context: The proffered justification may derive from strongly-held religious or fundamentally traditional beliefs, but still does not provide a legally recognizable rational basis for sustaining a law that actively discriminates against legally married couples. The exclusion of same-sex couples from the federal definition of marriage does nothing to encourage or strengthen opposite-sex marriages.
citation_a.signal: see also
citation_a.identifier: 704 F.Supp.2d 972, 972
citation_a.parenthetical: "Permitting same-sex couples to marry will not affect the number of opposite-sex couples who marry, divorce, cohabit, have children outside of marriage or otherwise affect the stability of opposite-sex marriages"
citation_a.sentence: See Perry II, 671 F.3d at 1089, 2012 WL 372713, at *23 (holding that “the argument that withdrawing the designation of ‘marriage’ from same-sex couples could on its own promote the strength or stability of opposite-sex marital relationships lacks any such footing in reality”); see also Perry, 704 F.Supp.2d at 972 (“Permitting same-sex couples to marry will not affect the number of opposite-sex couples who marry, divorce, cohabit, have children outside of marriage or otherwise affect the stability of opposite-sex marriages”); In re Levenson, 587 F.3d at 932 (this governmental interest “is largely irrelevant to the rational basis analysis here because the same-sex couples who seek the benefits are already married.
citation_b.signal: see
citation_b.identifier: 2012 WL 372713, at *23
citation_b.parenthetical: holding that "the argument that withdrawing the designation of 'marriage' from same-sex couples could on its own promote the strength or stability of opposite-sex marital relationships lacks any such footing in reality"
citation_b.sentence: See Perry II, 671 F.3d at 1089, 2012 WL 372713, at *23 (holding that “the argument that withdrawing the designation of ‘marriage’ from same-sex couples could on its own promote the strength or stability of opposite-sex marital relationships lacks any such footing in reality”); see also Perry, 704 F.Supp.2d at 972 (“Permitting same-sex couples to marry will not affect the number of opposite-sex couples who marry, divorce, cohabit, have children outside of marriage or otherwise affect the stability of opposite-sex marriages”); In re Levenson, 587 F.3d at 932 (this governmental interest “is largely irrelevant to the rational basis analysis here because the same-sex couples who seek the benefits are already married.