Thursday, August 15, 2002
Federal appeals court reviews Arizona prison visits policy on public display of affection by domestic partners
A story released today by the Associated Press reports that a federal appeals court has reinstated a challenge to an Arizona prison rule prohibiting people of the same-sex from kissing during inmate visits.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously decided to return the case to U.S. District Court in Phoenix to consider a prisoner’s complaint that his rights were violated.
Arizona's Department of Corrections allows heterosexual couples as well as relatives of the same sex to embrace during visits.
The state argued the policy was meant to protect inmates who are in same-sex relationships from abuse they might receive from other inmates who discover their sexual orientation. But the appeals court said that reasoning didn't hold up.
"Common sense indicates that an inmate who intends to hide his sexual orientation from other inmates would not openly display affection with his partner during a prison visit," Judge A. Wallace Tashima wrote in the opinion issued Monday.
