Tag Archives: Duke University

Arguing Equality Chapter 3: Sexism and Gay Marriage

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This is a nine-part installment designed to help everyone understand marriage equality.  For some, it will be an education, for others, it will be helpful when discussing the subject.  I have included links to each chapter at the end, as well as information about the author.

CHAPTER 3:

SEXISM AND GAY MARRIAGE

In recent years, feminist scholars and gay theorists have developed a body of thought which explores homophobia as a manifestation of sexism. One basic tenet of this line of thought is that strict gender roles, hierarchically constructed, serve to subordinate women to men — economically, culturally, and politically.

In order to maintain the status quo, these gender roles must be strictly adhered to, an adhesion which is maintained by punishing gender non-conformity (effeminacy in men, tomboyish qualities in women) by labeling that non-conformity, stigmatizing it, as “queer.”

Sound confusing? Let’s break it down: Those who have ever watched adolescents on a playground will attest that the boy who wants to play hopscotch rather than baseball will be strictly, and often relentlessly, teased as a “faggot.” Homophobia thus promotes sexism — a fear of being labeled homosexual enforces strict adherence to gender roles, which in turn solidifies male dominance over women.

Deriving from this interplay between sexism and homophobia is a line of argumentation which attacks the ban on same-sex marriage not because it is homophobic, but rather because it is sexist. The Supreme Court of Hawaii illustrated this argument utilizing a simple analogy between a same-sex couple in Baehr v. Mike and a mixed-race couple in Loving v. Virginia.

In Loving, the court argued, a black woman could marry a black man, but not a white man. The difference was race — indisputable racism. In Baehr, a woman could marry a man, but not a woman. The difference was sex — indisputable sexism.

On this basis, just as bans on miscegenation were outlawed as racist, the court argued that bans on gay marriage should be outlawed as sexist. Especially in those states which have adopted the Equal Rights Amendment and subject gender bias to the highest levels of scrutiny, reasoning which exposes the ban on gay marriage as a form of sex discrimination may bear great weight in convincing legislators or judges that same-sex marriage should be declared unconstitutional.

via Sexism and Gay Marriage.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Seth Persily is a member of the Georgia Bar and a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, Mr. Persily served as Publisher of the Harvard Law Record and co-President of the Lambda Law Association. Mr. Persily obtained his undergraduate degree from Duke University, where he served as President of the Duke Gay, Bisexual & Lesbian Association. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa, with a B.A. in Religion and a minor in Gay & Lesbian Studies.

Mr. Persily worked at the Atlanta law firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan before opening his own practice, Persily & Associates, which concentrates on employment discrimination and real estate law. He serves on the Board of Directors for Georgia Equality as well as YouthPride.

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Arguing Equality Chapter 1: Gay Marriage as a Matter of Justice

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This is a nine-part installment designed to help everyone understand marriage equality.  For some, it will be an education, for others, it will be helpful when discussing the subject.  I have included a direct link to the chapter at the end, as well as information about the author.

CHAPTER 1:

A MATTER OF JUSTICE

Imagine if tomorrow, Congress enacted a law denying Jews the right to raise children together in a legally protected relationship. Or if by act of law, African-American couples who had lived together for years would no longer be permitted joint filing of tax returns, joint policies for their home, health or auto insurance.

Of course, this is a daily reality for millions of gay Americans. While it may not be readily apparent, marriage comes with a host of legal rights — 1,049 to be exact,1 ranging from the ability to collect Social Security survivor’s benefits to the right not to have to testify against a spouse in court. Listed below is a small sampling of some of these rights and benefits, each of which are currently denied to gay couples:

  • Priority in being appointed guardian of an incapacitated spouse or in being recognized as acting for an incapacitated spouse in making health care decisions
  • The right to invoke special state protection for “intrafamily offenses.”
  • The right to receive, or the obligation to provide, spousal support and (in the event of divorce) alimony and an equitable division of property.
  • The right to receive additional Social Security benefits based on a spouse’s contribution.
  • The right to spousal benefits guaranteed to public employees, including health insurance, life insurance and disability payments, plus similar contractual benefits for private sector employees.
  • The right to survivor’s benefits following the death of a veteran spouse.
  • Numerous rights relating to the involuntary hospitalization of a spouse, including the right to be notified, and the right to initiate proceedings leading to release.
  • The right to conjugal visits with a spouse who is incarcerated in prison.
  • The right to priority in claiming human remains and in making anatomical donations on behalf of a deceased spouse.
  • The right for a non-American spouse to qualify as an “immediate relative” and gain American citizenship under federal law.
  • The right to bring a lawsuit for the wrongful death of a spouse and for the intentional infliction of emotional distress through harm to a spouse.
  • The right to file a joint bankruptcy petition with a spouse.
  • The right to 59 distinct income tax deductions, credits, and exemptions.
  • A multitude of inheritance rights, including priority in inheriting the property of a spouse who dies without a will, the right to a family allowance, and the right to dower.

The denial of these rights to gay and lesbian couples is no academic matter – it has palpable consequences in everyday lives. Take, for example, the case of Holly Gunner, who began advocating for the right to marry when she came to realize that, in the eyes of the law, lifelong gay and lesbian couples could be treated as little more than roommates.

Following the death of Eileen, her partner of fifteen years, Holly discovered that she did not have the legal authority to carry out Eileen’s wishes to be cremated. In fact, she came to discover that doctors could even have barred her from seeing her dying spouse in the hospital. At work, Holly was not permitted to take bereavement leave. Then she was forced to pay taxes on Eileen’s property without any benefit of a marital tax deduction, and to make matters worse, even though Holly inherited most of Eileen’s estate, Eileen’s family refused to permit her to be the administrator of the estate.

“As if this wasn’t [sic] all galling enough,” Holly later told a reporter, “it was happening at the most painful, awful time in my life.” Holly’s story provides a stark reminder that granting 1,049 federal rights and privileges to one class of persons and categorically denying them to another is a gross violation of fundamental principles of equality. The fight for equal access to the institution of marriage is a fight for justice. Indeed, if our constitution’s promise of “equal protection under the law” stands for anything, it surely stands for the principle that if lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens work and pay taxes, then they deserve the same financial and other benefits that all other Americans receive.

On February 27, 2004, Rosie O’Donnell traveled to San Francisco to wed her partner, Kelli Carpenter. Appearing on Good Morning America, she explained that previously, during a court battle with the publisher of Rosie magazine, O’Donnell’s attorneys requested that communications between her and her partner be excluded from testimony. Although communications between a husband and wife routinely receive this “spousal privilege,” the court rejected her request. “As a result,” O’Donnell explained, “everything that I said to Kelli, every letter that I wrote her, every e-mail, every correspondence and conversation was entered into the record. After the trial, I am now and will forever be a total proponent of gay marriage.”

“The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.”  – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren, writing for the majority in Loving v. Virginia

via Gay Marriage as a Matter of Justice.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Seth Persily is a member of the Georgia Bar and a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, Mr. Persily served as Publisher of the Harvard Law Record and co-President of the Lambda Law Association. Mr. Persily obtained his undergraduate degree from Duke University, where he served as President of the Duke Gay, Bisexual & Lesbian Association. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa, with a B.A. in Religion and a minor in Gay & Lesbian Studies.

Mr. Persily worked at the Atlanta law firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan before opening his own practice, Persily & Associates, which concentrates on employment discrimination and real estate law. He serves on the Board of Directors for Georgia Equality as well as YouthPride.

Charlie Rose – Style Icon

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NAME: Charles Peete Rose, Jr.
OCCUPATION: Talk Show Host, Television Producer, Journalist
BIRTH DATE: January 05, 1942 (Age: 70)
EDUCATION: Duke University
PLACE OF BIRTH: Henderson, North Carolina

BEST KNOWN FOR: Charlie Rose is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991, he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed by PBS.

Journalist. Born Charles Peete Rose Jr. on January 5, 1942 in Henderson, North Carolina. After graduating from high school, Rose entered Duke University as a premed student. During college, an internship with a senator got Rose interested in politics, and he eventually earned an A.B. in history and a J.D. from Duke’s School of Law.

With little interest in becoming a lawyer, Rose started taking classes at NYU’s Graduate School of Business in 1968. Though he accepted a job at Bankers Trust, business also failed to hold his interest. At the time, his wife was doing research for CBS’ 60 Minutes, and Rose became intrigued with the world of broadcast journalism. In 1972, he landed his first reporting job with New York’s WPIX-TV.

In 1974, Rose met Bill Moyers at a social event, and soon after he began working at PBS as the managing editor of Bill Moyers’ International Report. The team had fantastic chemistry and in 1975, Rose became executive producer of Bill Moyers’ Journal. The following year, Rose became the correspondent for U.S.A.: People and Politics, Moyers’ weekly political magazine. “A Conversation with Jimmy Carter,” one installment of that series, won a 1976 Peabody Award.

When Moyers left PBS in 1976, Rose accepted the post of political correspondent for NBC News, based in Washington, D.C. There, he hosted numerous interview shows. In 1979, he was hired by KXAS-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth to do a talk show that eventually developed into The Charlie Rose Show.

In 1981, The Charlie Rose Show moved to Washington, D.C., where it was broadcast on the NBC-owned station WRC-TV. Two years later, CBS hired Rose to anchor Nightwatch, which was broadcast during the middle-of-the-night timeslot (2 a.m. – 6 a.m.). He hosted the show for six years and earned an Emmy Award in 1987 for his interview with Charles Manson.

In 1990, Rose left CBS to serve as anchor of Personalities, which ended soon after Rose discovered the tabloid nature of the program. Nearly a year later, he approached PBS to produce an interview show of his own. Charlie Rose debuted in 1991, and was syndicated nationally in 1993.

Every weekday from 11 p.m. to midnight on PBS, Rose engages America’s best thinkers, writers, politicians, athletes, entertainers, business leaders, scientists and other newsmakers. His signature round oak table and black backdrop have become television icons to his legions of fans. In addition, Rose launched Charlie Rose Special Edition, which profiles such prominent entertainers as Meryl Streep and Garth Brooks, as well as week-long specials on science news like the Human Genome Project. He also hosts a series called Great Masters, which takes an in-depth look at the lives and works of various artists. In addition, he is a correspondent for 60 Minutes II.

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