LGBTQ — Online Journal — Columbia Undergraduate Law Review

Chocolates, Confessions, and Court Cases: The Valentine’s Day Lawsuit for Same-Sex Marriage in Japan

On February 14, 2019, thirteen LGBTQ couples filed coordinated lawsuits in district courts in Japan in an attempt to legalize same-sex marriage. [1] At the time of these lawsuits, Japan had not recognized same-sex marriage or civil unions. As Asian countries begin discussing protection of LGBTQ rights, the legal basis of denying same-sex marriage has come under scrutiny. While the government has interpreted the Japanese Constitution as allowing marriage only between a man and a woman, the text itself and the intent of the text contains no such specifications.

Discrimination Against Ideas and Discrimination Against Individuals in Lee v. Ashers

On October 10th, the United Kingdom Supreme Court released a decision that allowed a baker in Northern Ireland to refuse to make a cake with pro-LGBT+ messages on it. [1] This case is significant because it is set against a background of diminished LGBT+ rights in Northern Ireland. [2] The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) rates Northern Ireland as the worst place in the United Kingdom for LGBT+ individuals. [3] This is because LGBT+ rights in Northern Ireland are limited and slowly gained compared to those in the rest of the United Kingdom.

Jake DunnJanuary 6, 2019LGBTQ, anti-discrimination, Lee v. Ashers, Bull v. Hall, Supreme Court, Northern Ireland, UK lawComment

Masterpiece Cakeshop’s Failure to Establish Legal Precedent Allows Discrimination Against the LGBTQIA+ Community

Masterpiece Cakeshop LTD v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission was a 2012 case from Lakewood, Colorado that pits First Amendment rights to speech and religion against anti-discrimination legislation. This case originates with a baker, Jack Phillips, who refused to create a wedding cake for a gay couple. Phillips told the couple that he did not create wedding cakes for same-sex couples because of his religious opposition to same-sex marriage and because Colorado, at the time, did not recognize same-sex marriages. He also claimed that by creating a wedding cake, he would be using his artistic skills to create speech that endorsed same-sex wedding marriage. The gay couple subsequently filed a civil rights complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission pursuant to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.