Same-sex divorce is on the horizon in light of the 2015 legalization of same-sex marriage. Since most divorce case law is based on heteronormative presumptions, the authors were curious to understand how local district judges would adjudicate a same-sex divorce case involving a child born prior to the legal marriage. A qualitative study was implemented and a convenient sample of four local district judges in Upper East Tennessee were interviewed for this study. Interview questions were submitted to the judges prior to the interview and themes were identified following data collection. None of the judges had adjudicated a same-sex divorce. All of the judges admitted that they were unfamiliar with case law on same-sex divorce and acknowledged that they would most likely default to heteronormative case law. The judges indicated that they have not had any training on the changing case law as it relates to same-sex divorce and custody issues. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.

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Although the ideal of liberal neutrality remains common in political philosophy, some authors argue that moral judgments are indispensable in public decisions. In particular, Michael J. Sandel has proposed that the question of legalizing same-sex marriage cannot be settled without ideas about the value and purpose of marriage. In this study, the final debate in the Swedish parliament about gender-neutral marriage is analyzed in terms of members of parliament’s opinions on state neutrality. It is shown that the ideal of moral neutrality are either rejected or accepted, but in the latter case the value-neutral ideal is not sustained throughout the course of the debate. Instead, members of parliament invoke ideas about the moral value of marriage and same-sex relationships. This adds some credibility to Sandel’s opinion that important public decisions rely on conceptions on what constitutes a good life. However, the ultimate success of Sandel’s argument depends on whether state recognition of civil marriage in itself can be justified on value-neutral grounds.

In just over one year since United States v. Windsor— the case invalidating sections of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defined marriage, for purposes of federal statutes, as the “union of man and woman”— more than a dozen states have had their same-sex marriage bans ruled unconstitutional. This suggests a shift in legal meaning; previously successful arguments against same-sex “marriage” now seem irrational as argumentative ground has shifted. Since favorable rulings redefine “marriage” to include same-sex unions, this thesis analyzes Kitchen v. Herbert, a 2014 legal opinion from the United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit, to understand the rhetorical processes underpinning its redefinitional act. That analysis draws on Kenneth Burke’s theories of entitling and constitutions and discusses the rhetorical concepts of terministic screens, casuistic screens, scope and circumference as key features of the rhetoric of the legal opinions. The findings call for a balancing of deconstructive and conventional approaches to legal discourse. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Over the last few decades, there has been a significant increase in the political and public acceptance of gay men and lesbians. However, this trend of acceptance is not a global phenomenon. Currently over 70 countries still criminalise private consensual same-sex intimacy, among which are 11 of the 12 independent Commonwealth Caribbean states. It should be noted that the anti-gay laws of the Caribbean are rarely used to police consensual private sexual activities. Thus, if private same-sex conduct is rarely penalised, why keep the laws in place, especially in the age where such bans are considered a violation of basic human rights? Many policy makers in the region have cited public opinions about homosexuality as a significant barrier to law reform. However, while a common view is that these laws are anchored by public support, very few studies have emerged to test whether the attitudes and behaviours of the general population are in line with this view. Against this backdrop, this thesis analyses attitudes towards lesbians and gay men and their legal rights in the Commonwealth Caribbean. The thesis begins with an analysis of support for the anti-gay laws in Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. The analysis revealed that a majority of the sample supported the maintenance and enforcement of the laws, but did not want same-sex couples to be penalised for having sex in private. This suggests that attitudes may not be as stark as policy makers suggest. The descriptive statistics also show that a significant share of individuals think that the laws (1) reflect moral standards; (2) stop the spread of homosexuality; (3) are important from a public health perspective, and (4) protect young people from abuse. Support for the laws are thus related to beliefs that homosexuality is a 'threat' to the fabric of society. The empirical analysis of support for the laws revealed that religiousness, interpersonal contact and beliefs about the origin of homosexuality were the most reliable predictors of public support. However, age and education were only statistically significant in a few models, and there was no evidence that attitudes varied across religious denominations. This is a contrast to the findings of studies in the West. It was hypothesised that macro-level factors - such as the large share of Evangelicals, anti-gay laws and level of socioeconomic development - could be exerting an influence on attitudes that is stronger than that of these personal characteristics. As such, the study conducted a cross-national analysis of attitudes towards same-sex marriage in 28 countries in the Americas, 6 of which were members of the Commonwealth Caribbean. In general, countries with higher levels of development, smaller shares of Evangelicals and more liberal laws on homosexuality were more approving of same-sex marriage. The results also suggest that the impact of age and/or religion is less prominent in countries with restrictions on same-sex intimacy, lower levels of development and a strong Evangelical presence, confirming the hypothesis that contextual factors could mitigate the impact of some of the individual-level variables. Finally, to get a nuanced view of anti-gay prejudice in the region, a thematic analysis of anti-gay speech in dancehall and reggae - music originating from Jamaica but popular in the region - was presented. The thematic analysis revealed that homosexuality is presented as 'sinful', a 'violation of gendered norms', 'unnatural', a 'threat to society' and a 'foreign lifestyle'. The presentation of homosexuality as a 'foreign' lifestyle suggests that anti-gay prejudice could be related to fears of neo-imperialism and could be a means of rejecting ideological intrusions from the West. This is not surprising, as currently, the fight for the advancement of gay rights is being headed by activists in the West. Based on the thematic analysis, efforts to remove the anti-gay laws should be (or at least appear to be) home-grown to limit public backlash.

While activists and others have argued that the legitimization of biased attitudes and stereotypes by political leaders foments violence against minority groups, criminological research in the U.S. has focused more on "threat" hypotheses that view hate crime as a retaliatory response to perceived gains or encroachment of targeted groups. Another view suggests that heightened public visibility of hate crimes or other bias issues, usually in the form of media coverage, increases hate crimes. This study compares the effect on anti-LGB crimes of events representing political threat (a court decision legalizing marriage equality) and political legitimization of bias (passage of a ban on marriage equality), both of which occurred in California in 2008. The study also tests effects of media coverage prior to the ban on marriage equality. Results showed a statistically significant increase in anti-LGB hate crimes after the ban on same-sex marriage. There was no effect on anti-LGB crime counts after the court decision to legalize marriage equality, or during the media campaign leading up to the vote to ban marriage equality.

Thesis (doctoral)--Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg (Breisgau), 2001/2002.

Homoseksualumas – lytinė orientacija, kuri paprastai suprantama kaip priešinga heteroseksualumui, nes pasižymi lytiniu potraukiu tos pačios lyties atstovams, ir todėl visuomenėje dažnai pripažįstama nukrypimu nuo normos, o tai suponuoja šių asmenų diskriminaciją. Darbe analizuojamos Europos Žmogaus Teisių Teismo praktikos tendencijos, susijusios su baudžiamosios atsakomybės už homoseksualius santykius panaikinimu, ginant šių asmenų teisę į privatumą. Atskleidžiama, kad Teismas pasisako prieš bet kokį baudžiamąjį persekiojimą, grindžiamą lytine orientacija, siekdamas, kad Europos Tarybos valstybėse būtų pripažįstamos ir saugomos homoseksualių asmenų teisės. Šiandien vis garsiau kalbama apie homoseksualių asmenų teisę į santuoką. Magistro baigiamajame darbe analizuojama EŽTT praktika, siekiant nustatyti, ar kartu gyvenančių homoseksualių asmenų santykiai patenka į šeimos gyvenimo apimtį. Be to, ar pagal Europos žmogaus teisių konvenciją valstybės turi pozityvią pareigą teisę į santuoką užtikrinti ne tik skirtingų lyčių poroms, t.y. neatsižvelgiant į lytinę orientaciją. Egzistuojantis registruotos partnerystės institutas yra alternatyvi forma įteisinti homoseksualius santykius, tad siekiama nustatyti, ar EŽTT įpareigoja valstybes suteikti minėtą galimybę tos pačios lyties poroms savo nacionalinėje teisėje. Homoseksualių asmenų teisė įsivaikinti yra viena iš kontraversiškiausių teisių, nes siejasi su vaiko teisėmis, jo geriausiais interesais. Tad magistro baigiamajame darbe yra... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Homosexuality – sexual orientation which is the opposite of heterosexuality because it is characterized as sexual desire for persons of the same sex. That is why a society often acknowledges it like a deviation from norms and this may sometimes result as an act of discrimination. The Master’s thesis analyses the tendency of the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights which is related to abolishing the criminalisation of private homosexual relations. It is important because of defending the right to privacy of homosexuals. The Court speaks against criminal prosecution on the ground of sexual orientation and finds that Member States of the Council of Europe should recognize and protect the rights of homosexual persons. Today the discussions about the right to the same-sex marriage are becoming louder and louder. The thesis attempts to ascertain whether the cohabitation of homosexuals falls in the ambit of a family life according to the European Court of Human Rights as well as whether the Member States of the European Convention on Human Rights have a positive obligation to ensure the right to marry for the same-sex couples. Furthermore, the institute of a registered partnership is an alternative form for legalizing homosexual relationships. Thus, it is necessary to identify whether the Court puts an obligation to the Member States to make that opportunity for the same-sex couples in the national legal systems. The right of adoption of homosexuals is a highly... [to full text]

With the aim of increasing practitioner competence, this dissertation provides marriage and family therapists and mental health service providers with insight into the experiences of legally married same-sex couples. Specifically, the inquiry's objective was to elicit narratives of strength and agency from these couples who navigated the oppressive circumstances of an anti-gay amendment campaign situated within the debate over the extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples. Fourteen couples were interviewed in order to respond to the dissertation's overriding question: How do the lesbian and gay couples and families who are among those who were legally married in California before the passage of Proposition 8 narrate their experiences of their marriages? Through portraiture (Lawrence-Lightfoot & Davis, 1997), a method of inquiry situated within a postmodern, social constructionist framework, a narrative was produced which evolved through five emergent themes: 1) Our Commitments Have Rich Histories -- the symbolic and legal ways in which these couples commemorated and brought definition to their commitments, in the absence of a nationally-sanctioned and collectively-recognized state of legal marriage; 2) Not a Simple Matter: The Complexities of Language Choice -- their contextual language choices, which reflected the absence of representative and collectively-recognized language options for their relationships after their legal marriages; 3) The Battle Metaphor -- the couples' experiences of California's political debate over the extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples; 4) Support Shaped Lived Experiences -- the impact of support from friends, family, and community; and lastly, 5) Legal Marriage Shaped Individual, Relational, and Social Identities -- individual, relational and social shifts that occurred for the couples through the experience of being legally married. A follow-up focus group further validated the theme Support Shaped Lived Experiences, and examined more deeply the tensions that occurred when important persons were silent about and/or did not recognize the legitimacy of the couples' legal marriages, and/or the discriminatory context in which their legal marriages were situated. In addition to its contribution of the experiences of legally married same-sex couples to the family therapy literature, the dissertation concludes with important implications for affirmative therapeutic practice, research, education, training, advocacy, and social policy.

This article studies the parliamentary debate over the approval of a legislative change on the Spanish Civil Code, which gave permission to Same-Sex marriages since 2005. The author tries to approach to Congress debates as complex processes, in which different levels of rationality (as of irrationality) are intersperse in the argumentations of senators and deputies.In order to clarify this confounding scenario, the tools of ‘legisprudential studies’ or legislative rationality are of utmost importance, because they allow us to group the reasons in typologies, and to analyze possible counter-arguments or voids relating to supporting evidence. That is why the approach of this work, in relation to the substance of the matter, is neutral and rather points to demonstrate the immense methodological potential of legislative rationality models, and how these could contribute to illuminate the ongoing discussion on our country. / El presente artículo realiza un estudio sobre el debate parlamentario en torno a la aprobación de una modificación al Código Civil español, que permitió el matrimonio entre personas del mismo sexo desde el 2005. En ese sentido, el autor busca aproximarse a los debates parlamentarios como procesos complejos, en donde los distintos niveles de racionalidad (e irracionalidad) están entremezclados en las argumentaciones de senadores y diputados.Para aclarar el confuso panorama, las herramientas de los “estudios legisprudenciales” o de racionalidad legislativa resultan fundamentales, pues permiten agrupar a los argumentos en tipologías, y pasar a analizar posibles contraargumentos o vacíos en cuanto a evidencia de respaldo. Es por ello que la perspectiva del presente trabajo es neutral en cuanto al fondo del asunto, y apunta más bien a mostrar el gran potencial metodológico de modelos de racionalidad legislativa, y cómo estos contribuirían a aclarar el debate en curso en nuestro país.