Democrat-Appointed Federal Judge: No Right to Same-Sex Marriage
Notably, Pérez-Giménez becomes the first Democrat-appointee to the federal bench to uphold marriage law since the Supreme Court’s Windsor decision on the Defense of Marriage Act case.
And it is the Supreme Court’s Windsor decision that Pérez-Giménez highlights as to why states have constitutional authority to make marriage policy:
Pérez-Giménez goes on to cite Windsor: “the definition of marriage is the foundation of the State’s broader authority to regulate the subject of domestic relations with respect to the ‘protection of offspring, property interests, and the enforcement of marital responsibilities.’”
The judge also appeals to an earlier Supreme Court case, Baker v. Nelson, where the Court rejected a challenge to a state’s marriage law because, the Court said, the challenge lacked a “substantial federal question.” Pérez-Giménez explains:
Notably, Pérez-Giménez becomes the first Democrat-appointee to the federal bench to uphold marriage law since the Supreme Court’s Windsor decision on the Defense of Marriage Act case.
And it is the Supreme Court’s Windsor decision that Pérez-Giménez highlights as to why states have constitutional authority to make marriage policy:
The Windsor opinion did not create a fundamental right to same gender marriage nor did it establish that state opposite-gender marriage regulations are amenable to federal constitutional challenges. If anything, Windsor stands for the opposite proposition: it reaffirms the States’ authority over marriage, buttressing Baker’s conclusion that marriage is simply not a federal question.
Pérez-Giménez goes on to cite Windsor: “the definition of marriage is the foundation of the State’s broader authority to regulate the subject of domestic relations with respect to the ‘protection of offspring, property interests, and the enforcement of marital responsibilities.’”
The judge also appeals to an earlier Supreme Court case, Baker v. Nelson, where the Court rejected a challenge to a state’s marriage law because, the Court said, the challenge lacked a “substantial federal question.” Pérez-Giménez explains:
Contrary to the plaintiffs’ contention, Windsor does not overturn Baker; rather, Windsor and Baker work in tandem to emphasize the States’ “historic and essential authority to define the marital relation” free from “federal intrusion.”
