Professor Joslin Coauthors Op-Ed on Supreme Court Same-Sex Marriage Cases for Sacramento Bee

Professor Courtney Joslin has published an essay in the Sacramento Bee regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decisions involving the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8.  The article, co-authored with Lawrence C. Levine, a law professor at University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, appeared in the Bee's Forum section on June 30.

On June 26, the Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act and let stand a lower court ruling invalidating Proposition 8.  Though the Court did not invalidate all state marriage bans, the Court's opinion in the DOMA case "surely advances the argument for marriage equality across the country," Professors Joslin and Levine write. "[State b]ans on same-sex marriage are similar to DOMA in critical respects. Both seek to impose a disadvantage and a stigma on those in same-sex relationships."

"The fight now turns to challenges to the bans on same-sex marriage in other states," the essay concludes. "But last week's decision is yet another indication that the tide has turned, and that fairness and equality for lesbian and gay people are only a matter of time."

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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