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16 N.Y.U. J. Int'l L. & Pol. 881 (1983-1984)
Nemetz v. Ins: The Rights of Gay Aliens under the Constitutional Requirement of Uniformity and Mutable Standards of Moral Turpitude

handle is hein.journals/nyuilp16 and id is 897 raw text is: NEMETZ . INS: THE RIGHTS OF GAY ALIENS UNDER THE CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT OF UNIFORMITY AND MUTABLE STANDARDS OF MORAL TURPITUDE I. INTRODUCTION This Comment will explore the effects of an individual's homosexuality on his application for naturalization. In Nemetz v. INS1, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the petitioner's homosexual activity could not serve as the basis for denying a finding of the requisite moral character when the activity was private, consensual and caused no harm to the public.2 While ostensibly a step forward for the gay community, the holding was too limited. Although the Fourth Circuit's decision reflected changing social attitudes toward homosexu- ality, the decision was confined on the facts to the form of homosexual behavior that is least socially offensive-that which is private, consensual and neither harms nor openly offends the public.3 Nemetz, the petitioner, was an alien who lived with a male roommate with whom he had sexual rela- tions.4 If Nemetz' homosexual activity had been promiscuous, he might not have been granted citizenshipS-even though such activity is legally accepted in many parts of the country.6 Consequently, Nemetz has implications for aliens who engage 1. 647 F.2d 432 (4th Cir.1981). 2. Id. at 437. 3. See id. at 436. 4. Seeid. at 433. 5. See id. at 436. 6. See Rivera, Our Straight-Lacedjudges: The Legal Position of Homosexual Persons in the United Sltaes, 30 HAsrINGS L.J. 799, 950-51 (1979). Twcnty-one states have decriminalized private, consensual homosexual activity: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming). Id. No state in the deep south has decriminalized homosexual behavior, and of the states in the Fourth Circuit, only West Virginia has decriminalized such activity. 881 Imaged with the Permission of N.Y.U. Journal of International Law and Politcs

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