On Thursday, Stanford law professor and former federal appellate judge Michael McConnell suggested the Supreme Court should avoid ruling directly on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage by denying Proposition 8’s supporters standing to defend the initiative’s constitutionality and holding that the Defense of Marriage Act exceeds the scope of federal power. NRO’s Ed Whelan, who has previously criticized the federalism arguments against DOMA, responded to McConnell’s arguments here and here. McConnell sent Whelan a reply, which Whelan has posted with his response here.