Current Search: Religion and politics -- United States -- History -- 21st century (x)
-
-
Title
-
Finding the rainbow connection: moving from toleration to human dignity and acceptance in American life and law.
-
Creator
-
Lange, Alex C., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
-
Abstract/Description
-
The surge in granting equal rights to gays and lesbians in the United States is remarkable. Yet with this surge comes a conflict : the civil rights of gays and lesbians against the rights of religious individuals, predominantly Christians, refusing to tolerate a behavior they think immoral. My thesis focuses on two hypothetical situations : a county clerk refusing to issue a marriage license to an engaged lesbian couple and an inn owner refusing a night's stay to a gay couple. In both cases,...
Show moreThe surge in granting equal rights to gays and lesbians in the United States is remarkable. Yet with this surge comes a conflict : the civil rights of gays and lesbians against the rights of religious individuals, predominantly Christians, refusing to tolerate a behavior they think immoral. My thesis focuses on two hypothetical situations : a county clerk refusing to issue a marriage license to an engaged lesbian couple and an inn owner refusing a night's stay to a gay couple. In both cases, the clerk and inn owner refuse service for religious reasons. Normatively, I argue that we must move beyond a framework of toleration to a system of equal respect and understanding of our fellow human beings. Legally, I argue that the rights of religious expression and exercise should not trump the civil rights of gays and lesbians in the public sphere.
Show less
-
Date Issued
-
2012
-
PURL
-
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3359308
-
Subject Headings
-
Gay liberation movement, History, Religion and politics, History, Gay rights, Public opinion, Gays, Social conditions, Constitutional law, Religious aspects, Same-sex marriage, Law and legislation, Sex discrimination, Law and legislation, Gays, Legal status, laws, etc
-
Format
-
Document (PDF)
