Sochi 2014: where expressing beliefs or identity has the power to jeopardize athletes’ olympic dreams. Putin classifies Russia’s laws as promoting family values.
Image of Belle Brockhoff from http://www.pinknews.co.uk
Australian snowboarder Belle Brockhoff said in an interview with BBC that speaking out against the Russian “anti-gay” laws in Sochi is not worth ruining what she’s trained so hard for.
“Russia is being really strict,” Ian Luther, an Elon student from North Carolina said. “Like don’t ask don’t tell. I think people are picturing [these Olympics] to be a lot like during civil rights. But I think more likely there will be several tiffs and nothing in the long run.”
No Homo Promo Laws
Here in America there are eight states that have gay propaganda bans, which are similar to Sochi’s. Six have “no homo promo” laws and two have laws that prohibit enumeration. These limits, of course, are not as severe as those in Sochi. Visit an interactive map here that WordPress cannot support: http://www.thinglink.com/scene/490991440764076032
Map from Washingtonpost.com
Students and faculty around Elon born in North Carolina all seemed surprised that their home state did not make the list of eight. But in 2012, amendment 1 passed making it unconstitutional to recognize or preform same sex marriages or civil unions in North Carolina so a further ban on top of amendment 1 would not have a large impact.
“I think they’re moving backwards,” said Amy Glazer, an adjunct teacher at Elon University.
Is all this constitutional?
While laws are different in Sochi, are these bans limiting our free speech in the United States unconstitutionally?
“The Supreme Court has consistently found that the governments have a great deal of leeway in regulating their own speech,” said Elon media law professor Jonathan Jones. “A regulation on what can be taught about a specific topic in local school districts may very well pass constitutional muster as a valid restraint on government speech. beyond these eight states under fire, Virginia is making news in their attempts to get the Supreme Court to decide if states banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.”
Infographic posted on June 3, 2013 on from statesthatallowgarmarriage.com
Jones said that while it’s possible to be constitutional, he believes it’s morally wrong. But a law like what is in place in Russia’s is much different and further reaching. It effects everyone in the country. Jones said a law like Russia’s applying to all citizens would clearly and unequivocally violate the First Amendment here in America.
Judge overturns same sex marriage ban in Virginia
A federal judge on Thursday ruled that the same-sex marriage ban in Virginia is unconstitutional. The original constitutional amendment passed in 2006, which respected same-sex marriages that were carried out legally in other states.
The real question though is what effect with this have on other states. According to the New York Times, many legal experts believe that Virginia’s decision along with many other states currently being in the process of deciding where they stand could send the matter to the United States Supreme Court.
“Legalize it all the way,” Elon sophomore Shelby Lewis said. ” I’d jump for joy if it was passed.”
Continuously growing support for same-sex marriage rights in America
From the http://www.washingtonpost.com
According to an article in the Washington Post, support for same-sex marriage throughout the United States has reached a new high. The survey they took shows that 58 percent of Americans now believe that it should be legal for same-sex marriage couples to get married and 36 percent say that it should be illegal.
This highly debated topic has been on the forefront of people’s minds now as change and progress continue to happen. But how much longer?
“I think it’s silly we’re even still talking about it,” Alex Lewis said, an Elon staff member from Virginia said.
Reporting by Jessica Petrocchi 