Posted on 10/19/2012 12:10:03 PM PDT by mojito
A divided panel of the Second Circuit ruled today (in Windsor v. United States) that section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines “marriage” for purposes of provisions of federal law as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife,” “violates equal protection.”
The majority opinion was authored, alas, by Second Circuit chief judge Dennis Jacobs, a Bush 41 appointee who has generally been regarded as a conservative. Jacobs was joined by Obama appointee Christopher Droney. In a second departure from type (at least as determined by appointing president), senior circuit judge Chester Straub, a Clinton appointee, wrote a lengthy and vigorous dissent.
The essence of Jacobs’s ruling is that (1) classifications based on homosexuality should be subject to heightened scrutiny because homosexuals constitute a “quasi-suspect” class (pp. 24-34); (2) under this heightened scrutiny, a classification must be “substantially related to an “important government interest”—a standard that requires an “exceedingly persuasive” explanation (pp. 34-35); and (3) section 3 of DOMA can’t survive that scrutiny (pp. 35-43).
Some observations and criticisms:
1. Jacobs maintains that the federal interest in uniform eligibility for federal benefits is “suspicious because Congress and the Supreme Court have historically deferred to state domestic relations laws” (p. 36). He labels section 3 of DOMA “an unprecedented breach of longstanding deference to federalism” (p. 38).
Jacobs’s analysis of the supposed federalism interests at stake is badly confused. The definition of marriage for purposes of provisions of federal law is inherently a federal matter.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
Pelican Brief
Maybe this guy Jacobs was blackmailed by Obama’s Chicago thugs, just as Roberts seems to have been earlier.
Maybe this guy Jacobs was blackmailed by Obama’s Chicago thugs, just as Roberts seems to have been earlier.
We’re in a free fall folks!!! It won’t be long before they approve marriages between humans and animals (real 4 legged ones).
So the black-robed Marxists oppose the survival of the human race. I’m not surprised. As long as these judges can sup from the government teat and live off the fat of the taxpayer hog, they’re fine with the destruction of humanity.
Seig heil, dude.
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