"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideal of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that"
"marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded form one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."
Former Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy expressed uncertainty about the longevity of his landmark LGBTQ+ rulings, saying "We'll see" and that the matter is for the next generation. Kennedy authored Obergefell v. Hodges, the decision legalizing marriage equality nationwide, and emphasized marriage's dignity and equal protection in a passage about love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. Kennedy also voted in the majority in Romer v. Evans, which applied Equal Protection to prevent states from denying legal protections to gay people, and in Lawrence v. Texas, striking down sodomy laws. He noted that future societal and legal developments will shape whether those decisions endure.
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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