As I suggested in my last post, one of the most significant insights in Kennedy's opinion today is his acknowledgment that many opponents of same-sex marriage, "reach that conclusion based on decent and honorable religious or philosophical premises.” Compare that to the very different language in Loving v. Virginia: "There is patently no legitimate overriding purpose independent of invidious racial discrimination which justifies [laws banning interracial marriage]. The fact that Virginia prohibits only interracial marriages involving white persons demonstrates that the racial classifications must stand on their own justification, as measures designed to maintain White Supremacy."
At the same time, though, it might now be incumbent for opponents of same-sex marriage, however much they disagree with today's decision, at least to acknowledge that it is not an attack on marriage, but rather an effort to ennoble it.
In a more practical vein, that line in Kennedy's opinion might have important repercussions in the exemption cases that are sure to continue to come down the pike. That is to say, it will be harder to argue that the assorted bakers and the like who decline to offer services explicitly related to same-sex marriages are merely ignorant or arrogant "bigots."
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