Lawrence affirms the proposition that the Constitution protects a ‘zone of privacy’ from government regulation. Scalia understands that. His angry dissent clearly sets out his belief that "a governing majority’s belief that certain sexual behavior is immoral and unacceptable constitutes a rational basis for regulation." Scalia goes further: he asserts that "there is no right to liberty under the Due Process Clause, though today’s opinion repeatedly makes that claim."
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Category Archives: Gay Rights
Out From Under the Rocks
As the local readers of this column know, I also write a twice-monthly column for the Indianapolis Star, devoted to civil liberties and public policy issues. From time to time, I use that forum to comment on issues involving sexual orientation, civil rights, the recent Texas sodomy case, and most recently, the Massachusetts marriage decision. Whenever homosexuality is the subject, I can expect lots of negative responses–more often than not, anonymous.
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A Dangerous Year
The most serious potential consequence of this backlash is the proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The President and a number of members of Congress have expressed support for such an amendment. (They can read the polls, although the evidence would suggest they can’t–or don’t–read much else.)
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Defending Marriage
There’s an item making the rounds of the internet purporting to express the reaction of Henry VIII, founder of the Anglican Church, to Church blessings of same-sex unions: "Henry VIII, and his wife Catherine, and his wife Anne, and his wife Jane, and his other wife Anne, and his two wives named Katherine, are appalled at this attack on the sanctity of the institution of marriage!"
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The Time Has Come
Current Indiana law does not protect people from being fired, or denied housing, simply because they are gay or transgendered. When this fact comes up in one of my classes, it usually stuns my students, most of whom were born after passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. They regard civil rights laws as part of the natural order of things, and even those who are disapproving of homosexuality are appalled that people could actually lose their jobs or homes because they are gay.
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