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Stoddard 1997
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== "Bleeding Heart: Reflections On Using the Law to Make Social Change" pp.967-982== Thesis: understanding the interrelationship between law and culture, and the use of law for social change *Goals of legal advocates for gay rights: # Protection from discrimination # Freedom from intrusion and harassment # Some degree of recognition of queer relationships *New York is culturally more tolerant of queerness, but legally offers no protections/recognition *New Zealand is culturally intolerant of queerness, but legally offers protections/recognition *Assumptions: #Society needs change, and there are people committed to that change #Employing the law to make change is appropriate === i. The New Zealand Conundrum === *The 'conundrum': New Zealand is legally progressive with respect to queer protections, but is culturally conservative in this respect *social change and legal change do not always walk hand-in-hand **"one does not stimulate the other" === ii. A Paradigm of Reform === *Goals of lawmaking #To create new rights and remedies for victims #To alter the conduct of the government #To alter the conduct of citizens/private entities #To express a new moral/standard #To change cultural attitudes/patterns **"rule-shifting": the traditional role of the law in expressing the formal rulemaking/enforcement function for society ***the first three goals comprise this role **"culture-shifting": advancing the rights and interests of people who have been treated poorly by the law and by the culture, promoting values that should be rights *** the fourth and fifth goals comprise this role *The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("The Act") **it had both "rule" and "cultural-shifting" power and met all five goals of lawmaking **the Act was the result of "passionate and informal national debate" among Americans that lasted a decade, and this debate is what gave the Act its "culture-shifting" power **because the Act was passed by Congress it was received as more legitimate, giving it "rule-shifting" power === iii. When "Rule-Shifting" Becomes "Culture-Shifting" === *Factors that determine when "rule-shifting" becomes "culture-shifting": #A change that is broad or profound #Public awareness of that change #A general sense of the legitimacy (or validity) of the change #continuous enforcement of the change **"culture-shifting" requires all four ==== a. The Breath of Change ==== *Some forms of "rule-shifting" are "so grand or so pervasive" that they inevitably become "culture-shifting" **ex: The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Anti-smoking laws **these "pervasive" "rule-shifting" laws must be "known, accepted, and enforced" in order to have "culture-shifting" power ==== b. Public Awareness of Change ==== *ordinary citizens must be aware that a "rule-shift" has taken place in order for "culture-shifting" to occur *changes that happen at the legislative level typically gain more public awareness than those that happen at the judicial or administrative levels **legislative lawmaking processes are typically more public, leading to more debate among constituents, allowing for a more significant "rule"/"culture-shifting" effect
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