Lockean Privacy and the Courts: An Avenue for LGBT Rights in America

Indianapolis, IN

In the United States, minorities consistently attempt to have their rights recognized within the courts. One of these minorities, the LGBT community, has fought their specific type of oppression through different legal arguments – ranging from individual liberty guarantees to the condemnation of moral legislation. The variety of arguments and legal issues within LGBT cases has led to disagreements concerning the usefulness of each approach in obtaining the desired outcomes. I argue that the most successful and pragmatic route to equal rights for this community lies in the privacy arguments which have proven successful in the past. More specifically, advocacy for LGBT plaintiffs should be based in Lockean ideals concerning privacy. These ideals, properly understood, construct an umbrella under which the LGBT community may expect substantial progress in governmental recognition of its rights without negatively affecting their interests in equality.