Reference no: EM133786849
Assignment:
On what basis did the Supreme Court in 1967 strike down a Virginia law against inter-racial marriage? (Loving v. Virginia, 1967) Explain how the basis of the Loving decision is similar to the Obergefell v. Hodges decision of 2015. Note: Both of these cases refer to marriage, an issue on which the U.S. Constitution is silent. How did the Court in both of these cases nonetheless find a fundamental right that was being hindered by state legislation?
Finally, explain how the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas case served as a legal "bridge" between Loving and Obergefell. That is, prior to legalizing same sex marriage in 2015 the Supreme Court first had to deal with state laws regarding homosexual conduct itself, and this it did in Lawrence.
What does Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority in Part II of his opinion, tell us about rights that cannot be infringed even if a large majority of the population, using traditional religious morality as a basis, might wish to limit what has traditionally been considered immoral activity?
What does Justice Scalia, in his dissent in Lawrence, say to Kennedy's argument, specifically on the question of whether the Court, by striking laws against homosexual activity, would have no legal or logical bar to eventually legalizing same sex marriage?