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Exploring Evans v. Romer: Legal Insights into Sexual Orientation and State Law

This overview examines the significant Supreme Court case Evans v. Romer, which addressed the validity of Colorado’s Amendment 2 that prohibited anti-discrimination protections for sexual minorities. We delve into the jurisprudential debates between scholars such as Finnis and Nussbaum, highlighting their differing perspectives on morality, law, and sexual orientation. Through this case study, we aim to foster critical thinking about the evolvement of legal standards related to sexual rights and the implications of judicial biases, framing the discussion within the broader context of sexual politics in the U.S.

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Exploring Evans v. Romer: Legal Insights into Sexual Orientation and State Law

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  1. Evans v. Romer Why Read Plato?...

  2. “The less that lawyers know about a subject, the less that judges will know; and the less that judges know, the more likely they are to vote their prejudices.”(Nussbaum p. 3 quoting Posner)

  3. Agenda • Sex and the State • Evans v. Romer: Case and Case-Law • Finnis versus Nussbaum • Dissonant Harmony? • Adventures in Critical Thinking • The Arguments: Your Impressions Evans v. Romer

  4. Sex and the State Evans v. Romer: Case and Case-Law

  5. Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) • Supreme Court Case • Sodomy law upheld “To hold that the act of homosexual sodomy is somehow protected as a fundamental right would be to cast aside millennia of moral teaching” (Chief Justice Warren Burger) Evans v. Romer

  6. Colorado Amendment 2 (1992) • Outlawing… • pro-gay/bi legislation • Denying… • sexual minority rights recognition Evans v. Romer

  7. Challenge: Evans v. Romer • Plaintiffs • Richard G. Evans • John Miller • Priscilla Inkpen • et al. • Defendants • Gov. Roy Romer • state of Colo. • state attorney general Evans v. Romer

  8. Federal Appeal… • Struck down (5/21/1996) • 14th amendment (equal protection) • Scalia dissent… • Amendment 2 as “modest attempt ... to preserve traditional sexual mores against the efforts of a politically powerful minority” Evans v. Romer

  9. Aftermath… • Lawrence v. Texas (2003) • Overturns Bowers v. Hardwick • Same-sex marriage • Legalized • Massachusetts • Connecticut • California • Outlawed • Arizona • California (Proposition 8, 2008) Evans v. Romer

  10. Finnis versus Nussbaum Dissonant Harmony?

  11. Finnis, “Law, Morality, and ‘Sexual Orientation’ ” Notre Dame Law Review 69.5 (1994) 1049–76 Nussbaum, “Platonic Love and Colorado Law: The Relevance of Ancient Greek Norms to Modern Sexual Controversies” Virginia Law Review 80.7 (1994) 1515–1652 Authors and Aims Evans v. Romer

  12. What say they/you?... Finnis Nussbaum Evolving standards perspective as per Warren Ancient texts as Thought experiments in diversity Interrogations of assumptions • Traditional morality standard • as per Burger • Parallel • Standard Modern (European) Position • Moral argument • Homoerotic sex as actualizing no good • Textual-historical validation Evans v. Romer

  13. Adventures in Critical Thinking The Arguments: Your Impressions

  14. The Arguments: Your Impressions Evans v. Romer

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