March 26th, 2013Top StorySupreme Court Looks Ready to Take a Pass on a Constitutional Right to Gay MarriageBy Cord Jefferson
The arguments wrapped up at around 11:45 AM EST. Here is the most important information we've got thus far, based largely on tweets from reporters who were taking notes during the proceedings. Justices Sotomayor and Bader Ginsburg, two noted liberals on the court, were early in their aggressive questioning of the petitioners supporting Prop. 8. Justice Kennedy suggested that the thousands of children being raised by same-sex couples in California were negatively impacted by the marriage ban. According to Bloomberg, Kennedy noted, "They want their parents to have full recognition and status. The voices of those children is important in this case, isn't it?" Justice Scalia responded to these queries by saying there was "considerable disagreement" as to whether same-sex parenting helps or injures children. Scalia added that "there is no answer to that scientific question," seemingly ignorant of the fact that just last week the American Academy of Pediatrics came out in support of same-sex marriage, citing studies showing that children are not disadvantaged by gay parents. The Wall Street Journal reports that Chief Justice John Roberts allowed Charles Cooper, the attorney representing Prop. 8's defenders, to get only briefly into his support of traditional marriage before interrupting him and asking him to explain whether his clients even had "standing" to defend upholding Prop. 8.
Roberts reportedly told Cooper, "I don't think we've ever allowed anything like that." At one point, Cooper attempted to make the case that gay couples do not advance the state's interest in procreation and child-rearing, leading Justices Breyer, Kagan, and Ginsburg to question whether that were a factual argument. The healthy doses of skepticism with which many of the justices approached Cooper today has led several experts to believe that Prop. 8 is on shaky ground, but most are doubtful gay-rights advocates will see a sweeping victory. The questions about standing could mean the SCOTUS would vacate the Ninth Circuit's ruling last year that Prop. 8 is unconstitutional. Also, Justice Kennedy, the apparent swing vote on this case, suggested that the case be dismissed, as he was "deeply concerned with the wisdom of acting now when in his view the social science of the effects of same-sex marriage is uncertain," according to SCOTUS Blog. This could mean one of two things, writes Tom Goldstein:
Either scenario would be a slight victory for same-sex marriage proponents, but nothing too dramatic. The very significant ruling could come in tomorrow's DOMA arguments. Here is audio of today's arguments, and below is the full transcript. [Image by Jim Cooke.] |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment