Lincoln on the Same-Sex Marriage Decision

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July 18, 2015
Lincoln on the Same-Sex Marriage Decision

 

By David C. Innes

Supporters of the Obergefell v Hodges decision have been declaring with nervous frequency that same-sex marriage is now “the law of the land.” The message is: The matter is closed, the conversation’s over. This is the future. Get used to it.

 

But this need not be the case. In his haste to get his social revolution on the road, Justice Anthony Kennedy forgot to hitch the cart of his agenda to the Constitutional horse. As a consequence, no one is obligated to get on board.

For at least the last half century, the Supreme Court has been willfully creative in its reading and application of the constitutional text. Roe v Wade is only the most infamous example. But Obergefell is an interpretive balloon disappearing into the blue beyond. Chief Justice John Roberts does not mince words: