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There is an old adage that says one should always avoid discussion about
politics and religion. Experience has taught me that people don't pay
attention to old adages. There's always someone somewhere who is more than
willing to share their religious beliefs regardless of the receptiveness of
the audience. Likewise, there is never a shortage of political discussion,
at least about a candidate's sex life. Discussions about specific laws and
their effects are less common. Whether this is due to lack of interest or
lack of exposure is unclear to me but my experience has been that most
people don't know what "the law" actually is -- at least not in specific
instances. People often don't realize that there are two sources of law in the United States. Statutory law is created through legislation. These are the laws that are created by Congress, state legislatures, and local governing bodies. An example of statutory law would be the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), passed by Congress and signed by the President. This law bars a gay couple from receiving certain federal benefits that are available to heterosexual, married couples even if a state should some day allow gay couples to marry. The second source of law in this country is created by court decisions. This is known as case law. An example of case law would be the Miranda warnings that police officers are required to give to criminal suspects before they can be questioned. Those warnings (that the criminal suspect has a right to remain silent, that anything he says can be used against him in a court of law, that he has the right to an attorney, etc.) came out of the case, Miranda v. Arizona. Because of the wide sweeping effect of the decision in the Miranda case, it is a landmark case. There are also some landmark cases that have had a profound affect on the lives of gay men and lesbians across this country. Two of these cases come from the Supreme Court of the United States. Another, is from the State of Hawaii. All three cases have the capacity to change our lives for better or worse. With so much at stake, it is important that the we in the gay community be aware of the status of the laws that can affect us so fundamentally.
The following cases are of specific relevance to the gay community. It is my
intention to provide a short synopsis of each case and a discussion of its
relevance to the gay community. I will also include links to sites that
contain the opinion itself as well as other sites with more information
on the case. It is my hope that by providing a little information here,
others may be inspired to do what they can to further equal rights for gay
men and lesbians everywhere. |
