GAY MARRIAGE BANS

By: Sabrina Winston

SECTION 1

Background Section

GAY MARRIAGE BANS

A gay marriage ban is a ban

against same-sex marriage.

OTHER STATE LEVEL GAY MARRIAGE

POLICIESLegalized gay marriage

Gay marriage recognition laws

Civil unions/ domestic partnerships

IMPACTS OF GAY MARRIAGE BANS

No end-of-life decision making

No family leaveNo Social Security benefitsNo work place marriage benefits like

health insurance

Don’t benefit from1,100 laws legal & financial benefits and responsibilities for married couples

CITY & STATES WHERE GAY

MARRIAGE IS LEGAL

(California)

Connecticut

Iowa

Massachusetts

(Maryland)-pending

New Hampshire

New York

Vermont

Washington DC

RECOGNITION LAWS

There are currently no gay marriage

recognition laws

New York and Washington DC used

to have recognition laws before they

legalized gay marriage

STATES WITH CIVIL UNIONS

Delaware

Hawaii

Illinois

New Jersey

Rhode Island

STATES WITH DOMESTIC

PARTNERSHIPS

California

Colorado

Maine

Maryland

Nevada

Oregon

Washington DC

Washington State

Wisconsin

DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT

(DOMA) Federal law

passed In 1996

Signed by President Clinton

Section 2: States don’t have to

recognize gay marriages from

states where they are legal

Section 3: For federal purposes,

marriage is defined as between a

man & a woman

SECTION 2

Policy Analysis

CONTROVERSY 1

Are Gay

Rights CIVIL

RIGHTS?

LOVING V. VIRGINIA (1967)

EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE

OF THE 14TH AMENDMENT

WITHOUT CIVIL RIGHTS,

HOMOSEXUALS ARE:

COUNTER POSITION:

ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE OF THE 1ST

AMENDMENT

“Congress shall

make no law

respecting an

establishment of

religion”

CONTROVERSY 2

Is it more important

to honor majority

rule or minority

rights?

IS IT MORE IMPORTANT TO HONOR

MAJORITY RULE OR MINORITY

RIGHTS?

Marriage is one of the

"basic civil rights of

man," fundamental to our

very existence and

survival....

IS IT MORE IMPORTANT TO HONOR

MAJORITY RULE OR MINORITY

RIGHTS?

Should we have cared

that it bothered some

whites for blacks to be

equal or have civil

rights?

IS IT MORE IMPORTANT TO HONOR

MAJORITY RULE OR MINORITY

RIGHTS?

CONTROVERSY 3

Should states or federal

governments make gay

marriage laws?

DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT

(DOMA)

Section 3: For federal

purposes, marriage is

defined as between a

man & a woman

SHOULD STATES OR FEDERAL

GOVERNMENTS MAKE GAY MARRIAGE

LAWS?

Massachusetts v.

United States

Dept. of Health

and Human

Services

(D. Mass 2010)

Supreme Court Justice Louis D.

BrandeisOne of the principal

values of American

federalism is that a

“single courageous

state may, if its citizens

choose, serve as a

laboratory; and try

novel social and

economic

experiments without

risk to the rest of the

country.”

COUNTER-POSITION

The Full Faith and Credit

Clause of the U.S Constitution

says that states must

recognize “public acts, records

and judicial proceedings of

other states.”

CONTROVERSY 4

Do people have a

right to marry whom

they want?

DUE PROCESS CLAUSE

OF THE 14TH AMENDMENT

- “Nor shall any state

deprive any person of

life, liberty, or property,

without due process of

law”

DO PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO MARRY

WHOM THEY WANT?

Goodridge v. Department

of Public Health

--Due Process Clause

--Equal Protection

Clause

DO PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO MARRY

WHOM THEY WANT?

Perry v. Schwarzenegger

(2010) (Perry v. Brown on

appeal)

--Due Process

Clause

COUNTER-POSITION

.

SECTION 3

Alternative policy

ALTERNATIVE POLICY

The outcome

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Mr. Rick Rosendall,

DC Gay Marriage Bill advocate.

WORK CITEDHRC Foundation Answers to Questions About

Marriage Equality

Merriam Webster defines domestic violence and civil

unions

Gallup poll First Time Majority Americans Favor Legal

Gay Marriage