N.Y. Court Leaves Gay Marriage to Legislature

The New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, has rejected a state constitutional claim for same-sex marriage.  I haven't read the whole decision yet, but it appears to be decided under rational-basis review, rejecting the arguments that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court made in finding opposite-sex-only marriage irrational.  As the New York Times reports:

The decision called the idea of same-sex marriage "a relatively new one" and said that for most of history, society has conceived of marriage exclusively as a bond between a man and a woman. "A court should not lightly conclude that everyone who held this belief was irrational, ignorant or bigoted," the decision stated.

"There are at least two grounds that rationally support the limitation on marriage that the legislature has enacted," the court said, "both of which are derived from the undisputed assumption that marriage is important to the welfare of children."

First, the court said, marriage could be preserved as an "inducement" to heterosexual couples to remain in stable, long-term, and child-bearing relationships. Second, lawmakers could rationally conclude that "it is better, other things being equal, for children to grow up with both a mother and the father."

Although there are arguments for same-sex marriage as a matter of policy, this decision looks like it reflects proper judicial humility and restraint in refusing to tar opposite-sex-only marriage with the labels of irrationality or bigotry.

Tom