The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear arguments in what could be the consolidated cases that lead to the recognition of a right to same-sex marriage under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. I will be interviewed on the case on CNN around 9 am on Tuesday morning.
It was only two years ago that the Supreme Court struck down the denial of federal benefits to same-sex couples in United States v. Windsor. However, as in past cases, the Court struggled mightily to avoid recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
It was only in 1986 in Bowers v Hardwick that Justice Lewis Powell told his clerk “I don’t believe I ever met a homosexual.” The clerk was Carter Cabell Chinnis, Jr., who was gay but Powell did not know it. In that disgraceful decision (which Powell added his vote as the fifth vote for the majority in upholding laws criminalizing homosexual relations), Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote “Condemnation of [homosexual] practices is firmly rooted in Judeao-Christian moral and ethical standards.”
Justice Anthony Kennedy may now be ready to cast the fifth vote to finally establish a constitutional right for same-sex marriage. The Court will hear two questions in Obergefell vs. Hodges (as well as three related cases from Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee): 1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? and 2) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?
Oral argument will last 90 minutes on the first question and 60 minutes on the second question.
A decision is expected in June.
Mike…oy.
I.Annie:
LOL. Of course, I also predicted that Hobby Lobby would lose.
Good to hear your take on it Mike!
I have had a chance to listen to the oral argument recordings. Although anybody else’s guess is as good as mine, I believe the Court will conclude that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right protected under the Fourteenth Amendment, that laws targeting homosexuality will receive strict scrutiny review and that all states will have to recognize the legitimacy of same-sex marriages. My gut also tells me that the vote will be 6-3 because Justice Roberts is not a fool.
Mike Appleton, I agree with your prediction.
It is sad how blind our Justices are, especially the female justices reacting more on emotion rather than firm logic. I was very disappointed in the case presented by the respondent to question 1. He only covered half of the reasons for the inequality of same sex and opposite sex unions and left the Justices confused with incomplete answers. I predict that this decision will greatly polarize this nation and lead toward more religious people losing their freedoms and being prosecuted for discrimination and hate crimes. Many of them will lose their respect for the Judiciary and our legal system over this decision.
Thank you randy for your cogent arguments. Thank you Max and Squeeky for the links.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/01/31/article-2094172-1188377A000005DC-210_964x628.jpg
A Gypsy Wedding, from the show, “My Big Fat Gyspsy Wedding”.
Yep, based on the behavior at parades, we should outlaw all Puerto Rican and all Irish weddings.