WASHINGTON, D.C., April 28, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – For all intents and purposes, three Supreme Court justices just blurted out how they will vote on key issues today.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the most blunt. Sotomayor harshly contradicted James J. Bursch, the special assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan, after he said that the state's only interest in marriage is uniting children to their biological fathers and mothers.
“I don't actually accept your starting premise,” Sotomayor said. The right to marriage is, I think, embedded in our constitutional law. It is a fundamental right. We've said it in a number of cases.”
Sotomayor also bluntly denied that marriage links people together. “Marriage doesn't do that on any level,” she replied, citing the high divorce and abandonment rate. “How many married couples do fathers with the benefits or the requirements of marriage walk away from their children?”
Justice Elena Kagan said she believed laws against same-sex “marriage” were analogous to laws banning interracial marriage. She explicitly stated that this case is linked to Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court case that struck down Virginia's miscegeneration laws. “Loving was exactly what this case is,” she said. “It's a case that shows how liberty and equality are intertwined.”
Justice Stephen Breyer rejected another of Bursch's arguments. When Bursch said that the state had a compelling interest in sustaining marriage because of the soaring out-of-wedlock birthrate, Breyer said, “If your argument depends upon that, I'm stuck.”
Justice Anthony Kennedy also replied, “I think the argument cuts quite against you.” However, he gave mixed signals throughout the hearing.
