits of their licensing laws to be performed within their borders. This Article’s model builds upon established precedents, such as proxy marriage and choice of law for multijurisdictional and internet contracts. Using the power of internet communications, our proposal allows states to compete over marriage’s procedures and substance. Depending on a couple’s preferences for “e-ritual” and a state’s desired level of regulatory control, couples could consume the trappings of a traditional ceremony...
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...Internet Journal of Criminology © 2014 ISSN 2045 6743 (Online) Male Rape: The Unseen World of Male Rape By Aliraza Javaid1 Abstract This research explores the phenomenon of male rape and how the police recognise it, together with uncovering male rape myths in a local police force. Whilst male rape research is expanding, it was found that the police have a lack of knowledge, understanding, awareness, and specialised training of male rape. Therefore, police officers’ attitudes, ideas, views, perspectives, and beliefs on specific topics pertinent to male rape are discussed. This project also seeks to comprehend gender expectations and stereotypes of men, so as to comprehend the prevalence of male rape, the negligence of male rape, and the under-reporting/recording of male rape. Moreover, because male rape is a part of sexual violence, feminist theory is used as a foundation for this project, since feminism seeks gender equality. Ultimately, this research emphasises the need for the police to adequately manage male rape victims and take male rape seriously, without any negative attitudes, ideas, views, perspectives, and beliefs. 1 MRes Social Sciences www.internetjournalofcriminology.com 1 Internet Journal of Criminology © 2014 ISSN 2045 6743 (Online) Contents Page 1.0 Introduction............................................................................................................3 2.0 Male Rape Victims in the Criminal Justice System..................................
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