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Slate has a quick overview of the oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, on the legality of same-sex marriage across the United States. The full account is here: Marriage Equality Arguments First Reaction: Ginsburg Strikes, Kennedy Wavers. My highlights of Slate's highlights are here:
1. These questions indicate that Kennedy may be sincerely struggling with a vital question in this litigation: Why should the Supreme Court hold same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional when legal same-sex marriage is so novel?
2. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a likely vote in favor of marriage equality, fiercely pushed back against the notion that the definition of marriage has remained unchanged for millennia.
3. Many speculate that Chief Justice John Roberts might swing in favor of marriage equality this time around, in large part to avoid a seemingly partisan 5–4 split. But Roberts didn’t appear to be playing the role of swing vote on Tuesday morning.
4. Justice Antonin Scalia—the court's fiercest opponent of constitutional gay rights—asked whether, if the court legalizes marriage equality, ministers may be forced to perform a civil same-sex marriage. Breyer reminded Scalia of the existence of the First Amendment.
