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

Heading: The State's Arguments Against Applicability of Article 46

Text: The State focuses most of its argument against application of strict scrutiny to the same-sex marriage ban, and I address those arguments now. First, the State argues that the legislative history of Article 46 and Family Law Section 2-201 compels the conclusion that the same-sex marriage ban is constitutional. The State points to the voting records surrounding Article 46 of the Declaration of Rights and Section 1 of Article 62, Maryland Code (1957, 1979 Repl.Vol.), the predecessor to Family Law Section 2-201, [53] to conclude that the framers of the ERA understood and intended that the same-sex marriage ban was compatible with the ERA. Thus, in 1972, House Bill 687, a measure to add the ERA to the Maryland Declaration of Rights, passed the House of Delegates by the overwhelming margin 120-1, see 1972 Maryland House Journal 1281-82 (Mar. 22, 1972); the Senate voted 39-0 in favor. See 1972 Maryland Senate Journal 1899 (Apr. 1, 1972). In 1973, the same legislature passed Senate Bill 122, a measure adopting the same-sex marriage ban. The measure passed the House by 112-1, see 1973 Maryland House Journal 2743 (Apr. 1, 1973); the Senate voted 37-1 in favor. See 1973 Maryland Senate Journal 273 (Jan. 24, 1973). Detailed comparison of the roll call votes indicates that 94 Delegates voted in favor of both measures; if Delegates who co-sponsored but did not vote for the ERA are included, then the total number of Delegates in favor of both the ERA and the same-sex marriage ban was 100 out of a total of 142. [54] Out of 43 Senators, 33 voted both for the ERA and the same-sex marriage ban. From these facts the State concludes that those legislators who approved [the ERA] in 1972 did not see anything inconsistent about their decision in 1973 to vote for legislation clarifying that the State recognizes only a marriage between a man and a woman. The difficulty with this argument is two-fold. First, the State offers no basis for distinguishing the situation involving the unconstitutional statute [55] enacted by the General Assembly in 1974 and invalidated in Burning Tree I from that which is presented here. Clearly Chapter 870, the discriminatory anti-discrimination provision in Burning Tree I, was nearly contemporaneous with Section 1 of Article 62 and Article 46; nevertheless, no one seriously contended that mere temporal nearness could save Chapter 870 from invalidation. The State is forced to combine the nearly contemporaneous enactment of the same-sex marriage ban and the ERA with the additional rule of constitutional interpretation elaborated in Hornbeck v. Somerset County Board of Education, 295 Md. 597, 620, 458 A.2d 758, 770 (1983): In this regard, it has been held that a contemporaneous construction placed upon a particular provision of the Maryland Constitution by the legislature, acquiesced in and acted upon without ever having been questioned, followed continuously and uniformly from a very early period, furnishes a strong presumption that the intention is rightly interpreted. I find this argument unpersuasive in the present context. The relevant time frame in the instant case extends only to 1972, not to a very early period, because [t]he adoption of the E.R.A. in this state was intended to, and did, drastically alter traditional views of the validity of sex-based classifications. Rand, 280 Md. at 515-16, 374 A.2d at 905. Therefore, the undeniable fact that marriage has always been recognized only between a man and a woman, although undoubtedly acquiesced in and acted upon without ever having been questioned, followed continuously and uniformly from a very early period, carries no greater legal weight in light of the ERA than the multitude of sex-based common law rules and presumptions that have been invalidated since 1972. See, e.g., Giffin, 351 Md. at 133, 716 A.2d at 1029; Condore, 289 Md. at 516, 425 A.2d at 1011; Kline, 287 Md. at 585, 414 A.2d at 929; Rand, 280 Md. at 508, 374 A.2d at 900. In a related vein, the State argues that the plain meaning of Article 46 and the case law interpreting it foreclose the interpretation given by the Appellees and adopted by the Circuit Court, that Family Law Section 2-201 classifies on the basis of sex. In the State's view, Section 2-201 is facially neutral and simply does not constitute sex discrimination. The State's argument focuses on discrimination based on sexual orientation, a classification indisputably within the scope of Section 2-201. Relying on the statutory scheme established by the Commission on Human Relations, Article 49B, Maryland Code (1957, 2003 Repl.Vol.), as amended, 2001 Maryland Laws, Chapter 340, [56] the State maintains that the General Assembly has demonstrated repeatedly its ability to distinguish sex from sexual orientation, and because Article 46 is silent on sexual orientation, the logical conclusion is that Family Law Section 2-201 was never intended to fall inside the scope of Article 46. The majority adopts this interpretation, stating that [t]o accept [Appellees'] contention that Family Law § 2-201 discriminates on the basis of sex would be to extend the reach of the ERA beyond the scope intended by the Maryland General Assembly and the State's voters who enacted and ratified, respectively, the amendment. See op. at 264-65, 932 A.2d at 598. This argument is entirely irrelevant to the question of constitutionality of sex-based classifications under Article 46 and hence, is a classic red herring. Although the majority asserts that Family Law Section 2-201 draws classifications based on sexual orientation, on its face the statute actually classifies on the basis of sex, not sexual orientation. Section 2-201 does not prohibit homosexuals from marrying; in fact, a homosexual male may marry either a heterosexual or homosexual female, and a homosexual female may marry either a heterosexual or homosexual male. Only by virtue of a person's sex is he or she prohibited from marrying a person of the same sex. Clearly, Section 2-201 draws distinctions based on sex and thus, the issue of sexual orientation simply does not enter into an ERA analysis. The Appellees in the present case allege that Section 2-201 has a discriminatory effect, regardless of its alleged facial neutrality, and that the landmark Supreme Court decision in Loving, 388 U.S. at 1, 87 S.Ct. at 1817, 18 L.Ed.2d at 1010, should control the outcome here. Loving involved the State assertion of an analogous allegedly neutral, generally applicable statute prohibiting miscegenation. Id. at 2, 87 S.Ct. at 1818, 18 L.Ed.2d at 1012. The Court applied strict scrutiny to the Virginia statute despite its ostensibly equal application to both races. Id. at 9, 87 S.Ct. at 1822, 18 L.Ed.2d at 1016 (In the case at bar, . . . we deal with statutes containing racial classifications, and the fact of equal application does not immunize the statute from the very heavy burden of justification which the Fourteenth Amendment has traditionally required of state statutes drawn according to race.). Not only did the Court weigh the long history of white supremacy and racial segregation heavily against the State, but the Court found the anti-miscegenation statute applied only to interracial marriages involving whites, and thus, was not facially neutral as asserted by Virginia. Id. at 11-12, 87 S.Ct. at 1823, 18 L.Ed.2d at 1017-18. The Court reached its holding independently of the issue of discriminatory intent, however, find[ing] the racial classifications in these statutes repugnant to the Fourteenth Amendment, even assuming an even-handed state purpose to protect the `integrity' of all races. Id. at 11 n. 11, 87 S.Ct. at 1823 n. 11, 18 L.Ed.2d at 1018 n. 11. Clearly, the Court found no legitimate purpose in the racial classifications themselves, regardless of the proffered justification. Id. at 11, 87 S.Ct. at 1823, 18 L.Ed.2d at 1017 (There is patently no legitimate overriding purpose independent of invidious racial discrimination which justifies this classification.). The State attempts to distinguish Loving from the instant case on the basis that the same-sex marriage ban does not evince the intent to impose segregation based on sex. The State's position is reinforced by amici, The Maryland Catholic Conference, who argue that anti-miscegenation statutes were intended to keep persons of different races separate; marriage statutes, on the other hand, are intended to bring persons of the opposite sex together.  (emphasis in original). This argument begs the question whether Family Law Section 2-201 is facially neutral; it is well-settled that the question of discriminatory intent does not arise unless the threshold question of facial neutrality is answered in the affirmative. See, e.g., Hunt v. Cromartie, 526 U.S. 541, 546, 119 S.Ct. 1545, 1549, 143 L.Ed.2d 731, 738 (1999) (When racial classifications are explicit, no inquiry into legislative purpose is necessary.); Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630, 642, 113 S.Ct. 2816, 2824, 125 L.Ed.2d 511, 525 (1993) (No inquiry into legislative purpose is necessary when the racial classification appears on the face of the statute.). Here, there is no plausible assertion that Section 2-201 accrues only to the benefit of either men or women as a class. Just as in Rand, Kline, Condore, Burning Tree I and Giffin, however, there is sex discrimination at the level of the individual who wishes to marry but is precluded from doing so because of the statute. Thus, a man who wishes to marry another man is prevented from choosing his marriage partner purely on the basis of sex; likewise, a woman who wishes to marry another woman is prevented from choosing her marriage partner purely on the basis of sex. Manifestly, Section 2-201 classifies on the basis of sex; because it would be necessary to consider the underlying legislative intent only if the same-sex marriage ban did not draw sex-based distinctions, the question of legislative intent is irrelevant. Just as in Loving, it is the nature of the classifications themselves that implicates strict scrutiny.