The Internal Revenue Code as Sodomy Statute

Abstract:     
This article represents an attempt to bridge the gap between gay and straight understanding of the Internal Revenue Code's impact on same-sex couples. Through a combination of personal narrative and legal analysis, I try to explain how, from a gay perspective, the Code can be viewed as just another manifestation of the fluid mixture of hostility, bewilderment, and discomfort that generally characterize society's reaction to homosexuality. By explaining the experiences behind my perceptions of the Code, I hope to help my heterosexual colleagues to understand just how demeaning and oppressive the Code can seem to gays and lesbians - regardless of any net financial benefit that same-sex couples may receive, or any net financial detriment that they may suffer, under the Code.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 29

Keywords: gay, lesbian, homosexual, tax, taxation

JEL Classification: K34

Accepted Paper Series