Professor Joslin Comments for Media on Supreme Court Same-Sex Marriage Cases

Professor Courtney Joslin commented on the same-sex marriage cases under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court for media including Southern California Public Radio station KPCC, the Sacramento Bee, the Davis Enterprise, and State Net. 

Joslin published an Op-Ed in the Sacramento Bee on March 27 addressing one of the key arguments presented by opponents of same-sex marriage: that the purpose of marriage is to promote and protect families with two biological parents over other family forms. "Not only is this argument offensive, it is simply not supported by social science or by state or federal law or policy," writes Joslin.

On KPCC, Joslin previewed arguments presented in the Proposition 8 and Defense of Marriage Act cases, and summarized the arguments contained the amicus brief she joined in the Prop. 8 case and the amicus brief she co-authored in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) case. 

Regarding the Proposition 8 case, Joslin said that "California family law long has held is that biology should not be elevated above all other factors in deciding a child's parentage or in deciding who a child's parents are. California law is also clear that lesbian and gay people can be parents, that they're good parents, they're equally capable of being parents, and they're equally protected under the law. Essentially what the brief argues is that there simply is no reason under California family law for excluding gay people from the right to marry."

With regard to DOMA, Joslin explained that "the right to marry has never been limited to those parties who can procreate without assistance, and federal law, like state law, has never elevated biology over all other factors in determining who is a child, who is a parent, and who is entitled to federal benefits."

Professor Joslin is a scholar in the field of family and relationship recognition, with a particular focus on same-sex and non-marital couples.

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