Transcript Same-sex unions and marriages worldwide

Advanced Placement®
American Government and
Politics
UNIT VI – THE U.S. CONGRESS (12), & LGBT
RIGHTS
PART 1 – LGBT RIGHTS
Same-Sex Marriage and the
U.S. Political System
DOES THE U.S. CONSTITUTION PROTECT
THE RIGHT OF SAME-SEX PARTNERS TO
LEGALLY MARRY? SHOULD SAME-SEX
MARRIAGE BE LEGAL?
Fourteenth Amendment (1868)
All persons born or naturalized in the United States,
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of
the United States and of the state wherein they
reside. No state shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of
citizens of the United States; nor shall any state
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor deny to any person
within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws.
The constitution’s right to
privacy
LGBT ISSUES AND THE U.S.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
A Constitutional “Right to Privacy”?
 Connecticut law banned the
use or encouragement of
contraception.
 U.S. Supreme Court ruled
that Constitution guarantees
a “right to privacy,”
especially in intimate aspects
of marriage, procreation,
contraception, family
relationships, and child
rearing.
 Struck down Connecticut
anti-contraception law.
Griswold v. Connecticut
(1965)
Estelle Griswold, director of
Connecticut Planned Parenthood
A Constitutional “Right to Privacy”?
 Ruling based on
Roe v. Wade (1973)
constitutional right to
privacy
 States forbidden from
completely outlawing
abortion
Norma McCorvey (a.k.a. “Jane Roe”)
Anti-“Sodomy” Laws
 Georgia anti-sodomy law
 “Right to privacy” protects
intimate aspects of
marriage, procreation,
contraception, family
relationships, and child
rearing but does not protect
sexual relations between
gay partners because "no
connection between family,
marriage, or procreation…
and homosexual activity…
has been demonstrated.”
Bowers v. Hardwick
(1986)
Anti-“Sodomy” Laws
 Texas anti-sodomy laws
 Overturned ruling in
Bowers v. Hardwick.
 Intimate sexual relations
– including between
same-sex partners –
protected by the right to
privacy.
Lawrence v. Texas
(2003)
U.S. Military Policy
LGBT ISSUES AND THE U.S.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
U.S. Military Policy
• Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (1993)
• Repealed in 2010
Employment discrimination
LGBT ISSUES AND THE U.S.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
•
Passed by
Democraticcontrolled U.S.
Senate in
November 2013
•
Pending in
Republican-led
U.S. House of
Representatives
Employment Non-Discrimination
Act (ENDA)
Same-sex Marriage
LGBT ISSUES AND THE
U.S. POLITICAL SYSTEM
Same-Sex Unions and Marriages
Worldwide
Source: CQ Researcher, 2013
State Policies on Same-Sex
Marriage Over Time
Source: Pew Center
States with Same-Sex Marriage
Prohibitions, March 2015
Same-Sex Marriage and the
Supreme Court
United States v.
Windsor (2013)
 Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA) (1996):


Federal government would
not recognize same-sex
marriage for the purpose of
federal programs (section 3)
State governments could
refuse to recognize same-sex
marriages from other states
Same-Sex Marriage and the
Supreme Court
United States v.
Windsor (2013)
 Section 3 of Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA)
(1996) struck down as a
violation of the Equal
Protection Clause of the
14th Amendment and the
principle of federalism
Same-Sex Marriage and the
Supreme Court
Hollingsworth v.
Perry (2013)
 May 2008: California
Supreme Court declares
same-sex marriage ban
violates state constitution
 November 2008:
Californians approve
Proposition 8, amending
the state constitution to
make same-sex marriage
illegal
Same-Sex Marriage and the
Supreme Court
Hollingsworth v.
Perry (2013)
 2010: Federal district
court declares California
same-sex marriage ban a
violation of the Due
Process Clause and Equal
Protection Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment.
 2012: Federal appeals
court upholds district
court decision.
Same-Sex Marriage and the
Supreme Court
Hollingsworth v.
Perry (2013)
 June 2013: U.S. Supreme
Court rules that the samesex marriage ban
defenders had no legal
standing in the case, so the
Court did not rule on the
merits of the case
 Same-sex marriages
resume in California.
Same-Sex Marriage and the
Supreme Court
Hollingsworth v.
Perry (2013)
 June 2013 to March
2015: Federal courts in
numerous states strike
down same-sex marriage
prohibitions on
Fourteenth Amendment
grounds.
State Policies on Same-Sex
Marriage Over Time
Source: Pew Center
Source: Pew
Center
Attitudes Toward Same-Sex
Marriage, 2001-2013
Source: Pew
Center
Attitudes Toward Same-Sex
Marriage by Ideology, 2001-2013
Issue: 1) Does the
Fourteenth
Amendment require
a state to license a
marriage between
two people of the
same sex? 2) Does
the Fourteenth
Amendment require
a state to recognize
a marriage between
two people of the
same sex when their
marriage was
lawfully licensed
and performed outof-state?
Obergefell v. Hodges
The last great hurdle???