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Framing The Loving Analogy: Same-Sex Marriage, Gender Classifications And Heightened Scrutiny Under The Equal Protection Clause, Luiz Antonio Salazar Arroyo

Luiz A Arroyo

In the attached article, I argue that laws requiring marriage to be between a man and a woman make a facial gender classification triggering intermediate scrutiny. The constitutionality of laws banning same-sex marriage is one of the most important and hotly contested constitutional topics of the 21st century with the California Supreme Court releasing a decision on the subject this summer, and gay marriage cases pending in the High Courts of Connecticut and Iowa.

Ever since the Supreme Court decided Loving v. Virginia and declared that laws banning interracial marriage were unconstitutional, same-sex marriage advocates have claimed that laws restricting …