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Evans v. Romer. Why Read Plato?. “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). Agenda. Sex and the State Evans v. Romer : Case and Case-Law
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Evans v. Romer Why Read Plato?...
“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)
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
Sex and the State Evans v. Romer: Case and Case-Law
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
Colorado Amendment 2 (1992) • Outlawing… • pro-gay/bi legislation • Denying… • sexual minority rights recognition Evans v. Romer
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
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
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
Finnis versus Nussbaum Dissonant Harmony?
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
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
Adventures in Critical Thinking The Arguments: Your Impressions
The Arguments: Your Impressions Evans v. Romer