Marriage, Biology, and Federal Benefits
This Article approaches the topic of same-sex marriage from a novel perspective by scrutinizing the historical accuracy of primary defense proffered by same-sex marriage opponents – “responsible procreation.” In the context of challenges to Section 3 of DOMA, responsible procreation posits that the federal government’s historic purpose in extending marital benefits is to single out and specially support families with biologically-related children. Because same-sex couples cannot fulfill this long-standing purpose, it is permissible to deny them all federal marital rights and obligations. While advocates disagree about whether and to what extent DOMA furthers this alleged federal interest, to date, all sides have accepted this historical account.This Article is the first to interrogate the accuracy of this account. To do so, the Article examines two of the largest and most important federal benefits programs – Social Security benefits and benefits for active and retired members of the U.S. military. This analysis demonstrates that Congress has not and does not condition the receipt of federal family-based benefits on biological parent-child relationships. To the contrary, Congress long has implicitly and explicitly extended such benefits to families with children known to be biologically unrelated to one or both of their parents. This Article thus reveals that responsible procreation is based on myth, not history and tradition.
Race, the Immigration Laws, and Domestic Race Relations: A 'Magic Mirror' into the Heart of Darkness
This article analyzes the history surrounding racial exclusions in the immigration laws and contends that the exclusionary laws reveal majority sentiment about racial minorities in the United States. Subordination of Asian immigrants and exclusion of Asian immigrants evolved into more subtle forms of exclusion with the transformation of racial sensibilities. Besides analyzing the treatment of minorities under the immigration laws, this Article posits that the harsh treatment of immigrants of color suggests how this nation might treat citizens of color if afforded the opportunity. As psychological theory suggests, the virulent attacks on noncitizens in effect represent transference and displacement of animosity for racial minorities generally. Psychological theory also helps explain some historical oddities about U.S. society's seemingly contradictory treatment of different minority groups, particularly African Americans, and groups historically classified as "foreign," such as Asian Americans and Latinos. For example, the Equal Protection landmark of Brown v.Board of Education vindicated the rights of African Americans; but it was decided the very same year (1954) that the U.S. government commenced Operation "Wetback," a massive deportation campaign that resulted in tens of thousands of persons of Mexican ancestry, including some citizens, to Mexico. When the law constrained attacks on domestic minorities, animosity was displaced to foreign minorities in our midst and at our borders. In the end, we peer into a heart of darkness where the deepest fears of racial minorities -- that a majority of society desires and has consistently strived for Anglo-Saxon homogeneity and hegemony -- are demonstrated to be more than justified.
Same Same But Different - also in Europe! A New Methodological Approach in Cross-Country Analysis of Communication Structuresapplied to five EU member states
The EU still lacks a truly European public sphere. On this level, there is still a clear lack of integration between individual member states. This means that national public spheres and cultures are still of great importance for European communication and media professionals. Comparative research into the similarities and differences between different nations is therefore valuable for cross-border PR communication activities. This paper lays out the methodological foundation for such research, discussing possible approaches and difficulties associated with comparative research. The author then introduces a potential heuristic framework for comparative analysis: the International Corporate Communication Compass. This framework is applied to five case-study EU countries (Denmark, Germany, France, Poland and the UK), showing the differences and similarities in a range of different contexts that affect public communication in all its forms. The conclusion examines how the results of such studies could be used in order to compare communication identities of different countries. This can potentially help in the development of a European public identity on the long run and in a first step can led towards a better, more adapted communication structure about European citizenship. Ultimately, communication structures within the EU might become more Europeanized than they