Carolina QuotesSame-sex marriage presents a highly emotional and important question of public policy—but not a diffcult question of constitutional law. The Constitution does not guarantee the right to enter into a same-sex marriage. Indeed, no provision of the Constitution speaks to the issue.
Samuel Alito Connected to the Carolinas
Source
Dissenting opinion, States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. 744 (2013)
- year
- 2013
Cite this record
“Same-sex marriage presents a highly emotional and important …” Samuel Alito. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-0FEDAC035F. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/0fedac035f
More from Samuel Alito
For today’s majority, it does not matter that the right to same-sex marriage lacks deep roots or even that it is contrary to long-established tradition. The Justices in the majority claim the authority to confer constitutional protection upon that right simply because they believe that it is fundamental.
Our country as a whole, no less than the Hastings College of Law, values tolerance, cooperation, learning, and the amicable resolution of conflicts. But we seek to achieve those goals through "[a] confident pluralism that conduces to civil peace and advances democratic consensus-building," not by abridging First Amendment rights.
Today’s decision usurps the constitutional right of the people to decide whether to keep or alter the traditional understanding of marriage. The decision will also have other important consequences. It will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy. In the course of its opinion, the majority compares traditional marriage laws to laws that denied equal treatment for African-Americans and women. The implications of this analogy will be exploited by those who are determined to stamp out every vestige of dissent.