Prof.%Elwert% 11/29/11%
Soc%120:%Marriage%and%the%Family%
Lecture%23:%Gay%Marriage% % % %
I%thank%Prof.%C.%McDonald%for%permission%to%adapt%some%of%her%slides%
Preview%
Gay%Marriage%
Rights%conferred%by%marriage% Legal%landscape% Public%opinion% The%Future?%Who%knows...% NormaPve%posiPons%
HRC%vs%FRC%
Legal%vs%funcPonal%definiPons%of%the%family%
Allison%D.%v%Virginia%M.%
1%
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What's%At%Stake?%
Gay%marriage%debate%is%complex%&%acrimonious%
No%consensus%among%parPcipants%about%what s%at% stake%
Material%concerns?% Moral%concerns?% Symbolic%concerns?%
We ll%start%with%material%concerns%and%revisit% others%later.%%
Rights%&%Benefits%Conferred%by%Marriage%
Marital%status%factors%into%>1000%federal%statutes%(GAO)% Several%hundred%benefits%(exact%number%in%dispute)%accrue%to% married%individuals,%including:% Spousal%Medicare%and%Social%Security%Benefits% Tax%benefits% Access%to%employer%health%insurance% AnP^discriminaPon%statutes% Housing% ImmigraPon%privileges% Inheritance% VisitaPon,%decision^making,%and%custody%for%the%infirm% VisitaPon,%decision^making,%and%custody%for%children%
2%
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Legal%ObligaPons%Entailed%in%Marriage%
Legal%responsibiliPes%of%family%members,%especially% to%dependents%
Care%and%Nurture% Financial%Support% Decision^making%in%health%care,%educaPon,%upbringing% Physical%housing,%clothing,%and%feeding%
Is%Marriage%Necessary%For%Rights?%
Marriage%is%a%fast%way%to%acquire%rights%
Confers%all%marital%rights%and%obligaPons%at%once%
Difficult%for%gay%and%lesbian%couples%
Few%states%allow%gay%marriage% Other%states%need%not%recognize%these%marriages%
Federal%Defense%of%Marriage%Act%1996%permits%states%to%not% recognize%gay%marriages%formed%in%other%states;%defines%marriage% as%legal%union%between%man%and%woman%on%federal%level%
But%many%of%these%rights%could%be%acquired%by%other%means%
Marriage%vs%civil%unions%vs%piecemeal%conferral%
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Legal%Landscape%(in%flux!)%
Current as of Dec 15 2009
12 additional states prohibit gay marriage by law (not constitution) (as of summer 2011)
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Other%Countries%
Graph shows results from various polls, including the General Social Survey Source: Nate Silver @ NYTimes, April 20, 2011
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6%
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7%
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more recent generations are more favorable in gay marriage
What's%Next?%
PredicPng%the%future%is%difficult%%
Public%opinion:%Clear%long%term%trend%toward%greater% approval%of%gay%marriage;%clear%cohort%replacement%scenario%
Comparable%pace%to%acceptance%of%interracial%marriage%(which% was%legalized%by%Supreme%Court%when%majority%of%country%was% sPll%against%it)%
LegislaPon:%Strong%trend%toward%potent%legal%barriers%(29% state%consPtuPonal%bans%to%date,%12%more%states%restrict% marriage%to%man+woman%by%law)% Supreme%Court%decision?% Repeal%of%Federal%Defense%of%Marriage%Act?%
8%
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U.S.--Canada Comparison
Canada: Gay marriage federally recognized (2005) United States: Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) limits marriage to "one man and one woman" (1996)
States can allow gay marriage, but such marriages won't be recognized on the federal level
The next few slides excerpt Smith (2005)
Public Opinion isn't Everything
Public opinion in Canada is more strongly opposed to gay marriage than pubic opinion in U.S., and yet gay marriage is legal in Canada
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Different Framing of Public Discourse
Canada: Gay marriage framed as civil rights issue
Equal protection argument
U.S.: Gay marriage framed as moral issue (with criminal overtones until 2003)
Focus not only on marriage per se, but on morality of being gay/lesbian Until Lawrence decision 2003, gay sex criminalized in some states Difficult to make an equal protection argument when marital status is easily conflated with criminal behavior
Different Institutional Contexts
Canada: Federal matter, strong executive power U.S.: Federal and state laws; fragmented decision making facilitates challenges
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Different Stakes
Canada: By 2005, gay marriage was largely symbolic. Gov. had previously conferred many material rights, banned discrimination, permitted adoption by same-sex couples, recognized same-sex relationships U.S.: In most states, gay marriage would confer these rights and protections in the first place => higher stakes.
Common%Pro%&%Con%Arguments %
Next few slides: list of common arguments pro and con gay marriage (from advocacy organizations) Mix of factual and normative claims
Ask: are factual claims empirically supported? Ask: are normative claims logically coherent and consistent with accepted principles? Ask: what are the underlying deeper issues?
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Pro Gay Marriage Arguments
The equality argument: too many important rights are tied to marriage - to deny access to those rights on the basis of sexual preference is discrimination. The symbolic argument: Gay marriage most fully tests the dedication of people who are not gay to full equality for gay people (Stoddard 1989)
Pro Gay Marriage Arguments
Civil unions are a separate but equal and second-class solution: does not allow access to the 1,100 federal benefits accorded marriage. Aside from the many rights accorded to married people, marriage is a privileged status in American society and should be open to all.
Source: Human Rights Campaign LBGT an rights advocacy group
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Anti Gay Marriage Arguments
Marriage is not a creation of the law, but of God, and is divinely limited to heterosexual unions Homosexuality is a sin and should not be validated through the right to marry Marriage is only for heterosexual procreation Children of Lesbians are less likely to be chaste Children of gays and lesbians will be stigmatized Gay marriage endangers heterosexual marriage a bedrock of human society
democrats more open to gay marriage african americans more conservative with gay marriage catholics and protestants
Anti Gay Marriage Arguments
Slippery slope #1: It will lead to polygamy. Slippery Slope #2: Allowing homosexuals to marry, would lead any people with close ties to apply for the right to marriage benefits. Slippery Slope #3: Gay marriage will increase the divorce rate, since gay relationships are inherently unstable.
Source: Family Research Council (esp. P. Spriggs) a conservative advocacy group
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Deeper Issues
Marriage as a legal framework confers rights and obligations first on couples. But marital status also implicates other relationships, e.g. parenting Family law attempts to regulate social relationships. But many groupings that think of themselves as families are not recognized as families by the law.
E.g. 8-10 million children live in gay or lesbian households, ~13% of all U.S. children (CDC 2004) Tension between formal legal and function definitions of the family (Minow 1991)
Formal%Legal%DefiniPon%of%the%Family%
How%does%one%become%part%of%someone s% family?%
Birth% Marriage% AdopPon% %
This%is%the%formal%legal%definiPon%of%the%family% used%in%most%family%courts.%
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FuncPonal %DefiniPon%of%the%Family%
Minow%(1991)%advocates%that%courts%move%to% a% funcPonal %legal%definiPon%of%the%family:%
Meaning%that%non^nuclear%family%relaPonships% that%share%the%essenPal%characterisPcs%of% tradiPonal %families%be%recognized%as% de%facto % families.%
Share%affect%and%resources% Consider%each%other%family%members% Present%themselves%as%family%members%to%community%
How%might%this%work%in%pracPce?%
Key%terms: %
Formal%Legal% De%Jure% NormaPve% Parental%Rights% Doctrine% FuncPonal%Legal% De%Facto% RealisPc% Best%Interests%of%the% Child%
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Example:%Alison'D.'v.'Virginia'M.'
At%issue:%%VisitaPon%rights%for%child%X%%age%7.% Facts%of%the%case%are%not%in%dispute:% RelaPonship%began%in%1977%and%began%cohabiPng%in%1978% Decided%to%have%a%child%in%1980%%agreed%that%Virginia%would%be% arPficially%inseminated% Baby%boy%born%in%1981,%given%Alison s%last%name%as%his%middle% name%and%Virginia s%last%name%as%his%surname% This%arrangement%conPnued%unPl%1986,%when%Virginia%bought% out%Alison s%interest%in%the%house%and%began%to%restrict%Alison s% access%to%the%child% In%1987,%Alison%moved%to%Ireland%for%career%purposes,%but% conPnued%aqempts%to%maintain%contact%with%the%child% Virginia%terminated%all%contact,%returning%all%girs%and%leqers.%
Alison wans'
The%Case%
Alison%seeks%visitaPon%rights%under%DomesPc%RelaPons%Law%of% New%York% This%statute%provides%that% Either%parent%may%apply%to%the% court%to%have%a%minor%child%brought%before%the%court%and%the% court%may%award%the%natural%guardianship,%custody%or% visitaPon%to%either%parent%as%the%case%may%require %[abridged]% Case%hinges%on%whether%Alison%is%a% parent %
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Virginia s%Case%
Formal%Legal:%
Virginia%is%the%biological%mother% She%is%a%fit%mother% Alison%is%not%a%parent%under%the%law% Opening%parenthood%rights%to%someone%like%Alison% is%a% slippery%slope % The%court%should%uphold%the%sacred%foundaPon%of% the%family%as%limited%to%birth,%marriage,%and% adopPon.%
Alison s%Case:%
FuncPonal%:%
Best%interests%of%the%child% Alison%is%a% de%facto %parent%to%the%child% The%court%is%denying%visitaPon%based%on%standards%Alison% could%not%meet% The%court%should%consider%whether%or%not%Alison%has% Func3oned'as'a'parent% The%court%has%an%interest%in%preserving%the%stability%of% parent%child%relaPonships,%no%maqer%how%they%were% formed.%
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Appellate%Court%Vote:%
Are%you%in%favor%of:%
Alison s%right%to%visit%the%child?% Virginia s%right%to%prevent%her%from%doing%so?%
Broader%QuesPons:%
Would%you%have%voted%differently%if:%
Virginia%were%suing%Alison%for%child%support?% If%Alison%were%a%man%(e.g.%an%inferPle%cohabiPng% partner)?% What%if%he%were%the%child s%step^father?% Should%children%be%allowed%more%than%two%legally% recognized%parents?%%% Should%there%be%different%degrees%of%parenthood?%% If%so,%how%do%we%determine%who%gets%what%rights?%
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More%To%Think%About%
The%following%scenario%is%based%on%real%cases:%
A%married%woman%bears%the%child%of%another%man%from%an%adulterous%affair% She%deceives%her%husband%into%believing%that%he%is%the%biological%father%of% the%child% The%husband%treats%the%child%as%his%own%in%good%faith.%He%is%a%good%father.% When%the%child%is%10%years%old,%the%husband%discovers%the%decepPon%and% divorces%the%wife% Have%to%pay%child%support?% Be%granted%visitaPon%rights%against%the%objecPons%of%his%ex^wife?% Be%eligible%for%sole%custody%if%he%wants%to%conPnue%living%with%the%child?%
So%you%think%the%husband%should%%
Obviously,%this%isn t%a%same^sex%case.%But%it%raises%very%similar% quesPons%about%legal%vs%funcPonal%family%definiPons.%%
19%