Via William Duncan at the Corner, I’ve learned of this strong and sound ruling yesterday in Hawaii by senior federal district judge Alan C. Kay holding that there is no federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Judge Kay determines (slip op. at 35-43) that the claim for such a right is foreclosed by the Supreme Court’s 1972 decision in Baker v. Nelson. Alternatively, properly applying rational-basis review and judicial restraint, he finds that such claim fails on the merits.

Because the proper exercise of rational-basis review has been so rare of late in the marriage context, I’m going to briefly outline Judge Kay’s reasoning... [continue reading]