Dale Carpenter at The Volokh Conspiracy has some interesting analysis up on Washington Supreme Court anti-gay marriage decision Andersen v. King County. Basically, he thinks it was a much better reasoned decision than the recent NY one, although of course the outcomes are the same. Well worth reading.
Comment by Dave Justus
July 27, 2006 @ 12:35 pm
I don’t think that the SC will hear any appeals from a state court on this. Marriage is pretty much a state institution and absent something pretty compelling I don’t think the SC will feel a need to visit the issue.
Slightly more likely is an appeal about one state refusing to recognize another state’s (MA) marriage. A Full Faith and Credit vs. DOMA case could certainly be in the future.
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What I will be interested to see is what happens should any of the cases be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Some of the justices don’t seem to have a problem overturning state legislature, while others are less likely to do so, and still others may want to avoid coming off as “legislating” and may simply decide that states have the right to determine their own laws pertaining to marriage.
I do agree with your earlier comment that societal changes over time will lead to states changing their laws to allow for some type of recognition of gay couples. While people like to tout Brown v. Board of Education as a landmark case in the civil rights movement for blacks, it was various movements within society itself that ultimately led to states and the federal government changing or enacting new legislature.