I’ll be speaking tomorrow on same-sex marriage before the student chapter of the Federalist Society at the Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. The event begins at Noon and will last one hour. The student chapters of OUTLaw and the ACLU are co-sponsoring the speech.
Archive | Same-Sex Marriage
The Scalian Logic for Same-Sex Marriage
This week SCOTUSblog is hosting an online symposium about the Supreme Court’s consideration of litigation challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8. My contribution begins: Constitutional law makes strange bedfellows. It can even unite supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage. Consider this: If Justice Scalia’s aggressive reading of Lawrence v. Texas (2003) […]
What If the Supreme Court Doesn’t Accept Cert in the Prop 8 Case?
The question whether to accept certiorari in the Prop 8 case will come up at the Justices’ conference on September 24. I think the Court will accept cert, so there won’t be any new same-sex marriages in California in the immediate future. But what if the Court refuses to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision striking […]
Speaking at Notre Dame Law School
By Dale Carpenter on September 6, 2012 4:36 pm in Gay Marriage, Religion and the Law, Same-Sex Marriage
On Monday, September 10, during the lunch hour, I’ll be presenting “The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage” at the Notre Dame Federalist Society. Professor John Finnis will respond.
More on the “Tradeoffs” in Allowing SSM and Abolishing Slavery
Commenting on University of St. Thomas law professor Robert Delahunty’s recent op-ed, my colleague Richard Painter shares some thoughts on the subject of limiting the freedom of some people so that others may live in a world unstained by that particular freedom: Let’s put aside for the moment the fact that I don’t see such a tradeoff with abolition of slavery because […]
Slaveholders Lost Freedom Because of Emancipation, Argues Con Law Prof
University of St. Thomas Law Professor Robert Delahunty argues in this morning’s Minneapolis Star Tribune that “whenever the law expands the freedoms of one person or group, it necessarily contracts those of another.” Thus, he asserts that if gay couples are granted the freedom to marry, gay-marriage opponents will lose the freedom to live in a world without gay marriage […]
Anonymity Granted to Catholic Donor Opposed to Marriage Amendment, But Amendment Supporters Object
By Dale Carpenter on September 3, 2012 10:01 pm in Constitutional Amendments, Election Law, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Same-Sex Marriage
In Minnesota, pro- and anti-gay marriage activists are fighting over political campaign disclosure laws, though this time the usual roles are reversed. On August 17, the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board ruled that the group working to defeat a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage does not have to disclose the name of a Catholic contributor to the […]
A Story About Two Families
I read a very interesting opinion today — Cathey v. Ogea (La. Ct. App. Aug. 22, 2012) and I thought I’d talk briefly about it. Give me a few moments, please, and let us focus briefly on the facts before we turn to evaluating and debating the law. Melissa Ogea’s four children have the misfortune […]
Federal Judge in Hawaii Rejects Same-Sex Marriage Claim
By Dale Carpenter on August 11, 2012 4:11 pm in Constitutional Law, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Same-Sex Marriage, Sexual Orientation
In Hawaii, gay couples may enter civil unions with all the state-based rights and legal protections of marriage, but without the official designation of being “married.” Same-sex couples sued to have the status of marriage, urging that they had a fundamental right to marry under the Due Process Clause and that the state could not […]
Chicago Alderman: I Will Deny Business Permit Because “There Are Consequences for [Its Owner’s] Statements and Beliefs,” and They Should Include Denial
Alderman Proco “Joe” Moreno’s doubles down on a First Amendment violation: Home Depot in the 2500 block of North Elston Avenue wants to sell a piece of its land so that a Chick-fil-A restaurant can open in the 1st Ward, where I am alderman. It would be the fast-food chain’s first “stand-alone” Chicago restaurant. But […]
The ACLU of Illinois on Alderman’s (and, Seemingly, Mayor’s) Plan to Block Chick-Fil-A
From Foxnews.com: “The government can regulate discrimination in employment or against customers, but what the government cannot do is to punish someone for their words,” said Adam Schwartz, senior attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. “When an alderman refuses to allow a business to open because its owner has expressed a viewpoint […]
Boston Mayor Backs Down on Statement that “It Will Be Very Difficult” for Chick-Fil-A to Get Boston Business License
From the Boston Herald: Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino repeated today that he doesn’t want Chick-fil-A in Boston, but he backed away from a threat to actively block the fast-food chain from setting up shop in the city. “I can’t do that. That would be interference to his rights to go there,” Menino said, referring […]
Elane Photography, LLC v. Willock Petition for Review to the New Mexico Supreme Court
The petition is here; for more on the case, and why I think the New Mexico Court of Appeals decision is wrong, see here. See also this post by Hans Bader (CEI’s OpenMarket.org)
David Blankenhorn Changes His Mind About SSM
Over the past few years, David Blankenhorn has been a leading intellectual opponent of same-sex marriage. In 2007, he published The Future of Marriage, which in my view is the most persuasive book opposing it. In 2009 he was the leading testifier in favor of Prop 8 in the Perry litigation. His view was never grounded in anti-gay attitudes, however. […]
Ninth Circuit Denies Rehearing En Banc in California Same-Sex Marriage Case — Next Stop, the Supreme Court
At least four judges — possibly more, but we don’t know — voted to rehear the case, and three (Judges O’Scannlain, Bybee, and Bea) noted their reasons; Judge N.R. Smith, who dissented from the panel opinion, noted his vote but didn’t join Judge O’Scannlain’s dissent from the denial of rehearing. I strongly suspect that the […]