Opinion ID: 1477292
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Equal Protection under Article 24 of the Declaration of Rights

Text: While Family Law § 2-201 does not draw a distinction based on sex, the legislation does differentiate implicitly on the basis of sexual preference. Those who prefer relationships with people of the opposite sex and those who prefer relationships with people of the same sex are not treated alike, since only opposite-sex relationships may gain the status and benefits associated with marriage. Hernandez, 821 N.Y.S.2d 770, 855 N.E.2d at 11. See Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 123 S.Ct. 2472, 156 L.Ed.2d 508 (2003) (While it is true that the law [making it criminal for two consenting adults to engage in homosexual sodomy in the privacy of their own home] applies only to conduct, the conduct targeted by this law is conduct that is closely correlated with being homosexual. Under such circumstances, [the statute] is targeted at more than conduct. It is instead directed toward gay persons as a class.) (O'Connor, J., concurring). That Family Law § 2-201 draws a distinction based on sexual orientation is undisputed. The actual controversy here, therefore, is what level of constitutional scrutiny should be applied to a statute that treats citizens differently on that basis (i.e., whether sexual orientation constitutes a suspect or quasi-suspect class, thereby triggering one of the heightened levels of scrutiny iterated above). Hernandez, 821 N.Y.S.2d 770, 855 N.E.2d at 11. We find that sexual orientation is neither a suspect nor quasi-suspect class, and Family Law § 2-201 therefore is subject to rational basis review. We explain. There is no brightline diagnostic, annunciated by either this Court or the U.S. Supreme Court, by which a suspect or quasi-suspect class may be recognized readily. There are, however, several indicia of suspect or quasi-suspect classes that have been used in Supreme Court cases to determine whether a legislative classification warrants a more exacting constitutional analysis than that provided by rational basis review. These factors include: (1) whether the group of people disadvantaged by a statute display a readily recognizable, obvious, immutable, or distinguishing characteristics . . . [39] that define the group as a discrete and insular minorit[y]; [40] (2) whether the impacted group is saddled with such disabilities, or subjected to such a history of purposeful unequal treatment, or relegated to such a position of political powerlessness as to command extraordinary protection from the majoritarian political process; [41] and (3) whether the class of people singled out is subjected to unique disabilities on the basis of stereotyped characteristics not truly indicative of their abilities [to contribute meaningfully to society]. [42] We have identified a similar, although not as comprehensive, set of criteria by which we may analyze allegedly new suspect classes. Waldron, 289 Md. at 706, 426 A.2d at 941-42 (describing a suspect class as a category of people who have `experienced a history of purposeful unequal treatment' or been `subjected to unique disabilities on the basis of stereotypical characteristics not truly indicative of their abilities.') ( quoting Mass. Bd. of Retirement, 427 U.S. at 313, 96 S.Ct. at 2566, 49 L.Ed.2d 520). Because Article 24 is construed at least to the same extent as the Fourteenth Amendment, Murphy, 325 Md. at 354, 601 A.2d at 108; Waldron, 289 Md. at 705, 426 A.2d at 941 (citations omitted); Hornbeck v. Somerset County Bd. of Educ., 295 Md. at 640, 458 A.2d at 781, we find useful in our analysis those additional criteria used by the Supreme Court in assessing claims of a new suspect or quasi-suspect classification. Although the Supreme Court has characterized repeatedly as suspect classes distinctions based on race, [43] alienage, [44] and national origin, [45] the Court has not addressed expressly whether sexual orientation is considered suspect, thereby implicating strict or heightened scrutiny. See Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620, 631-32, 116 S.Ct. 1620, 1627-28, 134 L.Ed.2d 855 (1996) (stating that if a law neither burdens a fundamental right nor targets a suspect class, we will uphold the legislative classification so long as it bears a rational relation to some legitimate end, and invalidating the statute at issue under rational basis review); In re Kandu, 315 B.R. at 144 (explaining that the Supreme Court, in Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 123 S.Ct. 2472, 156 L.Ed.2d 508 (2003), did not address whether the Texas statute making it a crime to engage in consensual same-sex intimate conduct drew a suspect or quasi-suspect classification, but rather invalidated the Texas statute on the basis that it did not reasonably further a legitimate government interest); Andersen, 138 P.3d at 976 (same). The closest any Justice has come to suggesting a view on the issue is found in Rowland v. Mad River Local School Dist., 470 U.S. 1009, 1014, 105 S.Ct. 1373, 1376-77, 84 L.Ed.2d 392 (1985) (Brennan, J., dissenting from the denial of certiorari ), where Justice Brennan stated in his dissent to the denial of certiorari that homosexuals have historically been the object of pernicious and sustained hostility, and it is fair to say that discrimination against homosexuals is `likely . . . to reflect deep-seated prejudice rather than . . . rationality. The majority of other courts, both federal and state, that have addressed the issue hold that gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons neither are members of suspect nor quasi-suspect classifications. See, e.g., Selland v. Perry, 905 F.Supp. 260 (D.Md. 1995), aff'd, 100 F.3d 950 (4th Cir.1996) (applying Maryland law in order to uphold the constitutionality of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell provisions regarding homosexuality, and determining that equal protection does not mandate strict scrutiny); High Tech Gays v. Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office, 895 F.2d 563, 573 (9th Cir.1990) ([H]omosexuals are not a suspect or quasi-suspect classification.); In re Kandu, 315 B.R. at 143-44 (following the Ninth Circuit's decision in High Tech Gays, and determining that the Lawrence Court, while indicating a shift in the Supreme Court's treatment of same-sex couples, did not declare same-sex couples a suspect or quasi-suspect class for the purposes of equal protection analysis) (quoting Lawrence, 539 U.S. at 579-81, 123 S.Ct. at 2485, 156 L.Ed.2d 508 (O'Connor, J., concurring) (applying a rational basis standard of constitutional review to the Texas sodomy statute prohibiting sexual conduct between two persons of the same sex)); Wilson v. Ake, 354 F.Supp.2d 1298, 1307 (2005) ([H]omosexuality is not a suspect class that would require subjecting [the Florida Defense of Marriage Act] to strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause.) (quoting Lofton v. Sec. of Dep't of Children and Fam. Servs., 358 F.3d 804, 818 (2004) (holding post-Lawrence that homosexuality is not a suspect class), cert. denied, 543 U.S. 1081, 125 S.Ct. 869, 160 L.Ed.2d 825 (2005)); Andersen, 138 P.3d at 973-76 (explaining post-Lawrence that sexual orientation is not a suspect class and distinguishing the cases cited by the same-sex couples); Singer, 522 P.2d at 1196. [46] We shall join those courts and hold that sexual orientation has not come of age as a suspect or quasi-suspect classification. [47] 1. While there is a history of purposeful unequal treatment of gay and lesbian persons, and homosexual persons are subject to unique disabilities not truly indicative of their abilities to contribute to society, we shall not hold that gay and lesbian persons are so politically powerless that they constitute a suspect class. Homosexual persons have been the object of societal prejudice by private actors as well as by the judicial and legislative branches of federal and state governments. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons likewise have been subject to unique disabilities not truly indicative of their abilities to contribute meaningfully to society. For a significant period of American history, homosexual persons generally were not the object of regulatory focus because sexual and gender orientations differing from traditional sexual preferences were not well conceptualized by the public until after the Civil War. WILLIAM N. ESKRIDGE, JR., GAYLAW: CHALLENGING THE APARTHEID OF THE CLOSET 1 (1999) (recounting in great detail the genesis of the treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons in American society); Lawrence, 539 U.S. at 568-69, 123 S.Ct. at 2478-79, 156 L.Ed.2d 508 (describing succinctly the early history of laws directed at homosexual conduct, and explaining that the concept of the homosexual as a distinct category of person did not emerge until the late 19th century) (citations omitted). Before 1900, regulation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons focused on the criminalization of gender inversion, which included, but was not limited to, cross-dressing, prostitution, obscenity, public lewdness, and indecent exposure. ESKRIDGE, supra, at 13-14, 27-37. Many citizens viewed people who cross-dressed or otherwise deviated from the traditional gender roles as heretics, degenerates, or psychopaths. Id. at 17-18. By the turn of the twentieth century, most medical professionals accepted the degeneracy theory of homosexuality. Patricia A. Cain, Litigating for Lesbian and Gay Rights: A Legal History, 79 VA.L.REV. 1551, 1555 (1993). This theory was based primarily on the notion that homosexuality was an inheritable genetic trait, and that the disease could be treated through aversion therapy, castration, and other radical `cures,' rather than decriminalization. Id. at 1555, 1555 n. 21 (citing JOHN D'EMILIO, SEXUAL POLITICS, SEXUAL COMMUNITIES 15 (1983); DAVID F. GREENBERG, THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOMOSEXUALITY 397-433(1988); JONATHON, KATZ, GAY AMERICAN HISTORY 129-207 (rev. ed 1992)); see ESKRIDGE, JR., supra, at 50 (quoting U.S. Army Surgeon General, Disposition of Overt Cases of Homosexuality, Army Bulletin No. 66, April 1943, pt. E, at 83 (1943) (explaining that rather than court-martial those who engage in single-sex sodomy, homosexual persons should be reclaimed through medical treatment)). Those who spoke out publicly in favor of gay and lesbian rights during the Red Scare of the late 1910s to early 1920s were branded as communists, denaturalized, and deported to the Soviet Union. Cain, supra, at 1555-56. In the 1950s, the Senate Investigations Subcommittee of the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Department found that homosexuals and other sex perverts were unsuitable for employment by the federal government primarily because [t]hose who engage[d] in overt acts of perversion lack[ed] the emotional stability of normal persons. In addition there [was, according to the Subcommittee,] an abundance of evidence to sustain the conclusion that indulgence in acts of sex[ual] perversion weaken[ed] the moral fiber of an individual to a degree that he [was] not suitable for a position of responsibility. Cain, supra, at 1565-66 (citing SUBCOMM. FOR THE COMM'N OF EXPENDITURE IN THE EXEC. DEP'T, INTERIMREPORT ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF HOMOSEXUALS AND OTHER SEX PERVERTS IN GOVERNMENT, S. Doc. No. 241, 81st Cong., 2d Sess. 4 (1950)) (hereinafter INTERIM REPORT ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF HOMOSEXUALS). Homosexuals were furthermore deemed security risks because of their susceptibility to blackmail. Cain, supra, at 1566 (citing INTERIM REPORT ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF HOMOSEXUALS, at 3). The 1946 elections saw the beginning of a national homosexual Kulturkampf, a period spanning from 1946 to 1961, in which it is believed that as many as a million gay and lesbian persons were prosecuted criminally under statutes aimed at prohibiting consensual same-sex adult intercourse (both public and private), kissing, holding hands, or other forms of public lewdness. ESKRIDGE, JR., supra, at 60-67. Some states, namely New Jersey, Florida, California, and New York, prohibited establishments with state-issued liquor licenses from knowingly serving alcohol to homosexual persons. ESKRIDGE, JR., supra, at 78-80. In the wake of Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186, 106 S.Ct. 2841, 92 L.Ed.2d 140 (1986), and until the Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas , it was not unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment for a state to enact legislation making it a crime for two consenting adults of the same sex to engage in sexual conduct in the privacy of their home. See Lawrence, 539 U.S. at 575, 123 S.Ct. at 2482, 156 L.Ed.2d 508 (When homosexual conduct is made criminal by the law of the State, that declaration in and of itself is an invitation to subject homosexual persons to discrimination both in the public and in the private spheres.). As stated by the Surgeon General, [O]ur culture often stigmatizes homosexual behavior, identity and relationships. These anti-homosexual attitudes are associated with psychological distress for homosexual persons and may have a negative impact on mental health, including a greater incidence of depression and suicide, lower self-acceptance and a greater likelihood of hiding sexual orientation. . . . In their extreme form, these negative attitudes lead to [anti-gay] violence. Averaged over two dozen studies, 80 percent of gay men and lesbians had experienced verbal or physical harassment on the basis of their orientation, 45 percent had been threatened with violence, and 17 percent had experienced a physical attack. U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs., The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior (9 July 2001) (letter from the Surgeon General), at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/sexualhealth/call.html. It is clear that homosexual persons, at least in terms of contemporary history, have been a disfavored group in both public and private spheres of our society. The State, furthermore, has not provided evidence to the contrary in the present case, arguing instead that, because every other jurisdiction, both before and after Lawrence, rejected the notion that homosexuals are a suspect class, so should Maryland. While other jurisdictions' dispositions of equal protection claims similar to the one advanced in the present case are persuasive and reinforce our own analysis, we do not accept them simply as conclusive. This Court nevertheless finds that, in light of the other indicia used by this Court and the Supreme Court in addressing equal protection claims, a history of unequal treatment does not require that we deem suspect a classification based on sexual orientation. [48] We instead view the circumstances as a whole in order to determine whether sexual orientation constitutes a protected classification meriting a more exacting level of constitutional review. In spite of the unequal treatment suffered possibly by Appellees and certainly a substantial portion of other citizens similarly situated, we are not persuaded that gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons are so politically powerless that they are entitled to extraordinary protection from the majoritarian political process. To the contrary, it appears that, at least in Maryland, advocacy to eliminate discrimination against gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons based on their sexual orientation has met with growing successes in the legislative and executive branches of government. [49] Maryland statutes protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation in several areas of the law, including public accommodation, [50] employment, [51] housing, [52] and education. [53] In addition to the statutory framework in place, several state and local regulations prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. [54] See, e.g., MD.CODE (2004), Health Occ. § 19-311(6) (prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination by social workers); MD.CODE (2003), art. 29 §§ 1-107, 3-102(h)(1) (prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination on the part of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, and prohibiting the use of discriminatory employment practices by any contractor engaged by the Commission); MD. REGS.CODE tit. 1 §§ 04.07.04(A)(7)(d)(viii), 04.07.05(A)(2)(p) (2004) (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the administration of the Residential Child Care Program); MD. REGS.CODE tit. 1 §§ 05.03.09(A)(2), 05.03.15(C)(2) (prohibiting the consideration of either the adoptive parent's or adoptive child's sexual orientation during the application or placement stage of a private adoption); MD. REGS. CODE tit. 5 § 04.11.18(A) (2005) (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by entities involved with, or contractors engaged by, the Special Housing Opportunities Program); MD. REGS.CODE tit. 10 § 18.06.03(A)(6) (2004) (providing that it is improper for health care providers rendering services under the AIDS Drug Assistance Program to consider sexual orientation when determining whether to provide such services); MD. REGS.CODE tit. 10 § 42.03.03(B)(5) (2005) (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by licensed social workers); MD. REGS.CODE tit. 10 § 10.43.03(D)(5) (2005) (same, in the context of chiropractors and chiropractic assistants licensed to practice in Maryland); MD. REGS.CODE tit. 14 § 29.04.09(C)(1) (2004) (forbidding discrimination in the administration of the Maryland Heritage Areas Loan Program). Evolutionary legal developments highlighting changing views toward gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons are not limited to statutory and regulatory enactments. In terms of Supreme Court jurisprudence, one of the most important cases is Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620, 116 S.Ct. 1620, 134 L.Ed.2d 855 (1996). This case dealt with a Colorado voter-adopted amendment to the State's Constitution that preclude[d] all legislative, executive, or judicial action at any level of state or local government designed to protect the status of persons based on their `homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices or relationship.' Romer, 517 U.S. at 620, 116 S.Ct. at 1621-22, 134 L.Ed.2d 855. In other words, the amendment sought to preclude the Colorado legislature from enacting any statute that provided for protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The Court struck down the statute as unconstitutional, under rational basis review, as a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. In Lawrence, 539 U.S. at 565, 560, 123 S.Ct. at 2476, 2475, 156 L.Ed.2d 508, the Court overturned Bowers v. Hardwick and concluded that the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbids the criminalization of sexual conduct by two persons of the same sex in the privacy of their own homes. In neither Romer nor Lawrence, however, did the Supreme Court state that homosexual persons constituted a suspect class. The Court instead applied rational basis review to both of the statutes at issue. The body of Maryland appellate opinions addressed to the rights and interests of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons is substantial. Boswell v. Boswell, 352 Md. 204, 237-238, 721 A.2d 662, 678 (1998) (holding that, in the context of visitation rights of a non-custodial parent, [this Court] make[s] no distinctions as to the sexual preference of the non-custodial parent whose visitation is being challenged. The only relevance that a parent's sexual conduct or lifestyle has in the context of a visitation proceeding of this type is where that conduct or lifestyle is clearly shown to be detrimental to the children's emotional and/or physical well-being); State v. Smullen, 380 Md. 233, 844 A.2d 429 (2004) (extending battered spouse syndrome to abusive situations within same-sex couples); North v. North, 102 Md.App. 1, 12, 648 A.2d 1025, 1031 (1994) (deciding that the sexual orientation of a non-custodial parent is not a proper basis for the denial of visitation rights, and placing emphasis on whether such visitation rights were in the best interests of the child and whether there was a showing of actual harm to the child by granting visitation, rather than focusing on the perceived harms to the child of exposing it to a homosexual lifestyle); Gestl v. Frederick, 133 Md.App. 216, 244-45, 754 A.2d 1087, 1102-03 (2000) (determining that the trial court was required to exercise jurisdiction over a child visitation lawsuit brought by the biological mother's former same-sex partner under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act); Lapides v. Trabbic, 134 Md.App. 51, 54, 758 A.2d 1114, 1115 (2000) (rejecting a father's tort cause of action against his ex-wife's same-sex domestic partner on the basis that she interfered with and caused harm to his relationship with his daughter to which he had joint custody); S.F. v. M.D., 132 Md.App. 99, 102, 110, 751 A.2d 9, 10, 14-15 (2000) (holding that the former domestic partner of a biological mother has standing to seek visitation of a child conceived by in vitro fertilization performed during the tenure of their partnership). [55] While gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons in recent history have been the target of unequal treatment in the private and public aspects of their lives, and have been subject to stereotyping in ways not indicative of their abilities, among other things, to work and raise a child, recent legislative and judicial trends toward reversing various forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation underscore an increasing political coming of age. The relevant decisions from other jurisdictions recognize this. Andersen, 138 P.3d at 974-75 (The enactment of provisions providing increased protection to gay and lesbian individuals in [the State] shows that as a class gay and lesbian persons are not powerless but, instead, exercise increasing political power. Indeed, the recent passage of the amendment [in Washington prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation] is particularly significant. . . . We conclude that plaintiffs have not established that they satisfy the [political powerlessness] prong of the suspect classification test.); see also High Tech Gays, 895 F.2d at 573-74 (concluding, independent of reliance on Bowers, that, [w]hile we do agree that homosexuals have suffered a history of discrimination, we do not believe that they meet the other criteria [for being a suspect or quasi-suspect classification], and determining that legislatures have addressed and continue to address the discrimination suffered by homosexuals on account of their sexual orientation though the passage of anti-discrimination legislation. Thus, homosexuals are not without political power . . . ). [56] 2. Evidence that homosexuality is an immutable characteristic. The term immutability defines a human characteristic that is determined solely by the accident of birth, Frontiero, 411 U.S. at 686, 93 S.Ct. at 1770, 36 L.Ed.2d 583 (explaining that sex, like race and national origin, is an immutable characteristic [that is] determined solely by the accident of birth, and that defines a particular group), or that the possessor is powerless to escape or set aside. Regents of Univ. of Cal. v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265, 360, 98 S.Ct. 2733, 2784, 57 L.Ed.2d 750 (1978) (quoting Weber v. Aetna Cas. & Surety Co., 406 U.S. 164, 92 S.Ct. 1400, 31 L.Ed.2d 768 (1972)). See also Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202, 216-17 n. 14, 102 S.Ct. 2382, 2394-95 n. 14, 72 L.Ed.2d 786 (1982) (Legislation imposing special disabilities upon groups disfavored by virtue of circumstances beyond their control suggests the kind of `class or caste' treatment that the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to abolish.). Based on the scientific and sociological evidence currently available to the public, we are unable to take judicial notice that gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons display readily-recognizable, immutable characteristics that define the group such that they may be deemed a suspect class for purposes of determining the appropriate level of scrutiny to be accorded the statute in the present case. Appellees rely on Hernandez-Montiel v. I.N.S., 225 F.3d 1084, 1093 (9th Cir.2000), overruled on other grounds by, Thomas v. Gonzales, 409 F.3d 1177 (9th Cir.2005), for the proposition that sexual orientation is a suspect classification because it is defined by a characteristic that people should not be required to change because [it is] fundamental to . . . individual identities or consciences. The Ninth Circuit indeed held there that [s]exual orientation and sexual identity are immutable; [and that] they are so fundamental to one's identity that a person should not be required to abandon them. Hernandez-Montiel, 225 F.3d at 1093 (indexing numerous studies that have concluded that sexual orientation is determined at an early age and engrained in an individual's personality). Despite the Ninth Circuit's conclusion in that case that sexual orientation is an immutable characteristic, that court since has declared that homosexual persons do not constitute a suspect classification. See Andersen, 138 P.3d at 974 (citing Flores v. Morgan Hill Unified Sch. Dist., 324 F.3d 1130, 1137 (9th Cir.2003) (holding, pre- Lawrence, homosexuals are not a suspect or quasi-suspect class, but are a definable group entitled to rational basis scrutiny for equal protection purposes) (quoting High Tech Gays, 895 F.2d at 573-74)). Beyond their reliance on Hernandez-Montiel and two Maryland cases that discuss, in the abstract, inherently suspect classifications and immutability, see Ehrlich v. Perez ex rel. Perez, 394 Md. 691, 718-19, 908 A.2d 1220, 1236-37 (2006) (discussing alienage as an inherently suspect classification); In re Heilig, 372 Md. 692, 697-710, 816 A.2d 68, 71-79 (2003) (discussing the concept of gender in the context of transsexuals and how, as medically possible, the outward and physical manifestations of gender may be changed), Appellees point neither to scientific nor sociological studies, which have withstood analysis for evidentiary admissibility, in support of an argument that sexual orientation is an immutable characteristic. [57] In the absence of some generally accepted scientific conclusion identifying homosexuality as an immutable characteristic, and in light of the other indicia used by this Court and the Supreme Court in defining a suspect class, we decline on the record in the present case to recognize sexual orientation as an immutable trait and therefore a suspect or quasi-suspect classification. See Andersen, 138 P.3d at 974; In re Marriage Cases, 49 Cal.Rptr.3d 675, 714 (Cal.App.1st Dist.2006), review granted, 53 Cal.Rptr.3d 317, 149 P.3d 737 (2006). The majority of other jurisdictions that have addressed comparable equal protection challenges reviewed similar statutes under rational basis analysis. See In re Kandu, 315 B.R. at 143-44; Wilson, 354 F.Supp.2d at 1307; Lofton, 358 F.3d at 818, cert. denied, 543 U.S. 1081, 125 S.Ct. 869, 160 L.Ed.2d 825 (2005); Andersen, 138 P.3d at 973-76; Singer, 522 P.2d at 1196. IV. The Right to Same-Sex Marriage is Not so Deeply Rooted in the History and Tradition of this State or the Nation as a Whole Such That it Should be Deemed Fundamental. Appellees contend next that Family Law § 2-201 is subject to strict scrutiny because it burdens significantly their fundamental right to marry guaranteed by the due process protections of Article 24. First defined federally by the Supreme Court in 1937, fundamental rights are those privileges and immunities that are so rooted in the traditions and conscience of our people that they are considered implicit in the concept of ordered liberty. Palko v. Connecticut, 302 U.S. 319, 325-26, 58 S.Ct. 149, 152, 82 L.Ed. 288 (1937) (quoting Snyder v. Massachusetts, 291 U.S. 97, 105, 54 S.Ct. 330, 332, 78 L.Ed. 674 (1934)); Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702, 721, 117 S.Ct. 2258, 2268, 138 L.Ed.2d 772 (1997) (defining fundamental rights as those privileges that are objectively, `deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition,' . . . and `implicit in the concept of ordered liberty,' such that `neither liberty nor justice would exist if they were sacrificed.') (quoting Palko, 302 U.S. at 325-26, 58 S.Ct. at 152, 82 L.Ed. 288); Moore v. City of East Cleveland, 431 U.S. 494, 503, 97 S.Ct. 1932, 1938, 52 L.Ed.2d 531 (1977) (defining fundamental rights as those liberty interests that are deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition) (plurality opinion). We employ a very similar definition for determining what constitutes a fundamental right for state constitutional analysis. Sites v. State, 300 Md. 702, 716, 481 A.2d 192, 199 (1984) (defining fundamental rights as those that are so rooted in the traditions and conscience of our people as to be ranked as fundamental or implicit in the concept of ordered liberty); Waldron, 289 Md. at 715, 426 A.2d at 947 (characterizing the rights protected by Article 24 as those recognized as vital to the history and traditions of the people of this State); Samuels v. Tschechtelin, 135 Md. App. 483, 537, 763 A.2d 209, 238 (2000) (quoting Glucksberg, 521 U.S. at 720-21, 117 S.Ct. at 2268, 138 L.Ed.2d 772). In determining whether an asserted liberty interest constitutes a fundamental right, we look not to our personal and private notions of what is fundamental, but rather to the traditions and [collective] conscience of our people. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 493, 85 S.Ct. 1678, 1686, 14 L.Ed.2d 510 (1965) (Goldberg, J., concurring). Our task in the present case, therefore, is to determine objectively whether the right to marry another person of the same sex is so deeply rooted in the history and tradition of this State, as well as the Nation as a whole, that neither liberty nor justice would exist if it were sacrificed. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. at 721, 117 S.Ct. at 2268, 138 L.Ed.2d 772. A. The Right at Stake must be Clearly and Precisely Identified. It is undisputed that the right to marry, in its most general sense, is a fundamental liberty interest that goes to the core of what the U.S. Supreme Court has called the right to personal autonomy. See, e.g., Planned Parenthood of S.E. Pa. v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 851, 112 S.Ct. 2791, 2807, 120 L.Ed.2d 674 (1992) (At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.). This right to personal privacy was recognized formally by the U.S. Supreme Court in Griswold where it struck down, as an intrusion upon the constitutionally protected right to marital privacy, a ban on the use of contraceptives by married heterosexual couples. The Court reasoned that there are zones of privacy created by the guarantees of the Bill of Rights that serve as [a] protection against all government invasions `of the sanctity of a man's home and the privacies of life.' Griswold, 381 U.S. at 484, 85 S.Ct. at 1681, 14 L.Ed.2d 510 (quoting Boyd v. United States, 116 U.S. 616, 630, 6 S.Ct. 524, 532, 29 L.Ed. 746 (1886)). Other rights considered fundamental under this general right to personal autonomy are those decisions relating to child-bearing, [58] child-rearing and education, [59] intimate association and sexual intimacy, [60] the right to use contraceptives, [61] the right to refuse unwanted lifesaving medical treatment, [62] and, as stated before, the right to marriage. [63] The rights to personal autonomy embrace just a few of the rights that the Supreme Court has deemed fundamental. See, e.g., Shapiro v. Thompson, 394 U.S. 618, 634, 89 S.Ct. 1322, 1331, 22 L.Ed.2d 600 (1969) (the right to move from state to state); Kramer v. Union Free School Dist., 395 U.S. 621, 627, 89 S.Ct. 1886, 1889-90, 23 L.Ed.2d 583 (1969) (the right to vote); Griffin v. Illinois, 351 U.S. 12, 76 S.Ct. 585, 100 L.Ed. 891 (1956) (the right to equal access to appeal). Determination of whether there is a fundamental right to enter into a same-sex marriage, however, does not end with a brief invocation of the cases outlining the importance of marriage generally and the other liberty interests that make up the fundamental rights panorama of personal autonomy. Before determining the fundamental nature of an asserted liberty interest, the right at stake should be defined precisely. Samuels, 135 Md.App. at 537, 763 A.2d at 238 ([A]nalysis of an alleged substantive due process violation `must begin with careful description of the asserted right, for `[t]he doctrine of judicial self-restraint requires us to exercise the utmost care whenever we are asked to break new ground in this field.') (quoting Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292, 302, 113 S.Ct. 1439, 1447, 123 L.Ed.2d 1 (1993) (in turn quoting Collins v. Harker Heights, 503 U.S. 115, 125, 112 S.Ct. 1061, 1068, 117 L.Ed.2d 261 (1992)); Glucksberg, 521 U.S. at 721, 117 S.Ct. at 2268, 138 L.Ed.2d 772 ([W]e have required in substantive-due-process cases a `careful description' of the asserted fundamental liberty interest.)(internal citations omitted)); see also Glucksberg, 521 U.S. at 722-26, 728, 117 S.Ct. at 2269, 138 L.Ed.2d 772 (stating that the asserted liberty interest at issue in the case was framed more properly as the right to commit suicide with another's assistance rather than the broadly-stated liberty to choose how to die or the right to choose a humane, dignified death, and determining that there existed no fundamental right to assisted suicide even though the right to refuse lifesaving medical treatment was deeply rooted in our Nation's history) (distinguishing Cruzan v. Dir., Mo. Dep't of Health, 497 U.S. 261, 278-80, 110 S.Ct. 2841, 2851-52, 111 L.Ed.2d 224 (1990)); Lewis v. Harris, 188 N.J. 415, 908 A.2d 196, 207 (2006) (same); In re Marriage Cases, 49 Cal.Rptr.3d at 701 (holding that an asserted right must be concrete and particularized, rather than abstract and general) (citations omitted). Once the asserted liberty interest is identified clearly, we determine objectively whether it is deeply rooted in the traditions, history, and conscience of the people of Maryland and the Nation as a whole. Appellees argue that we should not be concerned with whether the Court should recognize a new fundamental right to same-sex marriage, but instead should focus on whether the existing fundamental right to marriage should be extended to include same-sex couples. Specifically, Appellees seek a declaration that the right to marry encompasses the right to marry a person of one's choosing without interference from the government, even if the other person is of the same sex. They argue further that, in assessing history and tradition, the proper inquiry is what has historically been enjoyed (e.g., the right to marry), not who has historically enjoyed it (e.g., people in heterosexual relationships). A substantially similar argument has been made to our peers in other jurisdictions in the course of confronting same-sex marriage challenges. See, e.g., Wilson v. Ake, 354 F.Supp.2d 1298, 1305 (M.D.Fla.2005) (Plaintiffs argue that their right to marry someone of the same sex is a fundamental right that is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.); Standhardt v. Superior Court of State, 206 Ariz. 276, 77 P.3d 451, 458 (App.2003); Dean v. Dist. of Columbia, 653 A.2d 307, 333 (D.C.App. 1995); Jones v. Hallahan, 501 S.W.2d 588, 590 (Ky.App.1973); Baker v. Nelson, 291 Minn. 310, 191 N.W.2d 185, 186 (1971); Andersen, 138 P.3d at 976-79. Each of these appellate courts, when presented with the argument, rejected it. For the reasons stated here, we join those courts and hold that the issue is framed more properly in terms of whether the right to choose same-sex marriage is fundamental. In support of their argument, Appellees rely principally on Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1, 87 S.Ct. 1817, 18 L.Ed.2d 1010 (1967) (holding that the fundamental right to marriage encompasses the right marry the person of one's choosing, even if that person is of a different race); Boddie v. Connecticut, 401 U.S. 371, 376, 91 S.Ct. 780, 785, 28 L.Ed.2d 113 (1971); Zablocki v. Redhail, 434 U.S. 374, 98 S.Ct. 673, 54 L.Ed.2d 618 (1978); Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 107 S.Ct. 2254, 96 L.Ed.2d 64 (1987); and, through reference to other cases that cite it, Skinner v. Oklahoma ex rel. Williamson, 316 U.S. 535, 541-42, 62 S.Ct. 1110, 1113-14, 86 L.Ed. 1655 (1942). We find that, while these cases certainly establish generally the fundamental nature of the right to marry, they do not represent a compelling basis to extend the fundamental right to include same-sex marriage. All of the cases infer that the right to marry enjoys its fundamental status due to the male-female nature of the relationship and/or the attendant link to fostering procreation of our species. We explain. Appellees rely on Loving for the proposition that, despite the long history of prohibition against interracial marriages, the Supreme Court declared in that case that the right to marry was constitutionally guaranteed to different-race couples just as it was available to single-race couples, Loving, 388 U.S. at 12, 87 S.Ct. at 1823, 18 L.Ed.2d 1010, thereby declaring that the proper inquiry in the case was whether the right itself had been historically enjoyed rather than who had historically enjoyed it. We disagree. The basis for the Supreme Court's decision as to the interracial couples' due process challenge was that [m]arriage is one of the `basic civil rights of man,' fundamental to our very existence and survival. Id. (emphasis added) (citing Skinner, 316 U.S. at 541, 62 S.Ct. at 1113, 86 L.Ed. 1655 ( Marriage and procreation are fundamental to the very existence and survival of the race.)) (emphasis added). As our peers on other courts have stated, [w]hether the Court [in Skinner ] viewed marriage and procreation as a single indivisible right, the least that can be said is that it was obviously contemplating unions between men and women when it ruled that the right to marry was fundamental. This is hardly surprising inasmuch as none of the United States sanctioned any other marriage configuration at the time. Baehr, 852 P.2d at 56; Standhardt, 77 P.3d at 458 (stating that [i]mplicit in Loving and predecessor opinions is the notion that marriage, often linked to procreation, is a union forged between one man and one woman, and concluding that, while Loving expanded the traditional scope of the fundamental right to marry by granting interracial couples unrestricted access to the state-sanctioned marriage institution, that decision was anchored to the concept of marriage as a union involving persons of the opposite sex.); Dean, 653 A.2d at 332-33 (holding that the right to marriage is deemed fundamental because of its link to procreation). Language of similar import appears throughout the Supreme Court's jurisprudence establishing as fundamental the right to marry. The Court commented in Maynard v. Hill, 125 U.S. 190, 211, 8 S.Ct. 723, 729, 31 L.Ed. 654 (1888), that [marriage] is an institution, in the maintenance of which in its purity the public is deeply interested, for it is the foundation of the family and society, without which there would be neither civilization nor progress. In Zablocki, the Supreme Court reasoned that [i]t is not surprising that the decision to marry has been placed in the same level of importance as decisions relating to procreation, childbirth, child rearing, and family relationships. . . . [I]t would make little sense to recognize a right of privacy with respect to other matters of family life and not with respect to the decision to enter the relationship that is the foundation of family in our society. 434 U.S. at 386, 98 S.Ct. at 681, 54 L.Ed.2d 618 (upholding the fundamental right to marry for those in non-compliance with child support obligations). In the course of doing so, the Court explained in detail the genesis of the fundamental status accorded marriage: Long ago, in Maynard v. Hill, 125 U.S. 190, 8 S.Ct. 723, 31 L.Ed. 654 (1888), the Court characterized marriage as the most important relation in life, [125 U.S. at 205, 8 S.Ct. at 726, 31 L.Ed. 654], and as the foundation of the family and of society, without which there would be neither civilization nor progress, [125 U.S. at 211, 8 S.Ct. at 729, 31 L.Ed. 654]. In Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 43 S.Ct. 625, 67 L.Ed. 1042 (1923), the Court recognized that the right to marry, establish a home and bring up children is a central part of the liberty protected by the Due Process Clause, [262 U.S. at 399, 43 S.Ct. at 626, 67 L.Ed. 1042], and in Skinner v. Oklahoma ex rel. Williamson, supra , . . . marriage was described as fundamental to the very existence and survival of the race, [316 U.S. at 541, 62 S.Ct. at 1113, 86 L.Ed. 1655]. Zablocki, 434 U.S. at 384, 98 S.Ct. at 680, 54 L.Ed.2d 618; see also Baehr v. Lewin, 74 Haw. 530, 852 P.2d 44, 56 (1993). In Boddie, 401 U.S. at 376, 381-82, 91 S.Ct. at 785, 788, 28 L.Ed.2d 113, the Supreme Court declared that marriage involves interests of basic importance in our society. 401 U.S. at 376, 91 S.Ct. at 785, 28 L.Ed.2d 113 (citing generally Skinner, Loving, and Meyer ). In light of that fundamental nature of marriage, the Court invalidated a statute that authorized the State of Connecticut to deny access to the courts to indigent citizens seeking to obtain a divorce, solely because they were unable to pay the requisite court fees. Boddie, 401 U.S. at 381-82, 91 S.Ct. at 788, 28 L.Ed.2d 113. Thus, virtually every Supreme Court case recognizing as fundamental the right to marry indicates as the basis for the conclusion the institution's inextricable link to procreation, which necessarily and biologically involves participation (in ways either intimate or remote) by a man and a woman. Andersen, 138 P.3d at 978 (Nearly all United States Supreme Court decisions declaring marriage to be a fundamental right expressly link marriage to fundamental rights of procreation, childbirth, abortion, and child-rearing.). The one exception is Turner v. Safley . In that case, the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a Missouri Division of Corrections regulation that precluded an inmate from marrying unless he or she received permission from the superintendent, and only upon a finding that there was a compelling reason for the marriage. Turner, 482 U.S. at 78, 107 S.Ct. at 2256-57, 96 L.Ed.2d 64. The term compelling reason was not defined by the regulation, but prison officials testified at trial that the only reason deemed compelling was the pregnancy of the woman to be married or the birth of a child out of wedlock. Turner, 482 U.S. at 82, 107 S.Ct. at 2258, 96 L.Ed.2d 64. The Court concluded that the fundamental right to marriage recognized in Zablocki applied to prison inmates just as it applied to non-incarcerated individuals. Turner, 482 U.S. at 95, 107 S.Ct. at 2265, 96 L.Ed.2d 64. Among several reasons given for application of Zablocki to the issues at bar was that most inmates eventually will be released by parole or commutation, and therefore most inmate marriages are formed in the expectation that they ultimately will be fully consummated. Turner, 482 U.S. at 96, 107 S.Ct. at 2265, 96 L.Ed.2d 64. The Court reasoned additionally that marriage often serves as a precondition to certain tangible and intangible benefits, including the legitimization of children born out of wedlock. Id. It is true that the reasons given in support of the fundamental right of inmates to marry were not linked in express terms to procreation and, indeed, some of the reasons given were wholly independent of procreation. Whatever the reasons given for granting to those couples the right to marry, however, it is clear that the Court was contemplating marriage between a man and woman when it declared unconstitutional the Missouri regulation. The case involved challenges by opposite sex couples, and a number, although not all, of the reasons given in support of the right to marry applied only to opposite sex couples, i.e., consummation of the marriage and legitimization of children born outside the marital relationship. Turner does not persuade us to frame the inquiry in the present case as Appellees wish. See Andersen, 138 P.3d at 979. [64] It is beyond doubt that the right to marry, in the abstract, is a fundamental right recognized by both the Federal and this State's Constitutions. While we deem fundamental this latitudinously-stated right to marry, it is nevertheless a public institution that historically has been subject to the regulation and police powers of the State. [65] Henderson v. Henderson, 199 Md. 449, 458-59, 87 A.2d 403, 409 (1952) (The State has the sovereign power to regulate marriages, and accordingly can determine who shall assume and who shall occupy the matrimonial relation within its borders.); [66] see also MD.CODE ANN. (1957, 2006 Repl.Vol.), Family Law Article, §§ 2-201 to 2-407, 2-409, 2-410 (delineating the requirements for a valid marriage in the State of Maryland) (unless otherwise noted, all references in this portion of the opinion are to the Family Law Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland). In that vein, whether a particular person may marry often has depended on who historically has enjoyed the right. Indeed, the fundamental right to marry is not absolute. Under Maryland law, a minor may not marry if the minor is under the age of 15. Family Law § 2-301(c). If the child is 15 years old, he or she may not marry unless consent is given by a parent or guardian and the clerk issuing the marriage license is supplied with documentation that the female to be married is either pregnant or has given birth. Family Law § 2-301(b). If the child is 16 or 17 years of age, he or she may not marry unless there is consent obtained from a parent or guardian or, in the case of woman, documentation is given indicating that the woman to be married is pregnant or has given birth. Family Law § 2-301(a); see also Picarella v. Picarella, 20 Md.App. 499, 510-11, 316 A.2d 826, 833-34 (1974). Limitations of this type on marriage are rooted in the common law. See 24 Op. Att'y Gen'l 482 (1939) (describing the age limits placed on marriage at common law). Individuals within a certain degree of lineal or collateral consanguinity may not marry. Family Law § 2-202. In order for a marriage to be valid within the State, the parties to it must be mentally competent such that there [is] an understanding and appreciation of what the ceremony was that was being gone through with, and what were the legal consequences naturally deducible therefrom. Montgomery v. U'Nertle, 143 Md. 200, 207, 122 A. 357, 360 (1923); Elfont v. Elfont, 161 Md. 458, 471, 157 A. 741, 746 (1932) ([T]o render a marriage invalid because of insanity on the part of one of the parties to the contract, it must be shown clearly and convincingly that such party was unable to understand the nature of the contract of marriage and to appreciate the legal consequences naturally deducible therefrom.). Bigamous relationships are likewise subject to regulation by the State, and any marriage stemming from such a relationship is considered void. Roth v. Roth, 49 Md.App. 433, 436, 433 A.2d 1162, 1164 (1981) (voiding a marriage when one of the parties has a still-living spouse from a previous marriage where no decree of divorce from the previous marriage has been issued); Donnelly v. Donnelly, 198 Md. 341, 346-47, 84 A.2d 89, 92 (1951); see Family Law § 2-402(b) (requiring in the application for a marriage license disclosure by the parties of the marital status of each party). We are not aware of any case from Maryland, the U.S. Supreme Court, or elsewhere domestically in which the issue has been framed in terms of whether the fundamental right to marry encompasses, for example, the fundamental right to marry a person of one's choosing without government interference, even if that other person is lineally and directly related to the citizen asserting their fundamental right to marry, such that strict scrutiny was deemed the appropriate standard of constitutional review to analyze the relevant statute. The principle of defining precisely the asserted liberty interest is not limited to the analytical context of marriage. When the scope of an asserted liberty interest becomes relevant to determining the fundamental nature of that right, we have sought to define narrowly that right and identify precisely the group asserting the liberty interest. In Suessmann v. Lamone, 383 Md. 697, 862 A.2d 1 (2004), for example, unaffiliated registered voters filed suit in the Circuit Court for St. Mary's County seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from the allegedly unconstitutional exclusion of unaffiliated voters from the Democratic and Republican Parties' primary elections for circuit court judicial candidates. 383 Md. at 704, 862 A.2d at 5. Judges were chosen in a general election to which the judges gained access by securing placement on the ballot through victory in either of the primary elections held by the Democratic and Republican parties. Suessmann, 383 Md. at 704-05, 862 A.2d at 5. The State argued in that case, and we agreed, that the mere fact a law imposes a burden on the right to vote does not mean the law must be subjected to strict scrutiny. Suessmann, 383 Md. at 729-30, 862 A.2d at 20. Rather than framing the constitutional issue in terms of the generally stated fundamental right to vote, we reviewed the election laws narrowly, and in terms of whether the State ha[d] deprived [the plaintiffs] of the right to vote in the primary elections of a party to which they [did] not belong.  Suessmann, 383 Md. at 731, 862 A.2d at 21. This method of framing the asserted liberty interest is not inconsistent with that taken by various other courts addressing the issue. See, e.g., In re Marriage Cases, 49 Cal.Rptr.3d at 702 (Constitutionally protected fundamental rights need not be defined so broadly that they will inevitably be exercised by everyone.); see also Glucksberg, 521 U.S. at 722-26, 728, 117 S.Ct. at 2269, 138 L.Ed.2d 772 (framing the asserted liberty interest as the right to commit suicide with another's assistance rather than the more abstractly-stated liberty to choose how to die or right to choose a humane, dignified death, and determining that, even though the right to refuse lifesaving medical treatment was deeply rooted in our Nation's history, there existed no fundamental right to assisted suicide); see also Glucksberg, 521 U.S. at 727-28, 117 S.Ct. at 2271, 138 L.Ed.2d 772 (That many of the rights and liberties protected by the Due Process Clause sound in personal autonomy does not warrant the sweeping conclusion that any and all important, intimate, and personal decisions are so protected.); Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs v. von Eschenbach, 495 F.3d 695, 701 n. 5 (D.C.Cir.2007) (determining, pursuant to Glucksberg, that the issue was framed properly as to whether terminally ill patients have a fundamental right to experimental drugs that have passed Phase I clinical testing, rather than the broadly-asserted right to try to save one's life proposed by the terminally ill patients and adopted by the dissent); Eschenbach, 495 F.3d 695, 701 n. 5 (D.C.Cir.2007) (If the asserted right is so broad that it protects a person's efforts to save his life, it might subject to strict scrutiny any government action that would affect the means by which he sought to do so, no matter how remote the chance of success.). Our task, therefore, is to determine whether the right to same-sex marriage is so deeply embedded in the history, tradition, and culture of this State and Nation that it should be deemed fundamental. We hold that it is not.
It is well-established that the concepts of equal protection and due process embodied in Article 24, similar to the Fourteenth Amendment, are viewed as somewhat flexible and dynamic in order to accommodate advancements in the contemporary political, economic, and social climate. As we have stated, while the principles of the Constitution are unchangeable, in interpreting the language by which they are expressed it will be given a meaning which will permit the application of those principles to changes in the economic, social, and political life of the people, which the framers did not and could not foresee. Thus, while we may not depart from the Constitution's plain language, we are not bound strictly to accept only the meaning of the language at the time of adoption. . . . Thus, we construe the Constitution's provisions to accomplish in our modern society the purposes for which they were adopted by the drafters. Benson v. State, 389 Md. 615, 632-33, 887 A.2d 525, 535 (2005) (citations omitted); see also Lawrence, 539 U.S. at 579, 123 S.Ct. at 2484, 156 L.Ed.2d 508 (As the Constitution endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom.). Mere acquiescence for any length of time, however, will not serve as an adequate foundation for the constitutionality of a particular legislative enactment. We therefore consider the current economic, political, and social climate in order to determine whether same-sex marriage is a fundamental right. There is no doubt that the legal landscape surrounding the rights of homosexual persons is evolving. A trend toward gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons gaining more rights seems evident within Maryland, see generally Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Long Overdue: The Evolution of a Sexual Orientation-Blind System in Maryland and the Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage, 35 U. BALT. L.REV. 73, 75-92 (2005) (cataloging recent trends toward equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual persons and its potential impacts on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage in Maryland), as well as in the laws of the Nation as a whole. Lawrence, 539 U.S. at 575, 579, 123 S.Ct. at 2482, 2484, 156 L.Ed.2d 508 (overruling Bowers and declaring that the continued viability of the precedent allowing states to criminalize private consensual sexual intimacy between members of the same sex demeans the lives of homosexual persons.); Romer, 517 U.S. at 623-24, 632, 116 S.Ct. at 1623, 1627, 134 L.Ed.2d 855 (invalidating on the grounds that it impos[ed] a broad and undifferentiated disability on a single named group an amendment to the Colorado Constitution that made it illegal for the legislature to pass laws prohibiting discrimination against gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons on account of their sexual orientation); see also AMER. Assoc. OF LAW LIBRARIES, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION, STANDING COMMITTEE ON LESBIAN AND GAY ISSUES, Introduction of SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND THE LAW: A RESEARCH BIBLIOGRAPHY SELECTIVELY ANNOTATING LEGAL LITERATURE THROUGH 2005, at XXV (discussing the exponential increase in recent years of case law and legislative enactments granting to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual persons rights never before enjoyed). Despite this expanding library of statutory and judicial authorities acknowledging a growing awareness of the need to protect gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons in broader society, acceptance alone does not require that the State or we recognize the asserted fundamental right that Appellees seek. The breadth of precedent, particularly Romer and Lawrence, falls short of establishing as deeply rooted the concept of same-sex marriage. In Romer, while the Supreme Court held that it was unconstitutional for Colorado to amend its constitution to preclude state legislative enactments protecting from discrimination based on sexual orientation, the Court did so on the basis of equal protection. The Court determined, furthermore, that a disadvantage imposed [that] is born of animosity toward the class of persons affected, thereby reflecting a bare . . . desire to harm a politically unpopular group[,] cannot constitute a legitimate governmental interest. Romer, 517 U.S. at 634-35, 116 S.Ct. at 1629, 134 L.Ed.2d 855 (citations omitted). The Supreme Court concluded that the asserted state interests in protecting other citizens' freedom of association who have personal or religious objections to homosexuality, and the interest in conserving resources to fight discrimination against other groups, Romer, 517 U.S. at 635, 116 S.Ct. at 1629, 134 L.Ed.2d 855, was insufficient even for rational basis review. Beyond the principle that no state may pass laws or state constitutional amendments that prohibit any and all state or local government action designed to protect homosexual persons as a named class, Romer, 517 U.S. at 624, 116 S.Ct. at 1623, 134 L.Ed.2d 855, nothing within the language of this landmark case establishes as deeply rooted the concept of same-sex marriage. Nor does Lawrence establish as deeply rooted the right to same-sex marriage. First, while the Court in that case overturned Bowers and declared unconstitutional the Texas statute on the basis that [the law and traditions in the past half century] show an emerging awareness that liberty gives substantial protection to adult persons in deciding how to conduct their private lives in matters pertaining to sex, Lawrence, 539 U.S. at 571-72, 123 S.Ct. at 2480, 156 L.Ed.2d 508, it did so on what appears to be rational basis review. 539 U.S. at 579, 123 S.Ct. at 2484, 156 L.Ed.2d 508 (The Texas statute furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the personal and private life of the individual.) (emphasis added). Nor did the Court in that case state expressly that the right to sexual intercourse between two individuals of the same-sex was fundamental. Lawrence, 539 U.S. at 586, 123 S.Ct. at 2488, 156 L.Ed.2d 508 (Scalia, J., dissenting) (Though there is discussion of `fundamental proposition[s],' . . ., and `fundamental decisions,' . . ., nowhere does the Court's opinion declare that homosexual sodomy is a `fundamental right' under the Due Process Clause; nor does it subject the Texas law to the standard of review that would be appropriate (strict scrutiny) if homosexual sodomy were a `fundamental right.'). If the Court in Lawrence was unwilling to declare that the right of two persons of the same sex to engage in sexual intimacy was deeply rooted in history and tradition, we are not disposed to accept that the Lawrence Court intended to confer such status on the public recognition of an implicitly similar relationship. See Standhardt, 77 P.3d at 457 (If the Court did not view such an intimate expression of the bond securing a homosexual relationship to be a fundamental right, we must reject any notion that the Court intended to confer such status on the right to secure state-sanctioned recognition of such a union.). Indeed, the Supreme Court in Lawrence, after declaring unconstitutional the Texas statute that forbade same-sex intimate conduct, held that [t]he present case does not involve minors. It does not involve persons who might be injured or coerced or who are situated in relationships where consent might not easily be refused. It does not involve public conduct or prostitution. It does not involve whether the government must give formal recognition to any relationship that homosexual persons seek to enter. The case does involve two adults who, with full and mutual consent from each other, engaged in sexual practices common to a homosexual lifestyle. The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives. The State cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime. Their right to liberty under the Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government. It is a promise of the Constitution that there is a realm of personal liberty which the government may not enter. The Texas statute furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the personal and private life of the individual. Lawrence, 539 U.S. at 578-79, 123 S.Ct. at 2484, 156 L.Ed.2d 508 (emphasis added). Lawrence does not establish a fundamental right to same-sex marriage. Several of the holdings by other courts that have addressed the issue are in accord. See, e.g., Standhardt, 77 P.3d at 456-57 (determining that the Supreme Court's holding in Lawrence cannot be interpreted to provide for same-sex marriage); Wilson, 354 F.Supp.2d at 1307 ([T]he Supreme Court's Decision in Lawrence cannot be interpreted as creating a fundamental right to same-sex marriage.); Andersen, 138 P.3d at 979 (distinguishing Lawrence on similar grounds). We are unwilling to hold that a right to same-sex marriage has taken hold to the point that it is implicit in the concept of ordered liberty or deeply rooted in the history and tradition of Maryland. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. at 721, 117 S.Ct. at 2268, 138 L.Ed.2d 772. Even a quick glance at the laws of Maryland indicate that this State has long regarded marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The consanguinity statute, for example, addresses only those marriages with a certain degree of blood relation as between members of the opposite sex. Family Law § 2-202. The statutory scheme regulating dealings between spouses refers to the parties in terms of a married woman and her husband. Family Law §§ 4-201 to 4-205. Family Law § 4-301, furthermore, involves liabilities for, and protection from, the obligations of a spouse. The statute addresses only those liabilities as between husband and wife. These are only a few of the examples of Maryland family law statutes that recognize sex-specific language when referring to the marital relationship. The point is that despite the long-established presence of Family Law § 2-201, the laws of our State historically, and continue to, employ sex-specific language that reflects Maryland's adherence to the traditional understanding of marriage as between a man and woman. In spite of the changing attitudes about what constitutes a nuclear family, Congress, as well as nearly every state in the Nation, has taken legislative action or otherwise enacted constitutional amendments limiting explicitly the institution of marriage to those unions between a man and a woman. [67] With the exception of Massachusetts, virtually every court to have considered the issue has held that same-sex marriage is not constitutionally protected as fundamental in either their state or the Nation as a whole. Standhardt, 77 P.3d at 465 ([A]lthough many traditional views of homosexuality have been recast overtime in our state and Nation, the choice to marry a same-sex partner has not taken sufficient root to receive constitutional protection as a fundamental right.); Lewis, 908 A.2d at 211 (Despite the rich diversity of this State, the tolerance and goodness of its people, and the many recent advances made by gays and lesbians toward achieving social acceptance and equality under the law, we cannot find that a right to same-sex marriage is so deeply rooted in the traditions, history, and conscience of the people . . . that it ranks as a fundamental right.); Dean, 653 A.2d at 332-33 (declaring summarily that same-sex marriage is not deeply rooted in history and tradition); Baehr, 852 P.2d at 57 (concluding that there is no fundamental right to same-sex marriage); Baker v. Nelson, 191 N.W.2d at 186 (The institution of marriage as a union of man and woman . . . is as old as the book of Genesis.); In re Kandu, 315 B.R. at 140 (holding that there is no fundamental right to same-sex marriage based on the Supreme Court's cautionary statements that courts should exercise the utmost care in establishing a new fundamental liberty interest); Hernandez, 821 N.Y.S.2d 770, 855 N.E.2d at 9 (The right to marry someone of the same sex, however, is not `deeply rooted'; it has not even been asserted until relatively recent times.); Andersen, 138 P.3d at 979 (That some laws provide [protections to gay and lesbian persons] shows change is occurring in our society, but community standards at this time do not show a societal commitment to inclusion of same-sex marriage as part of the fundamental right to marry.); but see Goodridge v. Dep't of Pub. Health, 440 Mass. 309, 798 N.E.2d 941, 961 (2003) (Because the statute does not survive rational basis review, we do not consider the [same-sex couples'] arguments that this case merits strict scrutiny.). While the opinions of other courts in the Nation are not conclusive with regard to the present case, even when they constitute an overwhelming majority, their reasoning and analysis are instructive as they provide a sampling of the current socio-political climate in which we make our determination whether the asserted right is fundamental. We are not unmindful of the fact that the relationships gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons seek to enter involve intimate and private decisions that extend to the core of the right to personal autonomy. Those decisions do not necessarily require us or the State to recognize formally those relationships in the form of State-sanctioned marriage. That a liberty interest such as the argued-for right to marry a person of the sex of one's choosing, even if assumed to be important, does not render automatically fundamental that liberty interest. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. at 727-28, 117 S.Ct. at 2271, 138 L.Ed.2d 772; Hornbeck, 295 Md. at 649, 458 A.2d at 786 (Whether a claimed right is fundamental does not turn alone on the relative desirability or importance of that right.). When dealing in the realm of due process, furthermore, we are hesitant to recognize new fundamental rights, especially when the Supreme Court has either failed or declined to do so. [W]here social or economic legislation [such as the regulation of marriage] is involved, . . . [we] have generally avoided labeling a right as fundamental so as to avoid activating the exacting strict scrutiny standard of review. Hornbeck, 295 Md. at 650, 458 A.2d at 786. As the Supreme Court stated, [b]y extending constitutional protection to an asserted right or liberty interest, we, to a great extent, place the matter outside the arena of public debate and legislative action. We must therefore `exercise the utmost care whenever we are asked to break new ground in this field,' . . . lest the liberty protected by the Due Process Clause be subtly transformed into the policy preferences of the members of this Court. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. at 720, 117 S.Ct. at 2268, 138 L.Ed.2d 772 (quoting Collins v. City of Harker Heights, 503 U.S. 115, 125, 112 S.Ct. 1061, 1068, 117 L.Ed.2d 261 (1992)). With these principles in mind, and in light of Maryland's history of limiting marriage to those unions between members of the opposite sex, coupled with the policy choices of nearly every other state in the Nation, we do not find that same-sex marriage is so deeply rooted in this State or the country as a whole that it should be regarded at this time as a fundamental right.