Reply #25: Requirements for strict scrutiny... [View All]

[amjsjc]

If I remember my con law class correctly (and I might not) in order for a group to be considered under strict scrutiny it must have been subject to a long history of overt discrimination, and be manifestly incapable of redressing its grievances through the ballot box (approximate quotes). While you could argue (as I would) that gays fall into this category, the court hasn't put them there yet. Basically the court will give a law the benefit of the doubt unless it involves a group that falls into strict scrutiny, in which case the state must prove that there is an absolutely compelling and not otherwise attainable reason for the law to exist. Frankly I think that any court that looked objectively at DOMAs would throw them out in a heartbeat, but we all know that courts will often do whatever flatters the ideological sensibilities of the majority.