Tommorrow from noon to 1 PM Pacific time (3-4 Eastern), I will be appearing on Bob Zadek’s talk radio show in San Francisco to talk about the gay marriage litigation and other related issues. Zadek is a libertarian political commentator and lawyer who hosts a weekly talk show devoted to various political and legal issues. […]
Archive | Sex Discrimination
Gloria Allred Calls for Criminal Prosecution of Rush Limbaugh
Noted lawyer Gloria Allred, writing on the letterhead of the Women’s Equal Rights Legal Defense and Education Fund has asked the West Palm Beach County Attorney to prosecute Rush Limbaugh for violating Fla. Stat. § 836.04: Whoever speaks of and concerning any woman, married or unmarried, falsely and maliciously imputing to her a want of […]
More on Gay Marriage Bans and Judicial Minimalism
By Ilya Somin on February 12, 2012 5:57 am in Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Same-Sex Marriage, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Orientation
In a thoughtful recent post, co-blogger Dale Carpenter takes issue with my argument that bans on same-sex marriage are best attacked on the grounds that they are unconstitutional sex discrimination, and parts of my post suggesting that a minimalist strategy in the gay marriage litigation is not likely to work. Dale is one of the […]
Sex Discrimination and Tradition
By Ilya Somin on February 10, 2012 1:43 pm in Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Same-Sex Marriage, Sex Discrimination
In a recent post, co-blogger David Bernstein partially rejects my argument that a ban on same-sex marriage qualifies as sex discrimination. As David puts it: On the one hand, I agree with Ilya that bans on same-sex marriage could be described as sex discrimination. On the other hand, from opponents’ perspective, the point is that […]
On Same Sex Marriage and “Sex Discrimination”
By David Bernstein on February 10, 2012 8:16 am in Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Same-Sex Marriage, Sex Discrimination
On the one hand, I agree with Ilya that bans on same-sex marriage could be described as sex discrimination. On the other hand, from opponents’ perspective, the point is that “marriage” has been defined for several thousand years in Judeo-Christian culture as between a man and a woman, and retaining that definition is not sex […]
Judicial Minimalism and Same-Sex Marriage
By Ilya Somin on February 10, 2012 12:52 am in Constitutional Law, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Same-Sex Marriage, Sex Discrimination
Co-blogger Dale Carpenter argues that Judge Stephen Reinhardt’s recent decision striking down the California gay marriage ban is an attempt at “judicial minimalism” intended to make the outcome acceptable to a Supreme Court that is unlikely to rule that the Constitution requires nation-wide recognition of same-sex marriage. By “lowering the stakes,” Dale argues, Reinhardt gives […]
Why Same-Sex Marriage Bans Qualify as Sex Discrimination
By Ilya Somin on February 7, 2012 8:35 pm in Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Originalism, Same-Sex Marriage, Sex Discrimination
Today’s Ninth Circuit decision striking down California’s Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage is unpersuasive because it claims that the law fails to meet even minimal “rational basis” scrutiny. Eugene Volokh does a good job of explaining why. But there is an alternative constitutional rationale for striking down same-sex marriage bans that avoids this problem. Proposition […]
Calabresi & Rickert Respond to Whelan on Originalism and Sex Discrimination
By Jonathan H. Adler on December 14, 2011 4:18 pm in Constitutional Theory, Originalism, Sex Discrimination
Earlier this month, I posted on Steven Calabresi and Julia Rickert’s new paper, “Originalism and Sex Discrimination.” Published in the Texas Law Review, this article makes an originalist argument that gender discrimination, such as the exclusion of women from VMI, is unconstitutional. This is an important article, which has already received notice from Lawrence Solum […]
Affirmative Action for Men in College Admissions
My wife Alison and University of San Diego law professor Gail Heriot have just published an article in Engage on the apparently growing practice of sex discrimination on behalf of men in college admissions. Heriot serves as a Commissioner at the US Commission on Civil Rights, where Alison is her special assistant/counsel. Here’s an excerpt […]
Whelan v. Calabresi & Rickert on Originalism and Sex Discrimination
By Jonathan H. Adler on December 3, 2011 9:15 am in Constitutional Theory, Originalism, Sex Discrimination
Last week, I noted the important new article by Stephen Calabresi and Julia Rickert making an originalist case for the unconstitutionality of sex discrimination. In short, they argue that the 14th Amendment is best understood as prohibiting caste legislation, not just racial discrimination, and that it must be read in light of subsequent amendments, the […]
Single-Sex Dorms Don’t Violate Federal or D.C. Law
So holds the D.C. Office of Human Rights in Banzhaf v. Garvey (Nov. 29, 2011). Thanks to Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause) for the pointer; his post offers a slightly longer summary.
An Originalist Argument for the Unconstitutionality of Sex Discrimination
By Jonathan H. Adler on November 27, 2011 11:30 am in Constitutional Theory, Originalism, Sex Discrimination
It is generally accepted that the Supreme Court’s sex discrimination jurisprudence cannot be reconciled with an originalist interpretation of Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment. Originalists and non-originalists alike accept that the original intent of Section One was to preclude racial discrimination against blacks, and that there was no intent to prevent sex discrimination […]
North Carolina Crime of “Assault on a Female”
North Carolina, it turns out, makes “[a]ssault[ing] a female” a class A1 misdemeanor, if the attacker is “a male person at least 18 years of age”; female-on-male, male-on-male, and female-on-female assaults are generally class 2 misdemeanors. This can translate into a substantial difference in sentencing — for instance, someone who has no prior convictions would […]
The Decline of Men or Just the Rise of Women?
Cato Unbound has an interesting symposium on the changing status of men in society, including a lead essay by Kay Hymowitz arguing that men are in decline and “falling behind.” The idea that the men are declining is not unique to Hymowitz. Anthropologist Lionel Tiger has a book advancing the same thesis. Other writers have […]
The “Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2011”
Thanks to commenter Ispep Teid for alerting me to this interesting Arizona statute, which was just signed by the governor on March 29: A. A person … is guilty of a class 3 felony … [if he or she p]erforms an abortion knowing that the abortion is sought based on the sex or race of […]