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Same Sex Marriage

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Title: Same Sex Marriage


1
Same Sex Marriage
  • Legal or Illegal?

2
  • Adam Green
  • Craig Gaunt
  • Kara Malick
  • Morgan Riebel
  • J.D. Shaw

3
The World and Marriage
  • Found in all societies and religions
  • Most countries do not give same-sex couples same
    right to marry
  • Exceptions Netherlands Denmark, Norway, Sweden,
    Iceland, and Finland Hungary, and Portugal

4
Number of Same-Sex Marriages, Overall
5
Same-sex Marriages,Oregon Occurrence, 2004 YTD
Preliminary
6
Significant Court Cases and their Impact
  • Baker V. Nelson (Minnesota, 1971)
  • First same-sex marriage court case in the US
  • A gay couple was denied the right to marry
  • Argued that absence of sex-specific language in
    the Minnesota statue
  • Also said this denial was a denial of their due
    process and equal protection right under the
    constitution.
  • Court said they found no support for these
    arguments.

7
Significant Court Cases Cont
  • Jones v. Hallahan (Kentucky, 1973)
  • Lesbian couple argues denying license deprived
    them of three constitutional rights
  • Right to marry
  • Right to associate
  • Right to freely exercise their religion
  • Court said what they proposed does not authorize
    the issuance of a marriage license, because what
    they propose is not a marriage.
  • Singer v. Hara (Washington, 1974)
  • Gay couple argument, violated the state Equal
    Rights Amendment.
  • Court disagree saying purpose of statue was to
    overcome discriminatory legal treatment between
    men and women on account of sex.

8
Significant Court Cases Cont
  • Adams v. Howerton (Colorado, 1973)
  • Male American citizen and male Australian citizen
    challenged Board of Immigration Appeals refusal
    to recognize their marriage.
  • Court noted the 1965 amendments to the
    Immigration Act, which expressively barred
    persons afflicted with sexual deviations,
    (homosexuals) from entry into this country.
  • Court concluded that it was unlikely Congress
    intended to permit homosexual marriages for
    purposes of qualifying as a spouse of a citizen
  • Thorton v. Timmers (Ohio, 1975)
  • A lesbian couple were denied in an effort to
    receive a marriage license.
  • Court concluded it is the express legislative
    intent that those persons who may be joined in
    marriage must be of different sexes.

9
Significant Court Cases Cont
  • De Santo v. Barnsley (Pennsylvania, 1984)
  • Result of a couple breaking up and De Santo sued
    Barnsley for divorce
  • Couple had a common-law marriage.
  • Court threw out case stating that if PA
    common-law statue is to be expanded to include
    same-sex couples, the legislature will have to
    make that change.
  • Matter of Estate of Cooper (New York, 1990)
  • Cooper died, leaving bulk of his property to his
    ex-lover.
  • Current lover sued to inherit as a surviving
    spouse under NYs inheritance laws.
  • Court concluded only a lawfully recognized
    husband/wife qualifies as a surviving spouse and
    that persons of the same sex have no
    constitutional rights to enter into a marriage
    with each other.

10
Significant Court Cases Cont
  • Dean v. District of Columbia (Washington D.C,
    1995)
  • A gay couple sued the district of Columbia for
    the right to get married.
  • Court decided, under D.C. laws, that the district
    can refuse to grant marriage license to same-sex
    couples.
  • Baker v. State (Vermont, 1999)
  • Same-sex couples sued state of Vermont saying
    refusal to issue them marriage licenses violated
    Vermont Constitution and the state marriage laws
  • Vermont Supreme Court declared that the
    constituion required the state to extend to
    same-sex couple same benefits and protections
    provided to opposite-sex couples.
  • In response, state legislature passed the Vermont
    Civil Union law, which went into effect in July
    2000

11
Significant Court Cases Cont
  • Goodridge v. Department of Public health
    (Massachusettes, 2003)
  • Massachusetts Supreme court held that the state
    law barring same-sex marriage was
    unconstitutional under the Massachusetts
    constitution
  • Ordered legislature to remedy the discrimination
    within six months.
  • In february 2004 the court ruled that offering
    civil unions instead of civil marriage would not
    meet the requirments set forth in Goodridge.

12
DOMADefense Of Marriage Act
  • DOMA does two things
  • Defines the legal obligations of a US State in
    respect to other States marriage laws.
  • No State is required by federal law to recognize
    any other States legal same-sex marriage.
  • Defines the words
  • Marriage A legal union of one man and one
    woman as husband and wife
  • Spouse Refers only to a person of the opposite
    sex who is a husband or a wife

13
Opponents of Same-Sex Marriage
  • Conservative Christians and Judaists
  • National Association for Research and Therapy for
    Homosexuals (NARTH)
  • Religious affiliations of members include Roman
    Catholic, Jewish, Mormon, Baha'i, Protestant, and
    secular humanists/atheists

14
Same-Sex MarriagesThe Cons
  • God wanted marriage to be between two peopleone
    man and one woman. (McMurtrys first criticism of
    marriage)
  • There is no such thing as a homosexual person.
    We are all heterosexuals. (NARTHS Statement of
    Policy)
  • Homosexuality can be cured through counseling,
    prayer, and reparative therapy.

15
Biblical reasons
  • Gen 221-25, 194Gods design of the first
    marriage Sodom and Gomorrah
  • Lev 1822unlawful unions in Judaism
  • Deut 2317-18further abominations
  • Rom 126-27sin in New Testament
  • Jude 17suffering vengeance of God

16
Same-Sex MarriagesThe Pros
  • We have no empirical proof that God exists
    therefore, we cannot institute a law based on
    religious beliefs.
  • The APA removed homosexuality from its list of
    mental illnesses found in the DSM-III in 1973.
  • The World Health Organization removed
    homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses
    in 1981.
  • As of 2001, homosexuality is considered a normal,
    natural, and fixed sexual orientation.
  • Legalizing same-sex marriages could lower the
    rate of any promiscuity among homosexual couples

17
Same-Sex MarriagesThe Pros
  • Homosexuality is not a disease or disorder and
    thus does not need to be cured. All attempts to
    change a person's sexual orientation have
    consistently failed.

18
Other Arguments Against Same-Sex Marriage
  • Children are tainted mentally, emotionally and
    sexually by homosexual parents.
  • The cost of health benefits for marrying
    homosexuals will cause a fiscal shock to
    businesses nationwide.

19
Other Arguments Children
  • (How) Does the Sexual Orientation of Parents
    Matter?
  • Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz
  • American Sociological Review, 2001
  • Pulls from 21 psychological studies published
    between 1981-1998

20
Other Arguments Children
  • Gender Behavior/Preferences
  • No significant departures from traditional gender
    roles or sex identifications
  • Males a little less aggressive
  • Self-Esteem and Psychological Well-Being
  • No significant behavioral or cognitive
    differences.
  • Added stress due to external pressures (students)

21
Other Arguments Children
  • Sexual Behavior/Sexual Preferences
  • Young adult child has had same-sex relationship
  • Increase (6-25, 0-20)
  • Young adult child thought about same-sex
    relationship
  • Increase (14-22), (3-18)
  • Number of partners from puberty to young
    adulthood
  • Female Significant Increase
  • Male Questionably Significant Decrease

22
Cost of Same-Sex MarriageA Business Perspective
  • Study done by The Human Rights Campaign
    Foundation and The Institute for Gay and Lesbian
    Strategic Studies
  • Data Sources
  • Census 2000
  • The National Compensation Survey
  • County Business Patterns
  • The Kaiser Family Foundation of Health Research
    and Education Trust

23
Cost of Same-Sex MarriageA Business Perspective
24
Cost of Same-Sex MarriageA Business Perspective
  • Results
  • Health Care Benefits
  • 96 percent of firms will have no additional
    costs.
  • 290k out of 5mil will have one new spouse.
  • Vast majority of business under 19 employees will
    see no change.
  • Retirement Benefitstwo kinds
  • Contribution plans will have no increase in cost
    because they are independent of family status.
  • Defined plans will have minimal cost increase
    because one plan is reduced to support the
    spouses plan.

25
Marriage Versus Civil Union
  • Marriage is supported by the federal government
    and all states recognize the marriages of all
    other states.
  • Except gay marriage (DOMA)
  • Civil Unions are a state function and federal
    government does not dictate if one states unions
    are recognized by another.
  • Vermont is the only state that has Civil Unions

26
Marriage Versus Civil UnionThe Difference
  • The right to make a decision on a partners
    behalf in a medical emergency.
  • Denied outside of state
  • The right to take up to 12 weeks of leave from
    work to care for a seriously ill partner (Family
    and Medical Leave Act of 1993).
  • Denied outside of state
  • The right to petition for immigration.
  • Denied

27
Marriage v Civil Union Cont
  • The right to assume parenting rights and
    responsibilities, including legal responsibility
    to pay child support.
  • Denied outside of state
  • The right to share equitably all jointly held
    property and debt.
  • Denied outside of state
  • The right to inherit property in absence of a
    will.
  • Taxed at federal level

28
Marriage v Civil Union Cont
  • Income tax
  • File jointly at state, separate at federal
  • Property transfer and gifts
  • Taxed at federal
  • Social Security benefits related to family and
    death.
  • Denied

29
Progress A Touchy Legal IssueThe San Francisco
Case
  • Feb. 12, 2004
  • Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco orders the
    issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples
    on the grounds that limits to marriage are in
    violation of the California State Constitution.
  • March 11, 2004
  • California Supreme Court orders immediate halt to
    same-sex marriages in San Francisco pending a
    decision on the issue.

30
The San Francisco Case
  • Aug. 12, 2004
  • California Supreme Court rules that San Francisco
    lacked authority to issue same-sex marriage
    licenses and invalidates licenses of over 4,000
    couples married in February 2004.

31
Group Conclusion
  • Based on empirical and legal evidence, the
    legalization and acceptance of same-sex marriages
    would not be detrimental to American society.
  • Successful in other countries
  • Health professionals agree homosexuality is
    normative i.e. not a mental illness
  • Not damaging to children
  • Fiscally sound
  • Beneficial to homosexuals!!!
  • More protection under the law

32
Group Conclusion
  • However, based on a moral decision, it should be
    known that not all group members feel that
    same-sex marriages should be condoned and
    legalized.
  • This reinforces the idea that homosexuality is
    and always will be a personal and moral decision
    that comes from within and is formed from ones
    environment.

33
Final WordYour Morality, Your Judgment
  • Lawrence v. Texas moral autonomyJustice
    Kennedy writes
  • Liberty protects the person from unwarranted
    government intrusion into a dwelling or other
    private places. In our tradition the State is
    not omnipresent in the home. And there are other
    spheres of our lives and existence, outside the
    home, where the State should not be a dominant
    presenceLiberty presumes an autonomy of self
    that includes the freedom of thought, belief,
    expression, and certain intimate contact.

34
Sources
  • Merin, Yuval. (2002). Equality for Same-Sex
    Couples The Legal Recognition of Gay
    Partnerships in Europe and the United States.
    Chicago The University of Chicago Press.
  • Same-sex marriage Preliminary Statistics. Oregon
    Department of Human Services. Retrieved March 19,
    2005 from the World Wide Web http//www.healthore
    gon.org/chs/certif/ssmarry.cfm
  • Statistics Number of Same-Sex Couples Married.
    Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved March 19, 2005
    from the World Wide Web http//www.hrc.org/Templa
    te.cfm?SectionCenterCONTENTID17420TEMPLATE/
  • ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm
  • http//www.psych.org/pnews/97-11-21/isay.html
  • http//www.religioustolerance.org/hom_nart.htm
  • http//www.religioustolerance.org/hom_prof.htm
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