Gender Discrimination and LGBTQ+ Rights ap gov

Reed v. Reed (1971)

Case details: Gender discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause.

Relevant Background: Idaho law automatically preferred men over women when selecting administrators for estates, even when women were equally qualified.

Constitutional Issue: Does automatically preferring men over women violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause?

Ruling: Yes. The Court unanimously struck down the law.

How it is implemented/how it changed things: Became the first Supreme Court decision to strike down a state law for sex-based discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause, strengthening legal challenges to gender discrimination.

Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (1998)

Case details: Workplace sexual harassment and employer liability.

Relevant Background: A lifeguard alleged that supervisors repeatedly subjected her to sexual harassment at a city workplace.

Constitutional Issue: This was primarily a statutory employment discrimination case, not a direct constitutional-rights case. The issue was when an employer can be held liable for a supervisor's harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Ruling: The Court held that employers can be vicariously liable for supervisors' harassment that creates a hostile work environment. When no tangible employment action occurs, an employer may have an affirmative defense if it meets the Court's requirements.

How it is implemented/how it changed things: Established an important framework for determining employer responsibility for workplace sexual harassment.

Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)

Case details: Criminalization of private same-sex intimacy.

Relevant Background: Michael Hardwick challenged a Georgia law criminalizing certain sexual acts after police entered his home and observed him engaging in consensual same-sex conduct.

Constitutional Issue: Does the Constitution protect a fundamental right to engage in private, consensual same-sex intimacy?

Ruling: The Court upheld the Georgia law.

How it is implemented/how it changed things: Allowed states to criminalize same-sex intimacy under the ruling at the time. The decision was later overturned by Lawrence v. Texas in 2003.

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

Case details: Privacy and consensual same-sex intimacy.

Relevant Background: Police arrested John Lawrence and Tyron Garner under a Texas law criminalizing certain consensual same-sex sexual conduct.

Constitutional Issue: Does the Fourteenth Amendment protect adults' liberty to engage in private, consensual intimacy?

Ruling: Yes. The Court struck down the Texas law and overturned Bowers v. Hardwick.

How it is implemented/how it changed things: Prevented states from criminalizing private, consensual same-sex intimacy between adults under the circumstances addressed by the ruling.

United States v. Windsor (2013)

Case details: Federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

Relevant Background: Edith Windsor challenged a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages recognized by states.

Constitutional Issue: Did DOMA's denial of federal recognition to lawful same-sex marriages violate the Fifth Amendment's protections of liberty and equality?

Ruling: Yes. The Court struck down the challenged provision of DOMA.

How it is implemented/how it changed things: Required the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages valid under applicable state law, affecting federal benefits and protections.

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

Case details: Same-sex marriage and fundamental rights.

Relevant Background: Same-sex couples challenged state laws that prohibited same-sex marriage or refused to recognize marriages performed elsewhere.

Constitutional Issue: Does the Fourteenth Amendment require states to license and recognize marriages between same-sex couples?

Ruling: Yes. The Court held that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses.

How it is implemented/how it changed things: Required states to license same-sex marriages and recognize lawful same-sex marriages performed in other states.