IQ2US Debate June 2015 The Equal Protection Clause

Resolved: The Equal Protection Clause does not require States to license same-sex marriages. John Eastman, chairman of the National Organization for Marriage and professor at the Chapman University Fowler School of Law, and Sherif Girgis, co-author of What is Marriage?, argue for the motion. Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters, and Kenji Yoshino, professor at NYU School of Law and author of Speak Now: Marriage Equality on Trial, argue against the motion. John Donvan of ABC News will moderates and Constitution Center CEO Jeffrey Rosen introduces.

[skrekk]

It was very revealing when Yoshino asked Eastman whether he had any animus against gays and Eastman repeatedly refused to answer and said it wasn't relevant to the constitutional question.   In fact the question got to the heart of the matter given that Eastman recently endorsed Uganda's (currently defunct) anti-gay law which criminalizes homosexuality, and said "I suspect that it's going to come back and I hope that it does come back in short order."

Also, John Eastman said in his closing statement that the majority should be free to vote to deny civil rights to minorities.   People like Eastman are why civil rights are essential to our system of government.

[geotech]

Long video but if you want to hear arguments against "gay marriage" skip to 30:52 (Eastman) and go back to 17:47 to hear constitutional arguments against forcing states to provide licenses of marriage.

[karlrschneider]

The most interesting aspect of this issue is that some people (who almost always claim to be part of the "christian right" -which is neither-) appear to believe that who someone they don't even know wants to marry is any of their damn business.  It isn't.

[danielpalos]

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. In my opinion, we should have no homeless problem due to unequal protection of our own at-will employment laws for unemployment compensation in our at-will employment States. Is employment at the will of either party in an at-will employment State or not?

[catsaresocute]

TBH I am not particularly invested in it. I think the state so far as possible should stay itself out of it and only support whatever children happen to need, so good education, healthy meals at school, demand that every child be educated that stuff

[catsaresocute]

Yes that's bc the statew Does Not have an interrest except in making sure it's children are fine. That's it. And somewhat that there's as many as people might vouluntarily have. But that's the interrest.

[Shmoozo]

Folks who want to see how the debate turned out without having to wade through the full hour and a half can skip ahead to the 1:33:44 mark to see which side did the best job of arguing its case.

By the way, it's not even close.

[coryrandall]

Prof. Yoshino says that "gay individuals procreate" 41:10.  Yes, they do.  But gay couples do not.  They can't.  They never will.  This is not to offend, but to state the factual and intrinsic difference between hetero- and homosexual couples.  If a single gay couple could prolong their lives for a thousand years, they could never in all that time achieve the procreation of offspring that would be the union of their distinct genetic codes.  However, one fertile heterosexual couple can in one sexual act procreate.  Infertility among heterosexual couples is an exception and that is why an infertile couple that wants to procreate will likely feel deep disappointment.  A homosexual couple can never have the expectation that their union will create offspring.  It would be unnatural for them to do so.  This is not to offend, but to state what should be obvious about men and women and their complimentary natures.