Professional Documents
Culture Documents
How have opinions about same-sex marriage developed and changed from the 1970s through
the early part of the twenty-first century?
While many attempts to earn societal recognition of same-sex unions through the 1970s
were not successful, some local communities and private companies began recognizing such
"domestic partnerships" through the 1980s. While some members of the gay and lesbian
community continued to press for recognition of their unions as legal marriages, others in
the community felt that marriage itself was a patriarchal and sexist institution with which
they did not want to identify. Regardless of the divide, many people fighting for the cause
believe that all members of the gay and lesbian culture should support same-sex marriage
initiatives to present a united front on the issue.
In 2000 the Vermont legislature, in response to the 1999 state Supreme Court decision
Baker v. State, established a set of guidelines to honor same-sex partners with privileges
usually reserved for married couples. Several specific family laws, rights of inheritance, and
state tax privileges became applicable to Vermont residents in same-sex partnerships.
Further federal privileges were not, however, extended to Vermont same-sex couples.
Subsequently, legislatures in California, Hawaii, and New Jersey passed similar provisions to
honor same-sex unions. While the U.S. Constitution provides for "full faith and credit" to
extend the laws of one state into others, the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act
specifically prevented this extension to be granted in the case of same-sex partnerships.
In 2004, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom required city clerks to validate same-sex
marriages with licenses. His decision prompted other communities to do the same. The state
of Massachusetts, in its Goodridge v. Department of Public Health ruling, cleared the way
for state recognition of same-sex marriages in the same year.
Various groups have proposed challenges to such local and state rulings that would fortify
the Defense of Marriage Act or put into place a marriage amendment. These movements
intend to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman and invalidate the legal
standing of same-sex partnerships. Such efforts have resulted in a diversity of opinion with
some in the middle arguing that such decisions of family law should remain at the local and
state level. Others have also challenged what they feel are motivations by religious groups
with a vested interest in the marriage debate to blur the line between religion and politics.
Within the gay and lesbian culture, people continue to debate whether the community should
press for federally sanctioned marriage. In Canada, where same-sex marriage was made
legal in 2003, Kyle Rae, the city councilor in Toronto on the occasion of his same-sex
wedding, stated, "For most of my activist life, marriage was seen as a ritual or relationship
that had been denied to us. It was constructed as heterosexual and denied to my
community. As the straight community held onto it, it became `Why would you want to
[marry]?…' Now, my feeling is we have an opportunity to redefine marriage."
Resources:http://socialissues.wiseto.com/Articles/FO3020630117/
Homosexuality
The subject of homosexuality has often been surrounded by controversy. Much of the
dispute centers on whether homosexuality and bisexuality should be treated as morally,
socially, and legally equivalent to heterosexuality.
Theories on the Cause of Homosexuality
No single theory exists to explain the development of sexual orientation. The childhood
trauma theory maintains that homosexuality is the result of an emotional shock during
childhood. Another theory claims that homosexuality is a learned behavior. Still other
explanations favor biological factors such as hormones and genes as the cause of
homosexuality. Many scientists argue that a combination of biological factors and events at
critical points in childhood cause a person to become homosexual or bisexual. Until 1973, the
American Psychiatric Association (APA) classified homosexuality as a mental illness, but
scientific evidence led the APA to drop this classification.
Some people with homosexual feelings are uncomfortable with their sexual orientation and
seek professional counseling to try to change it. The evidence on the success of such
programs is mixed. In 2001 a study of 200 people who claimed to have changed their sexual
orientation suggested that more than half of them had developed satisfying heterosexual
relationships. However, another study of 202 people who had tried to change their sexual
orientation found that almost none had succeeded, and most of them were psychologically
damaged by the experience.
Homosexuality and the Law
For many years, homosexual behavior was illegal throughout the United States, and
discrimination against homosexuals was both legal and socially acceptable. But the modern
gay rights movement in the United States supposedly started in June 1969 with a rebellion
in New York City.
Since that time, both legislation and judicial decisions have moved toward removing laws and
ordinances against homosexual conduct and accepting gays and lesbians as parents,
professionals, and public employees.
Recognition of Homosexual Relationships
Several European countries have passed legislation that recognizes homosexual unions. Such
laws generally refer to registered partnerships rather than to marriage, and homosexual
unions generally do not enjoy all the rights granted to partners in heterosexual marriages.
However, in 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex
marriages. A new law that eliminated references to a person's gender in the legal definition
of marriage gave married same-sex couples the same rights as married heterosexual
couples. The law also allows same-sex couples to adopt Dutch children, but not children from
other countries.
Same-sex marriages are not legally recognized in the United States. As a result, partners in
homosexual relationships often lack privileges, such as the right to inherit property and to
medical, tax, and retirement benefits, that partners in traditional marriages enjoy.
Social Views of Homosexuality
Surveys suggest that Americans still hold varied and conflicting attitudes about
homosexuality. In a 2001 Gallup Poll, 52 percent of those surveyed accepted homosexuality
as a valid alternate lifestyle, compared with a 38 percent rate of acceptance in 1992. More
than 80 percent said gays and lesbians should have equal rights in the workplace. However,
40 percent were opposed to allowing homosexuals to serve as ministers or elementary school
teachers.
Resources: http://socialissues.wiseto.com/Articles/FO3020640086/?
years, why did the annual birthrate per 1,000 unmarried girls aged 15-19 triple between
1960 and 1994, even as abortion went from being illegal almost everywhere to being
available everywhere?
Why did the survey extend to age 44, since the median age of a first marriage for women in
the United States in both 1950 and 1960 was 20.3? It is likely that these results included
many women born as early as 1939 that married as virgins at around age 20 in the 1950s,
but later became either divorced or widowed. This pattern is suggested by the statement:
"Even among those who abstained until at least age 20, 81% had had premarital sex by age
44."
The folks at Guttmacher would have us believe that the virginal brides of the era
popularized by Doris Day were a myth. But the study's erroneous view of America prior to
the sexual revolution of the 1960s should cause us to question what the study says about
America today. I don't doubt that there's more promiscuity than there used to be. But is it
really as commonplace as the study claims?
The Guttmacher report concludes: "Almost all Americans have sex before marrying. These
findings argue for education and interventions that provide the skills and information people
need to protect themselves from unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases
once they become sexually active, regardless of marital status."
Which reminds us of the wise old maxim: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and
statistics."
resources: http://socialissues.wiseto.com/Articles/158387731/
This follows a UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) report unveiled in Nairobi last November,
which showed that over 15,000 children along the Kenyan coast are hired daily for
commercial sex during tourism peak season between the months of October and March.
The high teenage prostitution, the Unicef report said, accounted for the high school drop-
out rate and HIV/AIDS infections among children aged between 10 and 19 years in the
prime tourism regions of the country.
SexTrak data showed that the number of lesbians in the once conservative African
communities is on the rise, with 12 percent of the respondents saying they had "thought of
fellow women sexually" while eight percent admitted to having had lesbian intercourse.
The SexTrak data tallies with recent University of Nairobi's Institute of African Studies
findings, which estimate the ratio of lesbians in the country to be one in every five women.
Sixteen percent of the respondents aged between 18 and 25 said they prefer toys for
sexual pleasure, which they "found to be more satisfying than sex with normal sexual
partners".
However, it is this age group that has the highest number of virgins� 30 percent of the
2,400 young women polled in the 18-25 age band, according to the findings.
Speaking during the launch of the report in the Kenyan capital, Infotrak managing director
Angela Ambitho said termination of unwanted pregnancies was 46 percent of the sample
population.
"Given that the spread of sexually transmitted infections, teenage pregnancies and other
forms of societal deviances are entirely contingent upon human behaviour, it is imperative
for all stakeholders to understand the behaviour and attitudes of young women towards
sex," Ambitho said.
On the positive side, however, the pollsters said consumption of contraceptives� condoms
and pills� to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections was high, pegged at 86
percent.
The report noted that the girls tended to lose their guard on subsequent sexual encounters,
resulting in 33 percent of them contracting STIs, including HIV or conceiving.
The report said 88 percent of the girls opposed to lesbianism did because of their
(Christian and Muslim) faith and termed it immoral, culturally un-African, less satisfying or
simply lacked inclination to same-sex encounters.
Ambitho said the research revealed that despite civic education and the challenges posed
by HIV/AIDS pandemic in the country, the girls exhibited reserved tendencies to their sex
life.
Resources: http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/2761
"I'm having a heckuva time understanding what is taking so long for them to give me an
answer," says Rex Elliot, the lawyer representing Cindy Stankoski and Vanessa Stout.
Elliott says about two weeks ago, he sent a letter to Ohio AG Nancy Hardin Rogers, inquiring
about her stance on mediating the dispute. Rogers was named AG by Ohio Gov. Ted
Strickland last month following Dann's resignation May 14. She'll remain in office until a
special election for the job can be held this November
Elliott says the AG's office responded that while they "might agree," they preferred that
Elliott provide them with an opening demand. However, Elliott says he is not willing to put a
formal demand in writing, but did, instead, summarize his clients' position in a letter to
Rogers.
"The state is liable," Elliott says emphatically, adding Ohio is culpable on three fronts. First,
the two women continue to be employed on the "15th floor," referring to the location of
their jobs in the general services division of the AG's office in the James Rhodes State
Office tower in downtown Columbus. While that alone is not an issue, the women are "still
being subjected to retaliatory conduct, threats and a fair amount of hostile conduct by
colleagues," says Elliott.
Secondly, the women are seeking financial compensation for the "horrific ordeal" they
experienced since this past February, when they notified supervisors of their hostile work
environment. They also want their attorney fees paid. "An enormous amount of time has
been put into this case since early February," says Elliott.
It's not surprising that Elliott views the state as liable, but his stance is supported by the
findings of Ben Espy, who was Dann's Executive Attorney General and the lead investigator
of an inner-office investigation into the women's allegations. Espy's report, released May 2,
concluded that the sexual harassment allegations were true, the women worked in a hostile
work environment and that when supervisors were notified of the women's contentions, they
did nothing. Dann had placed Gutierrez on paid administrative leave April 7 and then
Gutierrez was fired immediately following the release of that report.
"The state is on the hook for the unlawful actions of Marc Dann and Anthony Gutierrez,"
says Elliott.
In communicating with the AG's office via letter, "the only response I hoped for was 'do
you want to mediate?'" says Elliott. He says if he doesn't receive a response soon, he will
file suit on behalf of his clients. If he does, he estimates the attorney fees alone will be
astronomical, noting they could reach the millions. Not only that, depositions and discovery
will occur throughout the fall and the election season, and Elliott says he wonders how that
publicity might impact various elections.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Rogers says she "will be responding to" Elliott. However, Ted
Hart declined to provide further details, saying it would inappropriate to discuss the matter
further. Hart did confirm, however, that Elliott had sent letters to the Attorney General.
"They sent us a letter asking if you'd be open [to negotiations] and we said, 'Let's talk.'
They sent us another letter asking us to respond by today, but it isn't going to be today,"
says Hart.
For the record, the 'today' Hart referred to was Friday the 13th.
Resources: http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/213466-ohio-ags-stance-on-negotiating-
sexual-harassment-claims-unclear