explore constitutional and moral issues associated with gay rights and sexual preference

Bowers v. Hardwick and Lawrence v. Texas, assigned in this week’s reading, explore constitutional and moral issues associated with gay rights and sexual preference. The intense debate among the justices in these cases serve as the foundation for understanding the significance of more recent decisions about gay rights, such as Hollingsworth v. Perry which addressed the validity of California’s ban on same sex marriage and United States v. Windsor which dealt with the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In the Windsor case the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a section of DOMA that denied federal benefits to the spouse of a same sex marriage couple whose marriage was legally recognized by the state of New York. Most recently, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the right to marry is a fundamental right protected by the equal protection and due process clauses of the Constitution and that this protection extends to same sex marriages.
Use this discussion board to examine the moral, political, policy and legal issues raised in the Bowers andLawrence cases. Justice Scalia’s dissent in the Lawrence decision, along with Justice Kennedy’s opinion for the majority in that case, are especially useful in addressing the issues raised in this week’s materials.How does Justice Kennedy justify the shift in the Supreme Court’s view of homosexual behavior in the Lawrence case? What problems does Justice Scalia raise in his dissent about issues of equality as they relate to homosexual behavior and morality? Your comments on the DB should reflect having read and thought about this week’s materials. You should find the issues discussed in these cases both interesting and provocative.
I encourage you also to research United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges to consider their implications for what they signify about the evolution of rights in the United States.

1. View Campbell Brown’s interview with Olsen & Boies

2. View Charlie Rose interview with David Boise

Readings:
Bowers v. Hardwick http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0478_0186_ZS.html
Lawrence v. Texas http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/02-102.ZS.html
Joan Biskikup, “Court’s Opinion on Gay Rights Reflects Trends”

Order from us and get better grades. We are the service you have been looking for.