Duncan v. Koppelman debate

[Eric Segall]

At 11:32 AM 10/20/99 -700, you wrote:
>What are the facts here? How much discrimination is there in
>employment, housing, or education? Are gays and lesbians, as a group,
>less often employed, more poorly housed, or less adequatedly
>educated?

It is of course hard to answer Michael's question as it is difficult to
document instances of private discrmination. A good starting place, for
those who are interested, can be found at
http://.hrc.org/issues/workplac/docs/regions/midatlan.html. There you will
find instances of discrimination gathered by the Human Rights Campaign to
support the Employment Non Discrimination Act.

I would also ask Michael, however, whether he really believes that in our
society sexual preference is treated similarly to characteristics such as
weight or to affiliations with political parties. I doubt that people who
are overweight get fired from private schools. It is certain that gay
people do. There is also a reason why actors, athletes, politicians, etc.,
often go to great lengths to hide their sexual preference-our society still
treats gay sexual orientation with prejudice (just read Rick's posts). The
libertarian argument against extending civil rights protections for gays,
therefore, strikes me as unpersuasive unless one has the courage to say (as
Rick does) there is something fundamentally immoral about homosexual
conduct. Of course, it is that belief, which is still prevalent, that makes
necessary the inclusion of sexual orientation in civil rights laws.

Eric Segall (GSU)