Context: In this essay, you will demonstrate your understanding of the complexities of civil rights and civil liberties, the limitations placed on those rights and liberties, and what happens when those rights and liberties collide. Your essay must use the example of the US Supreme Court’s 2015 same-sex marriage decision (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., Obergefell v. Hodges (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., and the claim that forcing public servants to recognize those marriages impinged on citizens’ “deeply held religious beliefs.” This started with the case of elected Kentucky clerk Kim Davis who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but has taken on broader significance in the last year.
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Prompt: Once you have read the two textbook chapters and understand the concepts of Civil Rights and Liberties in their historical context, you should apply what you have learned to address a contentious, contemporary civil rights versus civil liberties issue in the US. The ongoing clash between LGBTI rights, as exemplified by the US Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. case and ongoing attempts to limit the right including the claim that the constitutional right to a freedom of religion trumps the 14th Amendment’s equal treatment when the rights collide.
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Some guiding questions:
Your essay should include:
• a clear summary of the central issues involved in the ongoing controversy between marriage equality and the exercise of religious freedom.
o What are constitutional arguments being made on both sides?
• What is the controversy about?
• What developments have taken place since 2015 to reverse or restrict the constitutionally protected right to same-sex marriage?
o These developments might be on the Federal level, state level, or local level. They might be legal, political, or policy actions.
*You must cite evidence from the textbook and all other supporting evidence you reference in your essay. You should draw on the material from the textbook Links to an external site. and on additional reliable sources to formulate your arguments.
• Do not use quotations, please paraphrase and use in-text citations. We want to hear you explain your position in your own voice.
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Consideration: In your research for your essay, you should be very careful to distinguish between constitutional arguments (generally used by lawyers, law professors, and justices) and rhetoric and hyperbole (generally used by politicians, activists, bloggers, and media talking heads). Constitutional arguments are much more likely to win in court and will likely help you write a more compelling essay.
You should start your research by reading the relevant chapters of the textbook and then read the article “Kim Davis is Winning (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.” from The Atlantic magazine. After that, you should use Google (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (or some other search engine) to find respectable sources that inform you of what has happened since 2015 and use those sources to support the claims in your essay.
Remember, in this essay, you cannot just state your “beliefs” about the topic; that would not hold up in a court of law. Rather, you can state that you “believe that…” only if you present compelling evidence to support those beliefs and assertions.