The right to marry is pretty cool, but as I skimmed the 126 page decision (Judges aren’t known to get to the point quickly) I came across a sentence that made me pause, re-read twice and then have a moment of severe self-doubt about my rusty constitutional law skills…was this for real?
There is no persuasive basis for applying to statutes that classify persons on the basis of the suspect classification of sexual orientation a standard less rigorous than that applied to statutes that classify on the basis of the suspect classifications of gender, race, or religion.
With this decision, California become the first state to subject a statutes that discriminates based on sexual orientation to strict scrutiny, the same level of review applied to racially discriminatory statutes. So what? Well, In the words of my favorite law pundit, Kenji Yoshino:
For gays, this pronouncement is critical because it is portable—that is, gays can now challenge any California state policy that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation.
(thanks Chris P for the article!)
That’s right, ANY California state policy.
