In recent years, many federal judges have voted to strike down bans on same-sex marriage, in part because no one has defended them well. This month, however, Judge Jeffrey Sutton, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, produced the most powerful defense to date -- one that will give the Supreme Court a serious test.
Judge Sutton acknowledged that “the question is not whether American law will allow gay couples to marry; it is when and how that will happen.” Nor did he lament what he saw as history’s arc. Instead he argued that, for federal courts, the only question is: Who decides? His answer: not judges, but the democratic process.
Read Full Article »