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Civil Rights Litigation Based on Discrimination Against Gay People

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  • 04-07-2014, 04:23 PM
    digiQ
    Civil Rights Litigation Based on Discrimination Against Gay People
    My question involves civil rights in the State of: Any US

    I was having a discussion today about the recent SCOTUS decision to not hear Elane Photography v. Vanessa Willock. The statement "It seems like simply being gay is sufficient to win a lawsuit these days." was made, to which I responded "I don't think merely being homosexual is enough to win a lawsuit, lots of gay people don't win." The counterpoint "Can you think of any lawsuits where the gay person lost?" was asked and I found I could not.

    Is there a forum goer present more knowledgable than I that knows of any? Gay legal victories are certainly gathering a lot of press, but surely not every lawsuit is being won (wouldn't it statistically be about half? Or am I wrong?). Can someone point me towards a few, or how to find some on my own? If I am incorrect, and every lawsuit you can think of HAS been won by the homosexual party, please let me know that as well.

    Thanks!
  • 04-07-2014, 04:29 PM
    jk
    Re: Gay/Homosexual Civil Lawsuits That Have Been Lost
    the generic statement of: a homosexual lawsuit, covers a lot of territory. Maybe narrow it down...a LOT.

    as an example: I have a gay friend. He sued a customer for some money he believed owed to him. The customer was straight as far as anybody knows. My friend lost. Would that count in your list of a gay losing a lawsuit?

    and while Willock may have been gay, this was not a gay v. straight issue. It was a religious rights issue. It could be applied to any situation where the tenets of the religion involved had issue with the activity in question.
  • 04-08-2014, 01:02 PM
    digiQ
    Re: Gay/Homosexual Civil Lawsuits That Have Been Lost
    Thank you for taking the time to reply!

    Those are excellent points. I feel like the initial statement contains the implicit assumption that the sexual preference of the parties in litigation contributes to a legal victory of the homosexual one. In the provided example, because that information was (presumabley) not accessible to anyone involved, it would not count for or against. If, however, that information had come up (inadvertent or otherwise) then that example would count against the supposition.

    The difficulty I'm experiencing is that while it is extremely easy to find cases in which the homosexual party is victorious (those cases garner substantial media coverage), the reverse is not true. It is possible that is because cases are not being lost. Because the sexual preference of parties in lawsuits is generally not recorded (the exception being, perhaps, civil suits where it is important) I am not enjoying much success finding a case where a homosexual party lost a lawsuit, much less the amount it would take to present a convincing argument.

    I had thought that perhaps a forum goer would have some examples, but it's looking like I may have to eat crow on this one and move onto discussing reasons why the victory advantage exists.
  • 04-08-2014, 01:24 PM
    jk
    Re: Gay/Homosexual Civil Lawsuits That Have Been Lost
    as I said, whether a party is a homosexual or not is generally relevant to a case. Suits are based on actions, or lack or actions, due to some behavior. Whether that involves an issue that a party is gay or not would make it a gay rights issue but outside of such cases, there is no reason to ever know if a party is gay or not.

    You did nothing to clarify what you were actually looking for. As I said, if you are looking for gay parties to a suit, best of luck since that is not something that is recorded in the records unless the homosexual status was part of the issue the suit involves. If you are looking for actions that were undertaken based on homosexual discrimination, that would at least allow you to narrow your search somewhat.

    In other words;

    you will not find listing of suits where the parties have identified themselves as homosexuals unless you are looking for suits that involve actions or lack of actions of others due to them being homosexual. That is the only reason their homosexuality would be pertinent to the case.

    for the same reasons, you won't find cases won or lost by women or men or black men or women or Asian men or women (or any ethnicity) or handicapped or anything else unless the case involves that fact as a basis for the action.
  • 04-08-2014, 01:27 PM
    Dogmatique
    Re: Gay/Homosexual Civil Lawsuits That Have Been Lost
    Not at all!

    Lexis - you can grab articles without paying for them (although the range will be limited)

    Westlaw

    Google Scholar

    There are other websites too - just get thee to your favourite search engine and have at it :)


    But the original statement is self-limiting. Gay people win and lose lawsuits. Straight people - ditto. Given that the vast majority of lawsuits don't even touch on the issue of gender preference, it's a bit of a non-issue...and I suspect your friend knows this.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote:

    Quoting jk
    View Post
    as I said, whether a party is a homosexual or not is generally relevant to a case. Suits are based on actions, or lack or actions, due to some behavior. Whether that involves an issue that a party is gay or not would make it a gay rights issue but outside of such cases, there is no reason to ever know if a party is gay or not.

    You did nothing to clarify what you were actually looking for. As I said, if you are looking for gay parties to a suit, best of luck since that is not something that is recorded in the records unless the homosexual status was part of the issue the suit involves. If you are looking for actions that were undertaken based on homosexual discrimination, that would at least allow you to narrow your search somewhat.

    In other words;

    you will not find listing of suits where the parties have identified themselves as homosexuals unless you are looking for suits that involve actions or lack of actions of others due to them being homosexual. That is the only reason their homosexuality would be pertinent to the case.

    for the same reasons, you won't find cases won or lost by women or men or black men or women or Asian men or women (or any ethnicity) or handicapped or anything else unless the case involves that fact as a basis for the action.


    Or I shoulda just said ^^^^ what he said :D
  • 04-08-2014, 01:33 PM
    jk
    Re: Gay/Homosexual Civil Lawsuits That Have Been Lost
    Quote:

    Quoting Dogmatique
    View Post

    There are other websites too - just get thee to your favourite search engine and have at it :)
    :D

    I just love a British accent. :love_heart:
  • 04-09-2014, 12:15 AM
    Dogmatique
    Re: Gay/Homosexual Civil Lawsuits That Have Been Lost
    Quote:

    Quoting jk
    View Post
    I just love a British accent. :love_heart:


    Thou is indeed fairer than the softest snowflake falling upon the delicate eyelashes of a newborn kitten.

    (Do you need insulin yet? ;) )
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