A Room For "Adam And Steve" at Mrs. Murphy's Bed and Breakfast: Avoiding the Sin of Inhospitality in Places of Public Accommodation

Forman, David M.

A Room For "Adam And Steve" at Mrs. Murphy's Bed and Breakfast: Avoiding the Sin of Inhospitality in Places of Public Accommodation

Files

Forman_23ColumJGenderL326.pdf (4.12 MB)

Date

2012

Authors

Forman, David M.

Abstract

This article aims to encourage a vital and evolutionary step forward in understanding how multifaceted legal processes shape, and should shape, thinking about gay and lesbian couples within religious communities and the body politic. The article begins by providing context that illustrates the place-based and diffuse nature of an ongoing culture war between civil rights and religious freedom, further exposing the painful irony inherent in using misinterpretations of the Sodom and Gomorrah parable to reinforce inhospitality. The article describes a state-by-state patchwork of nondiscrimination laws governing places of public accommodation and explores the Jim Crow origins of the "Mrs. Murphy" exception that has been incorporated into a handful of state nondiscrimination laws. The article then examines how existing legal frameworks address claims of sexual orientation discrimination alongside defenses based upon religious freedom. Finally, this article seeks to accelerate an emerging trend toward including sexual orientation as a protected category in our nation’s nondiscrimination laws, by highlighting an opportunity to counter religious misinterpretations currently reflected in the prevailing cultural narrative.

Keywords

Public Accommodations Discrimination, Discrimination Against Gays, Freedom Of Religion

Citation

23 Colum. J. Gender & L. 326 2012

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10125/35197

Extent

69

Collections

Forman, David M.

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