Home » Take Action » Become a Student Activist » Case of the Month Archives » July 2000
Lesson Plan
Why should domestic partners enjoy equal protection under the law?
Purpose
The purpose of this lesson plan is to allow students to explore what it means to enjoy "full protection under the law."
Objectives
1. Identify the protections guaranteed by the Equal Protection clause in the Fourteenth Amendment.
2. Apply these protections to the issue of domestic partnerships.
Materials
1. Text of the Fourteenth Amendment
2. Text of City of Gainesville policy. (See Case of the Month Domestic Partnership Case Overview)
3. Websites related to the issue of domestic partnership benefits: LAMBDA legal defense fund and ACLU National website
Activities
1. Teacher should give a comprehensive lecture on the 14th Amendment, with a particular focus on the Equal Protection Clause.
2. The Martin case should be used to focus on the domestic partner issue. The teacher should moderate a discussion concerning the modern definition of a domestic partnership. Discussion should focus on what it means to be in a domestic partnership, and the teacher should use the guidelines set by the City of Gainesville to give students a factual basis for defining domestic partnership.
3. The student should write an essay concerning the intentional broadness of the Equal Protection Clause. Students should reflect on the purpose of this broadness, specifically on how the broad definition of the Equal Protection Clause can reflect the changes within our society (for example, how the clause has been used to protect the rights of women and racial minorities and how it might be applied to domestic partnerships).
4. (optional) Students should write a structured opinion paper on same-sex marriages and domestic partnership benefits.
